April 11, 2025 • 33 mins
Tune in as we welcome Rachel Goyette from the Jefferson SPCA to shed light on vital animal welfare issues in our area. We'll be focusing on the significance of spay and neuter programs in preventing pet overpopulation, reducing animal suffering, and improving the overall health and well-being of our beloved companions. Discover resources available in Jefferson Parish and how you can get involved to support a more humane community for all animals.
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Episode Transcript
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Dixie (00:02):
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
people and rescues making adifference in the lives of animals.
Today we are joined with Rachelfrom the Jefferson, SPCA.
And I'm glad to have you here.
I wanted to have you on the show 'causeI specifically wanted to discuss spay
and neuter and the Jefferson SPCA doeshave some really good programs for that.
(00:25):
And also because you have hadsome concerns about the overall
state of animal welfare in
Rachel (00:31):
the community.
. Definitely.
I can say when I first startedvolunteering for Jefferson Parish
Animal Shelter 13 years ago now,so February of 2012, I remember
thinking, like I became a volunteer.
I became addicted.
I was going every single day tophotograph the adoptable animals.
And it became like a passion.
(00:53):
Fast forward a couple years, andthen I get married and I remember
writing in my vows for my husbandthat I wanted a French bulldog.
If a rescue french bulldog came init'd be so rare, but I wanted it.
Now I don't like the breed at all now thatI've really gotten to know them, but they
come in four or five a week, if not more.
Dixie (01:09):
Oh, really?
I didn't know it was that many
. Rachel (01:11):
Yeah.
I never thought that would be a problem.
I thought that I don't know, it wasjust the things that I thought would
never be a problem are a problem.
Golden doodles.
People always wanted a goldendoodle.
They're in the shelter now, buteven rescues don't want 'em.
So the things that I thoughtwouldn't be a problem in 2012 or
2015, that's when I got married.
They now are,
(01:31):
We're getting worse.
Dixie (01:32):
Same thing with Persian cats.
Rachel (01:33):
Yes.
Dixie (01:34):
Bengals.
What is your role at the
Jefferson SPCA?
Rachel (01:38):
So I'm the program's director.
I was originally hired fiveyears ago for the spay and neuter
program and the rabies part of it.
In Jefferson Parish youpay a rabies license.
So when you bring your petto get vaccinated at the
vet, you pay a license fee.
That license fee comes to us.
It's voted on in the ordinancesand it's split half for spay
neuter, half goes to the shelter.
(02:00):
So that's how we have thespay neuter, program.
And people from like otherstates, Michigan contact me and
email me like, how do we do this?
So we always share our information'cause we want other people to do it.
And then a couple years ago,maybe two years ago, I took on
being the accountant as well.
I love doing that because it'sactually a task I can start and finish.
So mentally it helps me feel like Ido some kind of like completion of
(02:23):
something because I don't know thatspay neuter will ever not be needed.
Not that I don't want it to not beneeded, but it's just, it's so hard
to convince people if it now havinglike people to support you with laws.
It's just, it's so hard.
I also handle adoptions.
I do it all fundraising, I do everything.
(02:43):
I love it.
But some days are really hard.
Dixie (02:46):
That's how it is in rescue for sure.
What is the mission of the Jefferson SPCA?
Rachel (02:52):
Our mission, even though it's not up to date is the spay neuter.
Definitely.
Our mission is actually somethingthat our board president came up with
on a whim maybe 15, 20 years ago.
And he's I just wannahelp pets be in homes.
But it's more than that.
For me, I think the front runner,and we have to talk about it, is
that it needs to be spay neuter.
It needs to be reducing the pet populationin our or homeless pet population in
(03:18):
Jefferson Parish through spay neuter.
Dixie (03:21):
Now, can you give us a sense of the scale of animal
overpopulation in Jefferson Parish?
Rachel (03:28):
I don't know specific numbers we're partners with J Paws
in the shelter, but I don't havethe specific numbers from them.
Like sometimes I ask for the data but
I can't think, like back in the day,I know there was probably 12,000
animals entering the shelter each year.
Whenever I first started volunteeringand the number has come down, I
(03:49):
think it's only, 4000-5000 animalsthat come in the shelter each year.
But I think that reason, it'salso skewed because of rescue.
So that's part of it.
So I think, like whenever I firststarted volunteering, you're thinking
like 10 to 12,000 animals thatcome in the shelter every year.
That's so crazy.
And now you see four to 5,000 andyou're like, okay, then we're improving.
(04:12):
But that's not counting you, that'snot counting Joan with spay mart.
That's not counting Amy of a tail in need.
That's not counting us.
So we are interfering thatthey're not going into the shelter
because we're stepping in andthey're going into rescue first.
And so that's why part of me thinks,I can't say officially, I don't know
that maybe parish officials think thatwe don't need the laws that we do.
(04:33):
Because the numbers aren't thatbad at the shelter anymore.
But all the rescues are interfering.
So
like we are helping theload by having a rescue.
So we're helping.
The parish talks y ou're notspending as much in the parish money,
which I mean it's more expensive.
So like we're still spending lotsof money on the the five or 6,000
animals that go in every year.
But I don't think the parish reallyrealizes how many numbers like that, the
(04:57):
true numbers are of the homeless pets thatkeep going because of rescues, interfering
so they don't end up at the shelter.
