{"id":9542,"date":"2021-06-29T01:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T01:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/petdedicated.com\/?p=9542"},"modified":"2021-06-29T01:00:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T01:00:16","slug":"people-who-help-dogs-find-homes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petdedicated.com\/?p=9542","title":{"rendered":"People Who Help Dogs Find Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The post People Who Help Dogs Find Homes<\/a> by Wendy Newell<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n

The steps it takes for a dog to find his perfect adopted family forces him to rely on a number of different types of loving humans. Sophie Gamand, Lisa Lemieux and Bobby Humphreys are three such people.<\/p>\n

The Photographer<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Sophie Gamand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

French artist Sophie Gamand is known for her poignant images of Pit Bulls in colorful and dreamlike flower crowns. She focused her camera on dogs when she moved to the United States in 2010. Once here, she started taking photos at a vet clinic and met a rescuer who would bring in her fosters. An invitation to take photos of the pups to help them get adopted led Sophie down her current path.<\/p>\n

With every step forward, her commitment and passion as an animal advocate was strengthened. After learning about the enormous number of dogs in shelters in the United States, she started photographing 20 to 30 dogs in need of adoption each day. Long hours led her to learn more about the shelter life, of the dogs hoping to be adopted and the finality of those who weren\u2019t. It angered Sophie: \u201cCreating art about this is my coping mechanism,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

During her sessions, she found that she was fearful around the dogs whose short, muscular frames earned them the label of Pit Bull. Instead of giving in to the tension she felt when a Pit Bull was led in front of her camera, she developed a project that would force her to get to know them better by spending intimate time with them. The Pit Bull Flower Power project was born!<\/p>\n

Sophie has \u201ccrowned\u201d and photographed around 450 dogs across the United States. The goal was to have the images be a tribute to the numerous lives lost, as dogs identified as Pits are the most euthanized \u201cbreed\u201d in the United States. As you look through the collection you find a number of pups who couldn\u2019t help but smile at the thought of Sophie\u2019s touch and a few good-boy treats!<\/p>\n

Sophie\u2019s art has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animal rescues worldwide.<\/p>\n

The Volunteer<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Lisa Lemieux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon her retirement as an educator for 36 years, Lisa Lemieux made the conscious effort to seek out places she could help dogs and other animals, particularly during a time of disaster. To fill that need in her local area of Vermont, she helped establish a local Disaster Animal Response Team (DART).<\/p>\n

Through this group, she learned about the Great Danes of New Hampshire. Eighty-four Great Danes were seized from a suspected puppy mill. The Humane Society of the United States was tasked with taking and helping the dogs get to a place where they could be adopted into loving homes. The group sent out word that it was in need of volunteers. Lisa considered the one-and-a-half hour drive from her house short enough to sign up.<\/p>\n

She discovered that she could help the HSUS and her local humane society chapter with dogs, cats and even everyday maintenance work. It was a place she could continue to meet her ultimate retirement goal, doing something positive. It was an extra bonus that her work would also help animals.<\/p>\n

It is because of her time with the humane society along with the personal experience with her pup, Karma, that Lisa learned a lesson she wanted to share with us. \u201cPeople tend to overlook those scared, timid, shy dogs, older dogs, dogs with disabilities,\u201d she explains, \u201c \u2026 it is not always the dog that comes up to the front of the kennel who is going to be the best dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Protector<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Bobby Humphrey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Big Guy, Littles World Sanctuary, a place for neglected, abandoned and abused Chihuahuas to get medical help and find safety, is the result of Bobby Humphreys\u2019 personal life journey.<\/p>\n

When Bobby\u2019s wife, who also held the titles of co-worker and workout partner, abruptly left him, he broke. He had lost so much and was forced to live through such a traumatic event that he couldn\u2019t see a way out. A friend refused to let him give up, and when she needed someone to watch her son\u2019s dog, a feisty Chihuahua named Lady, Bobby felt obligated to say that the dog could stay with him.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long for the two to become friends, and Lady became Bobby\u2019s savior. Despite having had a number of different \u201cbig guy\u201d breeds in his life, he had never met a dog so in tune with human emotions before.<\/p>\n

In the search for his own \u201clady,\u201d he learned about a Chihuahua who needed a family. Their meeting didn\u2019t go well. The tiny pup tried to bite him every time he got near. He was inclined to pass on the dog but then thought that if the pup acted this way around every new person, she would never be adopted. He couldn\u2019t let that happen. He asked for the dog to be put in his car. Within just a few minutes, he was taking pictures of the two of them, dog snuggled up against Bobby, her knight in shining armor.<\/p>\n

It continued like that, with each Chihuahua he met seeming to be worse off than the next. With some friends\u2019 pushing, he started the nonprofit sanctuary that is now his life. He funds the project with donations and the profits from its hemp-based dog CBD products. \u201cThey have done so much for me,\u201d Bobby says of the tiny dogs, \u201c\u2026 I know what it feels like to be abandoned \u2026 none of the dogs I come in contact with will ever have to feel that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u00a9Drazen Zigic | Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this year, Los Angeles, California, became the largest U.S. no kill city. The label of no kill requires a 90% or better save rate for the animals entering a shelter.<\/p>\n

With help from groups like Best Friends Animal Society<\/a>, which launched the No Kill Los Angeles (NKLA) initiative in 2012, Los Angeles went from a save rate of 56% to over 90% in 2020.<\/p>\n

A city getting to \u201cno-kill\u201d status is not an easy task. It requires people, shelters and rescue groups working together to find a way to provide a high quality of life for all homeless animals.<\/p>\n

Michelle Sathe, the public relations manager of Best Friends Animal Society, shares some of the ways you can help your city achieve this impressive status.<\/p>\n

HOW YOU CAN HELP:<\/h3>\n