Somebody save me

Jose J. Santos

Jane Cressall felt an empty space in her life.

Almost 10 years ago, her dog died and she was in need of something

to fill the void left by the pet’s absence.

She decided to join Pet Pro Life after seeing volunteers from the

then-fledgling organization working at a PetsMart store. She has been

with the group ever since.

Pet Pro Life is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding

homes for rescued or abandoned dogs and cats. The team of more than

90 volunteers offers a variety of different services including

spaying and neutering every animal it rescues, providing animal

education to the community and providing foster care for rescued

animals while it searches for a permanent family.

“It’s such a rewarding experience to bring dogs in need to a new

home, to give them a second chance,” Cressall said.

A SAFE PLACE

The organization has no kennel facility, so it depends on foster

families to provide a safe place for the rescued. Cressall has two

dogs of her own, but has also managed to provide foster care for 10

rescued dogs this year alone. She has done this for so many dogs over

the years, she can’t remember the actual number.

“We’re all so committed to see that these dogs have the best

possible lives,” Cressall said. “We want to make sure that they have

the best.”

Finding foster families is a major priority for Pet Pro Life. But

the group doesn’t accept just anybody. It carefully screens

prospective foster care providers and then assists them in helping

the rescued animal it has agreed to watch.

* Fill out the form: People interested in providing foster care

must first fill out a two-page application form which requires a pet

history, calls for two references and asks detailed questions about

the environment in the applicant’s home. If an applicant is accepted,

Pet Pro Life then assists the foster care providers with both food

and any medical supplies or procedures the rescued animal needs.

* Role models: Many rescued animals are traumatized, Cressall

said. Some have been abandoned, some abused, but most are capable of

recovering. A foster family can help the rescued animal by treating

it like the family pet for the duration of time it takes for Pet Pro

Life to find the animal a permanent home. If the foster family

already has a dog, this will help by providing a model on how to

behave for the rescued animal, Cressall said.

* Matter of time: “The foster families keep the dogs as long as it

take to find the best types of homes,” Cressall said.

For some animals, that period of time may be as short as one week.

For most, it averages two to three weeks. But Cressall noted in a few

extreme cases where dogs have come from deplorable conditions, the

animal might need as many as two years of foster care before it is

ready to enter a permanent home.

* Guide the dog: Socializing the rescued animals is an important

aspect of Pet Pro Life’s foster care system.

“The dogs are essentially looking for guidance in their life.

Someone to feed them, touch them give them warmth and love,” Cressall

said.

The foster family is responsible for establishing a routine for

the animal by feeding them regularly, taking them for walks and

allowing them to sleep indoors. This behavior training make the

transition easier into a potential owner’s home.

* A lonely place: If Pet Pro Life can’t find a foster family to

care for an animal, it sometimes places it in a kennel. This is not

an ideal situation according to Cressall. Kennels can be very

expensive, and the organization doesn’t have the budget for prolonged

stays. Also, sometimes the kennels can’t properly accommodate the

animal’s physical and emotional needs.

“The dogs can become depressed because it doesn’t know where it

is,” Cressall said.

NEW HOME

Potential pet adopters need the know following before adopting a

pet from Pet Pro Life:

* For dogs: An adoption fee of $100 or more in cash is required,

the adopted dog or puppy will be spayed or neutered and have received

all its current vaccinations, everyone who will be living with the

pet must meet it at the organization’s adoption center (located at

the Costa Mesa PetsMart) and participate in the organization’s

adoption counseling process and if there is already a dog in the

potential home, the dog must be screened along with the potential

owner.

* For cats: A adoption fee in cash, $60 for cats and $90 for

kittens, is required, the adopted cat or kitten will be spayed or

neutered and will have received all its current vaccinations and

everyone who will be living with the pet must meet it at the adoption

center and participate in our adoption counseling process.

LABOR OF LOVE

Volunteers are the glue that hold Pet Pro Life together. Some look

after the cats, some walk the dogs, all give their free time to an

endeavor that they are passionate about.

“It takes a lot of people that have different expertise to have a

great organization,” Cressall said.

The members are at the PetsMart every Saturday looking for

potential owners. Cressall said she has a way of testing whether or

not someone has what it takes to provide the right home for a rescued

animal.

“I ask myself, ‘If this was my dog, would I want my dog to go

there.’”

For more information about Pet Pro Life, call (714) 964-3593 or go

to https://www.petprolife.org.

DOG DAYS OF AUTUMN

Pet Pro Life will be co-hosting Dog Fair 2003 and Pet Adoption Day

today at the PetsMart at 620 W. 17th St. in Costa Mesa.

There will be activities for dogs and their owners including

agility and obstacle games, dress-up contests, dog teeth cleaning and

an owner-pet look-alike contest.

A groomer, veterinarian, trainer and pet psychic will also be at

the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will 30 dogs up

for adoption and Pet Pro Life volunteers will be screening for

potential owners and foster care providers.

IN NEED OF LOVE

Here’s a look at one of the dogs up for adoption from Pet Pro

Life. Complete bios for these dogs can be found at

https://www.petprolife.org.

BAILEY

Terrier mix (maybe Lhasa apso and schnauzer); male; friendly,

sweet and lovable, intelligent; put up for adoption

CROCE

Carolina dog mix; male; shy with strangers; gentle and loving; put

up for adoption

10 PUPPIES

Pit-Samoyed Mix; six girls and four boys; need to be trained; put

up for adoption

SHANA

Pointer mix; female; Sweet, tolerant, shy, and loving; rescued

JEDI

Cocker spaniel-Shih Tzu; male; loving, sweet, loyal, obedient; put

up for adoption

NERO

German shepherd-Rottweiler mix; male; very affectionate, loving,

obedient and extremely well trained; put up for adoption

TALULAH-PINKY

Albino cocker spaniel (pure); female; very affectionate and loving

to people; put up for adoption

GABBIE

Dalmatian (pure, liver spotted); female; very affectionate, loves

attention, loyal, and energetic; put up for adoption

HEIDE

Shepherd mix; female; friendly and playful; rescued

MAE

Dalmatian (pure); female; very affectionate, shy, and energetic;

put up for adoption

LUNA

Pug-pit Mix; female; shy, but warms up; affectionate, energetic,

good protector; put up for adoption

BEAUTY

Terrier-retriever mix; female; calm and shy; rescued

LUCKY

Terrier-retriever mix; male; Calm, attention-loving, affectionate,

intelligent; rescued

OUTLAW

Terrier-retriever mix; male; Calm, attention-loving, affectionate,

intelligent; rescued

RENEGADE

Terrier-retriever mix; male; Calm, attention-loving, affectionate,

intelligent; rescued