Dixie (05:03):
Yeah.
'cause
All the rescues are full.
Rachel (05:06):
Yeah.
Joan, and like with Spay Mart, Imean they were doing an average
of 700 kittens a year, right?
Yeah.
I think a
tail in need
broke 500 last year.
I think we did maybe 210.
So that's like a thousand.
But there's other people likethe, whenever they try to do
surrender prevention so peopledon't bring 'em to the shelter.
So other rescues breedspecific rescues help too.
(05:27):
So those are out there.
I guess shelter animals count, if you werereporting that, but I wish there was a way
that rescues, you tell your numbers, yousay out there, you put 'em on public, on
social media and your emails and stuff.
What you did.
But that number is not going intoaccount with the parish to say,
Hey, this many homeless animalsare still a problem in our parish.
Dixie (05:43):
Yeah.
That
makes sense
You also do cat trapping for the TNR.
Yes.
So how many cats are youseeing being trapped a week?
Rachel (05:52):
Not as many as I'd like.
When I first started in 2020 myboard member she wanted me to
learn like our vice president waslike, I want you to understand,
like trapping, just so you know.
And I was like, okay,like I'll go with you.
So I learned maybe like a monthor two after I started and then.
That was right when the pandemichappened, everything got shut down.
All these events I had scheduled totalk about spay neuter couldn't happen.
(06:15):
'cause I couldn't go to the events.
So I started trapping myself and I trappedwith the help my friends Lisa and Sue,
I trapped maybe 650 cats in six months.
And it's just crazy.
So I know like in the program, likeevery week maybe a hundred cats or
so come through, like as I processthat on the accounting side are
coming, but I wish there was more.
(06:37):
Like I can help people get moreappointments and we can do the
mass appointments and spayMart does sometimes I'll
do the clinics on Saturdays.
Like we can find the appointments.
It's just not enough people trapping.
Dixie (06:48):
Yeah.
I find a lot of people they'llask for help and they're not
willing to do anything at all.
Rachel (06:55):
Oh, that's my favorite.
Dixie (06:55):
Not even watching the trap.
'cause I've had thatsituation where I'm close by.
I'll come get the cat.
Just keep an eye on the trap.
Just call me when thecat goes in the trap.
And they're not even willing to do that.
Rachel (07:06):
Yeah.
Like I made a Google form.
I don't advertise as much as I used towhere you could fill out the information,
you could put like your address,how many cats if you're the feeder.
And then one of the questions waslike, if we come out there and set
the trap, can you at least watch it?
And then it was like, yes or no, I'm notable to, I'm disabled or no, I'm scared.
Or something like that.
And majority of the time everyone put No
Dixie (07:28):
really?
crazy.
Rachel (07:29):
It blows my mind because like I, when I started, first started
learning, like Lisa, my friend, sheused to feed a colony of Ron Williams.
And it was so funny to watch herfeed that colony because whenever new
kid shows up, she put trapped down.
She'd put the food in it and thenshe'd tell all the other cats they
would go near and she's get away.
Don't do it.
And then they would listen to her'cause they were like, her cats, they
were used to her, Hey, this is mom.
(07:50):
She says, no, get away from it.
And the new kid's oh hey, what's this?
And goes right in the trap immediately.
And it's so much easierfor the feeder to trap 'em.
And they always think that it'sno, they'll never forgive me.
And they'll be mad at me and I hurt 'em.
And it's not even, it'snot that big of a deal.
Like I'm telling you, cats are forgiving.
Most animals, you have to think aboutthe abuse that they've been through.
And like all the animals that we'verescued, the dogs like that we've
(08:13):
rescued, I mean like the beaglesdefinitely they've all been abused.
They are so loving and forgiving,and I think most animals are.
And if you trap 'em after theirhormones settled and everything gets
better and they're not so anxious,they're gonna come back around, give
them like a couple days at the most.
And like one feeder, I'vehad the hardest time.
(08:33):
I love her.
I've helped her so many times, but I'mlike, you go there every single day,
you're in better physical shape than I am.
You need to be trapping your cats.
So now she'll do it.
She'll be like one a week, butit makes a huge difference if she
gets that one before it's pregnant.
You're saving five to 10 lives,maybe hundreds if you count
the ones that it would have.
Dixie (08:54):
How many pregnant cats were spayed last week?
Rachel (08:59):
I don't even know.
Pretty much everyone.
So whenever I processed the vouchersto do payments, like pretty much
every female last week out of, 50 to75 were either in heat or pregnant.
So the one colony I was talkingabout that's when I was trapping
in 2020 and it was a colony.
Behind Labarre Road, inthat industrial area.
And I went to trap for a nice coupleand we trapped 15 cats and they were
(09:22):
letting 'em live like in this warehouse.
They were totally fine with 'em.
They were coyotes, so they wereokay with the cats being there.
They wanted to keep 'em in thisfenced in area, but they just grew,
the colony grew so fast and theywere just like, I can't believe it.
And then the wife said, like,whenever you trap 'em, if they're
pregnant, please don't tell me.
So I was like, okay.
So I trapped the 15 cats.
We went to that vet, 10 of them aremale, five are female, and every
(09:44):
single female was pregnant with five.
Dixie (09:46):
Yeah that's what I was gonna say.
At least four or five.
That's the average.
Rachel (09:50):
And whenever I released them back, the husband said,
don't tell her, but tell me.
And I said, yeah, youwould've had 25 more cats.
Yep.
So eventually he did tell her, andlike she came in and she cried.
She was devastated, but sheunderstood because we are so broke.
Doing all the things to feed 'em.
You can't touch 'em all, so then youcan't put flea prevention on 'em.
So then you need to put flea treatmentin your yard, but you gotta do
(10:11):
something that's safe or keep 'emout the yard for, a couple hours
while the flea prevention dries.
Or if you're spraying something foryour yard, it just becomes out of hand.
Dixie (10:19):
Yeah, definitely.
Rachel (10:20):
And they're capable.
That's the thing that bothers me.
And the excuses of people notwanting to trap is oh, I'm in my
sixties, or I'm in my fifties.
I'm like, do you know the majority of myvolunteer trappers are in their seventies?
And Karen Lemoine she's a beast and shetraps with a drop trap every single time.
Like I use a drop trap for injured cats.
I rarely bring it out tolike trap, just regular cats.
(10:40):
She'll pull it out and just go dropit out at someone's house, set it up,
feed 'em under there for a week, andthen get all six of 'em in one second,
and then just pull the drop trap.
And then she's oh yeah, justtransfer me to individual cages.
I can't imagine the circus of five orsix cats under a big drop trap, like
flying around, flopping everywhere.
And like Karen in her seventies,got her own health issues
working like two and three jobs.
Also a pet sitter out here doing theLord's work, so , the excuses drive me
(11:05):
crazy because you've lived there, like yousaid, even if you just set the trap and
if I can just put it on your porch, youcould watch a video on YouTube easily.
I could swing back by and pickit up whenever you trap it.
I don't mind transporting.
That's not the problem, but Ican't sit there and watch it.
And you live there.
You go there every day.
If it's a place somewhere else.
It just doesn't make any senseto me why people don't trap.
Dixie (11:27):
Yeah.
And even with dealing with thetrap, it's so easy to just, it's.
It's a no brainer.
You just learn one time how toset the trap and then that's it.
Rachel (11:35):
I've done it where I've trapped on the sidewalk.
I'll have a trap in my back of mycar and I'm like, oh, there's a cat.
Oh, it looks pregnant.
And then I'm like let me put thistogether real quick, and I'll
pull over and put it out on thesidewalk 'cause it's a fair game.
Trap me a cat and then roll away in 10minutes and hey, it's just, so easy.
The hardest part to me is cleaningthe trap after and sanitizing it.
That is the hardest part to me.
Trapping a cat, bringing it to thevet, cover all that stuff, everything.
(11:59):
Piece of cake.
Cleaning the trap afterwards,sanitizing it, getting all the
tape and the newspaper off.
That's the hardest part of trapping.
Dixie (12:06):
What are some of the misconceptions that people might
have about the behavioral changeswith spaying and neutering animals?
Rachel (12:14):
A lot of people like, they use the excuse, they'll get fat and
lazy, you can't use that excuse.
You're still overfeeding them.
So yes, like the hormone and, levels ofchange and stuff like that, and, they
will gain weight, but you can adjust thefood and overall that saves you money.
Less food, in the long run.
I'm trying to think of some of theexcuses that people have told us.
Some people just say they don't believein it for religious reasons, but there's
(12:34):
just, there's too many winning thingsto not do it, like the behavior changes.
It just doesn't make any sense to me
Dixie (12:41):
I know that you do have some of these rabies shot drives, I guess
that's what you call 'em, where youwill offer spay and neuter to people.
Rachel (12:50):
Yeah.
Dixie (12:50):
What is some of the feedback that you hear about that, of why
they don't wanna get it done?
Rachel (12:54):
A lot of them are the typical men that are just like,
I'm not doing that to my dog.
I can't do it.
No.
I would never.
But then there's even thisone husband was like, I want
to do it and my wife will not.
That is her baby.
She loves that dog more than me.
And then she'll say I want grand puppies.
I'm like, it's not the same.
It's so infuriating because if they'recoming to a rabies drive, for the
(13:15):
most part, they need that low cost.
They can't afford it.
So it's already like a financialstrain and that's why they're going
to the rabies drive for some of 'em.
Or they're like me and they have 15dogs and you gotta save where you can.
But they already need things tobe low cost and it's like already
frustrating that it's like a lotof the things that you see skin
conditions one of my dachshunds,I got Chloe, she was like bald.
(13:38):
We were doing all the shampoos,the antibiotics, everything.
Spayed, skin is beautiful, likegorgeous, no more hair issues.
It was all hormonal,dermatitis, like issues.
So some of the people that comewith these animals, they're
like, oh, he's got all these skinissues and oh, this has happened.
If you fixed them, the skin issueswould probably resolve some,
(13:59):
So like a lot of the things thatthey can't afford or or she's in heat
and this is infected, or just thedifferent things that come up with.
And if you spayed them in the longrun, they'd be overall healthy
and it'd be less money for you,
Be less veterinary expenses.
Dixie (14:13):
Yeah, definitely.
I hear a lot of people too, likeyou said with the grand puppies,
that people wanna experience thebirth of either kittens or puppies.
They can foster.
Yeah.
There's no, no reason to have 'em whenthere's all these rescue groups that need
fosters.
Rachel (14:30):
I mean it's super frustrating.
I overheard a thing yesterday and justbeing where I am, like where our office
we're located inside Jefferson Feed.
There was a person in there yesterdaywanting to check the status of his dog.
It was already artificially inseminatedwith a breed of another dog.
So they're making a mutt.
Dixie (14:50):
Okay,
that's a good one.
Rachel (14:51):
And
it was 70 days, 'cause gestationperiods is about 60, 62, and they were
at 70 days and nothing had happened.
They didn't want to do X-raysbecause they didn't want the
radiation to hurt the puppies, but.
What's so frustrating is one of thebreeds that was in that dog, there's
probably seven of 'em, that one ofour board members, one of our board
(15:14):
members helps us with the rescuedogs, is trying to move up north to
Kaleidoscope canines, Siberian Huskies.
They become like the newpit bull in the shelter.
And I'm just like, you're breeding moremutts of this breed that we already have.
The Huskies, there's so many of 'em inthe shelter that are on at risk of being
(15:34):
euthanized and you're creating five andsix more because it's cute and we wanna
have puppies and we wanna have babies.
And I'm like, what about the onesthat you wanna go hold the veins
of the ones at the shelter that areprobably end up being euthanized?
If you really want grandpuppies just rescue some.
It's the same thing,
Dixie (15:52):
yep, exactly.
. Rachel (15:53):
It's like you pick all your friends to be like your family.
Having all those puppies and dogs,the ones that are already homeless,
already born, already needing love,those can be your grand puppies.
Dixie (16:04):
Exactly.
You said something about allthe Huskies getting surrendered.
So I know people do surrenderfor some strange reasons.
Sometimes
Rachel (16:13):
it's not even that they're surrendering 'em, I guess they would.
The thing that we're facingright now in Jefferson Parish.
We only have the West Bank shelter.
They are in the processof building the East Bank.
They have the plans working.
I have seen them on the desk.
So I know it's coming, but a lot ofpeople, they won't drive to the West Bank
and they're just letting 'em go stray.
And then it falls on us.
So like you and I are driving by and oh,there's a dog and we want to go pick it
(16:36):
up or save it or scan it for microchip.
Of course it's intact has nomicrochip, no one's looking for it.
Dixie (16:42):
Exactly.
Now what are some of the commonsituations where the Jefferson SPCA would
step into actually rescue an animal?
Rachel (16:55):
I try not to, if that makes sense.
Dixie (16:57):
Okay.
Rachel (16:58):
I rather.
Keep an animal in a homeif the person wants it.
And I could offer them care.
If they can't financially afford it.
Like my ultimate goal is like if wehave the money, the donations to afford
it, I'd rather keep it in the home.
And then let me offer to help you fix it.
I can offer, if it has a skincondition certain shampoos and there
are things that we can do to savemoney to help you keep that pet.
(17:20):
I usually try not to get involved.
Sometimes like we have where somebody'semailed and they're desperate
and they can't get an appointmentat the shelter to surrender.
'cause the appointments ownersurrenders are now scheduled for
Jefferson Parish animal shelter.
And so they're scheduled three andfour months out and some people
can't wait and they're desperate.
And so we'll say Hey, can you send usa full bio, full pictures, vet records?
(17:41):
Like you have to send useverything to prove that like you
legitimately cannot keep the animaland you really need our help.
Not just, oh, I'm moving.
Oh, I can't get anymore.
You shouldn't have got it in the firstplace, and we always wanna take any
of our animals that we've adoptedout, we'll always wanna take 'em back.
Dixie (17:56):
Yeah.
'cause I do see that seems to be a newtrend now, where people have the means to
take care of an animal, but it's like theyjust wanna get out of the responsibility
of taking care of an animal.
So they think that's what rescues are for.
Rachel (18:10):
Yeah.
Oh, I wanna donate my animal to you.
That happens all the time.
Every week they wannadonate their rabbits to us.
It's Easter, I'm gonnadonate my rabbits to you.
Absolutely not.
You're not doing me any favors,you're not donating anything to me.
Like never ever.
When you're bringing an animal to anyanimal rescue, shelter organization,
you're not helping them by any means.
I don't think there's any organizationperiod across the entire country
(18:32):
that if you ever gave them ananimal that you thought you were
donating, you were helping them.
You're not helping anyone.
I go to bed every night.
Dreaming.
Of a shortage of animals.
I just think that wouldbe the coolest thing ever.
Dixie (18:45):
So how do you address that when somebody wants to donate
their rabbit, cat or dog to you?
Rachel (18:50):
Unfortunately, if we don't have the space sometimes,
I can post it on our pet finder tohelp you, do a courtesy posting.
I know I offer there-homing groups to them.
I try to, ask 'em whythey're surrendering it.
Sometimes we'll take the Guinea pigs andthe rabbits if we have the space, just
because we know they're so delicate andwe don't want 'em get in the wrong hands.
We're scared that people wouldfeed small animals to like, snakes
(19:12):
or dogs or anything like that.
So sometimes small animals we willtake, because we do have the room.
Dogs, it's occasionally cats.
It's just, it's on a case by case basis.
If we have the means, like we had nosenior cats and so somebody wanted
to surrender their senior cats.
So like we took it because.
We had so many seniors wantingcats and I was like, I'm not
(19:32):
gonna adopt a kitten to a senior.
I can't do it.
So I had no seniors.
So it's just on a case by case basis.
If we can help, if we have themeans, if I think that I can find
that animal home, then I'll do it.
Spay neuter is supposed to bewhere I'm supposed to stay.
Even though like I want to rescue becausethe same thing about the whole completion.
Like I can get an animal intorescue, I can get it healthy
(19:52):
and I can find it a home.
It's like a sense of satisfactionthat I completed a task.
And spay neuter.
I can't like always 'cause of thepeople that have to fight with a grand
puppies and all the other excuses.
Dixie (20:03):
Can you do a quick overview of all of the spay neuter programs
that the Jefferson SPCA offers?
Rachel (20:11):
Yes.
So we have the Fix a Fee line program andthe vets that are on that program, they.
Some do owned cats and feral cats.
Some of the vets on our programonly do feral cats which we're
grateful for all of our vets.
We know that some of 'em our vets arecorporations and so they can only
have a certain amount and some vetscan't take the hit on the commission.
(20:32):
So I totally get it.
Most of our vets are locally owned, butsometimes some of the corporate ones will
take the hit if they'll do it for Feralsand it'll be the vet that truly cares
and says, Hey I won't take the commissionbecause I wanna help the community.
So that's pretty awesome.
So it's fix a feline and that'sfor owned cats and feral cats.
And then the Fix a canine program.
(20:54):
I'm trying to expand and get more vetson the program because they're booked
out like at least two to three months.
And I know that's, hard.
We just added another small vet to ourprogram and I told her, the way I got her
to be agree to be in the program, it'slike she was scared to do large dogs.
And I said, you can agree to be on theprogram and just do dogs under 40 pounds.
I don't want to make a vet dosomething they don't wanna do
(21:14):
or don't feel comfortable doing.
So that's the fix A canine program.
We have it it's like by weight category,but if the vet's not comfortable
with it, like big dogs put nextto their listing on the website.
Dogs under 40 pounds only.
So that's fix a canine oh the fixa feline, it's a copay of $15.
If it's an owned cat,you get no vaccinations.
(21:35):
That's a cat brought in,a carrier, a feral cat.
There's no copay.
Must be in a trap.
Must be covered.
It's in the ordinance.
You gotta cover your cat'speople and that is free.
And we vaccin 'em with FVRCPand rabies . Owned cats get no
vaccines feral Cats get both.
Fix a canine, the copay is $60.
(21:58):
But right now I'm coveringtheir copay for pit bulls.
German Shepherds and SiberianHuskies, because those two are now
becoming so common in the shelter.
They're becoming like thepit bulls of the shelter.
And then we also have anotherprogram, which there are not many
vets that are on that program.
(22:18):
We don't it's not one that we advertise,I guess it's called the Fixed Me, and
that is a vet that wants to participatein some form of the program, but
they can't give like the discountas much as like the other vets can.
So it's where we both agreeon a same amount discount.
So if they will discount,$50, then we'll give them $50.
So then the pet owner only gets ahundred dollars off, essentially.
(22:42):
So it's like a discount.
Chateau Veterinary Hospital is onthat program and Metiaire Small
Animal Hospital is on that program.
So that's a way that they canoffer their clients a discount for
spay neuter, but not have to takethe hit if they can't afford it.
I don't blame 'em.
'cause like when you have to be reallygood at spay neuter and it's surgery.
I know that some people are scared of it.
Like Dr.
Ridel with furry friends, she'sprobably of the 130,000 cats we
(23:05):
fixed in the program, probablylike 15 or 20,000 of them.
Dr.
Ridel is done by herself.
Dixie (23:11):
Wow.
Rachel (23:11):
She's a beast.
Dixie (23:12):
Yeah.
That's crazy.
Just to think of that number.
Rachel (23:14):
Yeah.
And the program's only beenaround since June of 2011
Dixie (23:18):
and just
How many cats would that have been?
Yeah.
If they weren't spayed or neutered.
Just thinking about it, that's
just like crazy.
Rachel (23:25):
I'm trying to think, I'm trying to think of the numbers on the board.
'cause I just updated them the other day.
We're at close to 125,000 maybetotal since the program started.
But like 30,000 of that is.
Dogs and 70, 80,000 or whatevercats, but like 15,000 of 'em.
I wouldn't doubt it if it was Dr.
Ridel.
Dixie (23:45):
Wow.
Rachel (23:46):
And then South Shore's a big powerhouse, but they they have five vets.
And whenever I look at thewhole month total, half of
it would be like South Shore.
'cause they did that many,
Yeah.
So they have to be, you have tobe good at surgery and get it.
So dr.
Wisdom's fast obviously, because shewas at the shelter for so many years.
Dixie (24:01):
Yeah.
And I know when they do a neuter too, theycan just do that in like a few minutes.
Rachel (24:05):
Yeah.
A cat neuter
is about seven to eightminutes . If you're good at it.
I want more vets to be inthe program, but I want to do
what they're comfortable with.
But then I applaud the vets that like,I know that work for corporate and they
have these, quotas they have to meetand they're willing to take the hit.
Whenever I signed up, vetcototal care on veterans.
And they said this isthe lowest they could go.
And I was like, I can'tpay more than this.
(24:26):
This is what the contract is.
It's the number we have set.
I can't change it.
And she went back to her vetsand they were like, let's do it.
So I just thought it was just soempowering to be like, Hey, we just
wanna help people spay and neutertheir pets, because some really
understand how important it is.
So I was like, they'renot gonna be on it.
And then she called me andshe's no, they don't care.
They'll take the hit.
And I was like, what?
That's amazing.
(24:46):
Yeah, it just made me really happy.
You really care,
I get it.
Like I a lot of people argue about howmuch vet care is and how they don't
agree with it and how expensive it is.
But at the same time, like I canspeak from personal experience.
My friend just finished vet schoolnot that long ago, and I wanna
say her student loan debt is,like 25 or 27,000 in tuition.
(25:12):
Four years of that.
So it's like a littleover a hundred thousand.
Dixie (25:15):
Yeah.
Rachel (25:15):
And then my husband just finished medical school and he paid
it was like 32,000 or so per year.
So it's like 120,000.
So it's only like a 10 or$15,000 difference between
vet school and med school.
Vets will never make whatmedicals like doctors do, and
they have the same amount of debt.
(25:38):
So just think about it.
I know that the suicide rate is very high.
In doctors too.
It's very high in vets, but they stillhave the same amount of debt, they'll
never make the same amount of money.
They'll be struggling to pay thatstudent loan debt off to be your doctor.
Dixie (25:52):
Yeah.
I remember when I was a teenager, thevet that we used to go to, he actually
told us, 'cause I was interested ingoing to vet school and he told me,
look, if you wanna go to vet school,just don't go in it for the money.
Cause there's no money in it.
Rachel (26:05):
Yep.
That, and that's what everybody says.
Shelter medicine, they are paying prettyhigh for shelter veterinary medicine.
But then you don't get touse all of your skills.
So that's like the downside of it.
But it's just some people wanna do it,but then if you lose your skills my
husband said he'd never wanna be a vet.
Think about all the differentanatomies you have to learn.
You're not just like when you'rea doctor, human doctor, you're
just learning the human body.
(26:26):
Yeah.
But when you're a vet, you'rehaving to learn so many different
bodies and all I just can't imagine.
So it's gotta be so much harder.
But people get so mad at vetsand they're like, you don't wanna
help, or you don't want to do that.
It's not that they don't wanna help.
Like their livelihood depends on it too.
Like they have to get paid.
Dixie (26:42):
Absolutely.
Rachel (26:43):
They go through so much sadness, just like all of us in
rescue and like they need to get paid.
They need, to have thatquality of life as well.
So I protect my vets.
I don't like when people are mean to them.
I'm like a mama bear to my vets.
I hate that whenever somebody trapping ora cat or something will come and they'll
post something on one of our communitygroup pages and say something very awful
(27:05):
and mama Bear Rachel will come out.
Don't talk about our vets
Dixie (27:08):
It is a very stressful thing.
And I can only imagine, 'causethey're having to, euthanize animals
that are coming in that are sick.
Need it.
But that's still gotta take a toll on you.
Rachel (27:18):
Yeah.
I don't wanna say that itdoes get easier because I know
some people it's a hard time.
I do love to fospice.
That's my favorite thing.
I love old dogs.
Give me old dachshunds, geriatricproblems all day, every day.
I love having 15 dogs.
Is it exhausting?
Yes.
But I love it.
But whenever they pass away,like I don't usually cry anymore.
(27:39):
And I feel like my husband had to buildme a shelf and I have more passed away
deceased pets than I do alive now.
The only one I really lost it andcried so hard, but most recently
was I had to do one for behavioralreasons and he was barely like, two
And that one, like Dr.
Wisdom was like, are you okay?
You never cry.
It just sucked.
(28:00):
'cause he was so young.
Like he would bite me in hissleep and drew blood and then
like you could put him in a
crate
and then he would screambloody murder all night.
Then he attacked one of my dogsin the middle of the night.
'cause I have a doggy door.
'cause old dogs, no offense,you gotta go when you gotta go.
So I have a doggy door and heattacked one of my dogs overnight.
So that wasn't good.
And then he tried to bite my husbandin the face and that was it because
(28:22):
he bite my husband in the face.
He can't read x-raysand he can't have a job.
Dixie (28:25):
Yeah.
My aunt actually adopted a dog.
And it was like that thedog ended up having a tumor.
And it was the tumor thatwas causing her aggression.
And there was nothing that could be done.
Rachel (28:36):
Yeah, that makes sense.
I've had to do one of those too.
But he had nothing.
We checked all those things andthankfully my vet agreed with it
and so I was like, that's it.
I can't, like I tried, like hewent to two different homes.
He bit a coworker.
It sounded like I didn't
try and I couldn't passit off on someone else
So like that one suckedand I did cry a lot.
He like, he was so smart andtrained, like maybe he could have
(28:58):
been like someone's drug dog orsomething like a police officer.
'cause he loved to work,but it was just difficult.
But, it was strange.
And he was a small dog dachsund mix.
Somebody, something made on the West Bank,he came from the L-A-S-P-C-A actually.
That's the thing that bothers me themost is like the different designer dogs
they're trying to make and then they'rebecoming like all the behavioral problems.
Dixie (29:21):
Oh yeah.
Definitely.
Same thing like withthe poor Persian cats.
With the eye issues and thenasal issues that they have.
And same thing with some ofthe little like what is it?
The Boston Terriers,
Rachel (29:32):
if you're getting down too far in the line and breeding
things that you shouldn't be, or,they don't care or what's the skin
thing that you get demodex whatever?
Uhhuh.
So if they have it, they're like,don't ever breed that dog again.
And people still do it.
It doesn't make sense.
Like the facts don't matter.
Like they don't care.
I don't want dis breeders orsay that I don't like them.
'cause I do know a veryresponsible breeder.
(29:54):
That breeds dachshunds.
Like she's obsessed with them,but they're all in her house.
This is her master bedroom and right nextto her master bedroom is the puppy room.
And they really are like her babies.
But you can't adopt from herunless you have like another one.
'cause she doesn't wantsingle dog syndrome.
You're not allowed to breed they have tobe spayed, neutered within so many months.
She has very strict rules.
(30:15):
She doesn't want you to get onestart your own train of breeding.
She's no.
Don't do something if you're notgonna do the research behind it.
But she's also still in rescue, so shestill takes old geriatric dachshunds,
just like I do so I don't love it.
But I wish more breeders werelike her, like she will always
make sure hers are okay.
She will always take them back.
Like, why can't we have stricterlaws that say if you're breeding,
(30:38):
you have to microchip it.
If it ends up at the shelter, it's yours.
It comes back to you like, Ilove that we have the Breeders'
Permit Law in Jefferson Parish.
Only one permit's ever been sold.
Dixie (30:53):
Really?
Rachel (30:53):
One.
Dixie (30:55):
I
did not know that.
Wow.
Rachel (30:57):
One,
Dixie (30:58):
wow.
Rachel (30:58):
That is it.
So if you know anyone inJefferson Parish that is breeding
animals, I can tell you 99.9%
chance they are not doing it legally.
Dixie (31:10):
Wow.
That blows my mind.
Yeah, I did not know that.
Rachel (31:13):
Yeah.
So that's, like you're allowed, I thinkone accidental litter, but if you just
don't know about what happens, which iscrazy to think I don't know, four month
old cats at four months can get pregnant.
Mothers and sons will mate.
That's all the questions thatpeople are like, that can't happen.
They're mother and son,or they're so young.
No.
(31:34):
That, just doesn't matter.
But in Jefferson Parish, I just,I wish there could be stricter.
Because it shouldn't fallon us to only clean it up.
It's, it's our parish money that's takingcare of the shelter, but why do we
have to clean up everyone else's mess?
Dixie (31:52):
And I think that is what I'm hearing consistently across
the board with everybody that I'vetalked to that's involved in rescue.
They say the same thing.
There needs to be some kind of laws thathelp with the overpopulation problem.
Rachel (32:05):
Yeah.
Even if they have the laws, like theyneed help enforcing 'em, like I know
we have like humane officers, butif we had a whole JPSO, like humane
division, I would throw a party.
I don't know, , I'd probablybe like Betty White, just happy
endlessly, I just seen all thesuffering and like seeing this stuff.
Jeff Dorson sees it allover the whole state.
He posts those pictures of differentthings and like those rural parishes
(32:25):
like crushes me to think that like anyonewould ever think that the conditions that
they have that animal in are acceptable.
But even people that are inour own backyard are doing it.
Like I know one of the dogs I have,whenever it came into the shelter
in 2021 he was horrible shape.
He's like a cocker spaniel mix.
Never want to get one of those again.
(32:46):
The ears are the worstthings in the world.
. But he came from a over hoarding breedingcase of 67 dogs and it was in Kenner.
Dixie (32:54):
Really?
Rachel (32:55):
Kenner.
67 dogs in one house.
Dixie (33:00):
All right, Animal Posse.
That's it for this segment, but thechat with Rachel keeps going, so stay
tuned for part two in our next episode.
And that's all the time wehave for today's episode.
If you are in animal rescue, or ifyou know someone that has a story that
should be told, please contact us.
We would love to haveyou or them on the show
(33:22):
. Thanks for listening, and pleasejoin us next week as we continue to
explore the world of animal rescue.
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
people and rescues making adifference in the lives of animals.
Today we are joined with Rachelfrom the Jefferson, SPCA.
And I'm glad to have you here.
I wanted to have you on the show 'causeI specifically wanted to discuss spay
and neuter and the Jefferson SPCA doeshave some really good programs for that.
(00:25):
And also because you have hadsome concerns about the overall
state of animal welfare in
Rachel (00:31):
the community.
. Definitely.
I can say when I first startedvolunteering for Jefferson Parish
Animal Shelter 13 years ago now,so February of 2012, I remember
thinking, like I became a volunteer.
I became addicted.
I was going every single day tophotograph the adoptable animals.
And it became like a passion.
(00:53):
Fast forward a couple years, andthen I get married and I remember
writing in my vows for my husbandthat I wanted a French bulldog.
If a rescue french bulldog came init'd be so rare, but I wanted it.
Now I don't like the breed at all now thatI've really gotten to know them, but they
come in four or five a week, if not more.
Dixie (01:09):
Oh, really?
I didn't know it was that many
. Rachel (01:11):
Yeah.
I never thought that would be a problem.
I thought that I don't know, it wasjust the things that I thought would
never be a problem are a problem.
Golden doodles.
People always wanted a goldendoodle.
They're in the shelter now, buteven rescues don't want 'em.
So the things that I thoughtwouldn't be a problem in 2012 or
2015, that's when I got married.
They now are,
(01:31):
We're getting worse.
Dixie (01:32):
Same thing with Persian cats.
Rachel (01:33):
Yes.
Dixie (01:34):
Bengals.
What is your role at the
Jefferson SPCA?
Rachel (01:38):
So I'm the program's director.
I was originally hired fiveyears ago for the spay and neuter
program and the rabies part of it.
In Jefferson Parish youpay a rabies license.
So when you bring your petto get vaccinated at the
vet, you pay a license fee.
That license fee comes to us.
It's voted on in the ordinancesand it's split half for spay
neuter, half goes to the shelter.
(02:00):
So that's how we have thespay neuter, program.
And people from like otherstates, Michigan contact me and
email me like, how do we do this?
So we always share our information'cause we want other people to do it.
And then a couple years ago,maybe two years ago, I took on
being the accountant as well.
I love doing that because it'sactually a task I can start and finish.
So mentally it helps me feel like Ido some kind of like completion of
(02:23):
something because I don't know thatspay neuter will ever not be needed.
Not that I don't want it to not beneeded, but it's just, it's so hard
to convince people if it now havinglike people to support you with laws.
It's just, it's so hard.
I also handle adoptions.
I do it all fundraising, I do everything.
(02:43):
I love it.
But some days are really hard.
Dixie (02:46):
That's how it is in rescue for sure.
What is the mission of the Jefferson SPCA?
Rachel (02:52):
Our mission, even though it's not up to date is the spay neuter.
Definitely.
Our mission is actually somethingthat our board president came up with
on a whim maybe 15, 20 years ago.
And he's I just wannahelp pets be in homes.
But it's more than that.
For me, I think the front runner,and we have to talk about it, is
that it needs to be spay neuter.
It needs to be reducing the pet populationin our or homeless pet population in
(03:18):
Jefferson Parish through spay neuter.
Dixie (03:21):
Now, can you give us a sense of the scale of animal
overpopulation in Jefferson Parish?
Rachel (03:28):
I don't know specific numbers we're partners with J Paws
in the shelter, but I don't havethe specific numbers from them.
Like sometimes I ask for the data but
I can't think, like back in the day,I know there was probably 12,000
animals entering the shelter each year.
Whenever I first started volunteeringand the number has come down, I
(03:49):
think it's only, 4000-5000 animalsthat come in the shelter each year.
But I think that reason, it'salso skewed because of rescue.
So that's part of it.
So I think, like whenever I firststarted volunteering, you're thinking
like 10 to 12,000 animals thatcome in the shelter every year.
That's so crazy.
And now you see four to 5,000 andyou're like, okay, then we're improving.
(04:12):
But that's not counting you, that'snot counting Joan with spay mart.
That's not counting Amy of a tail in need.
That's not counting us.
So we are interfering thatthey're not going into the shelter
because we're stepping in andthey're going into rescue first.
And so that's why part of me thinks,I can't say officially, I don't know
that maybe parish officials think thatwe don't need the laws that we do.
(04:33):
Because the numbers aren't thatbad at the shelter anymore.
But all the rescues are interfering.
So
like we are helping theload by having a rescue.
So we're helping.
The parish talks y ou're notspending as much in the parish money,
which I mean it's more expensive.
So like we're still spending lotsof money on the the five or 6,000
animals that go in every year.
But I don't think the parish reallyrealizes how many numbers like that, the
(04:57):
true numbers are of the homeless pets thatkeep going because of rescues, interfering
so they don't end up at the shelter.
Dixie (05:03):
Yeah.
'cause
All the rescues are full.
Rachel (05:06):
Yeah.
Joan, and like with Spay Mart, Imean they were doing an average
of 700 kittens a year, right?
Yeah.
I think a
tail in need
broke 500 last year.
I think we did maybe 210.
So that's like a thousand.
But there's other people likethe, whenever they try to do
surrender prevention so peopledon't bring 'em to the shelter.
So other rescues breedspecific rescues help too.
(05:27):
So those are out there.
I guess shelter animals count, if you werereporting that, but I wish there was a way
that rescues, you tell your numbers, yousay out there, you put 'em on public, on
social media and your emails and stuff.
What you did.
But that number is not going intoaccount with the parish to say,
Hey, this many homeless animalsare still a problem in our parish.
Dixie (05:43):
Yeah.
That
makes sense
You also do cat trapping for the TNR.
Yes.
So how many cats are youseeing being trapped a week?
Rachel (05:52):
Not as many as I'd like.
When I first started in 2020 myboard member she wanted me to
learn like our vice president waslike, I want you to understand,
like trapping, just so you know.
And I was like, okay,like I'll go with you.
So I learned maybe like a monthor two after I started and then.
That was right when the pandemichappened, everything got shut down.
All these events I had scheduled totalk about spay neuter couldn't happen.
(06:15):
'cause I couldn't go to the events.
So I started trapping myself and I trappedwith the help my friends Lisa and Sue,
I trapped maybe 650 cats in six months.
And it's just crazy.
So I know like in the program, likeevery week maybe a hundred cats or
so come through, like as I processthat on the accounting side are
coming, but I wish there was more.
(06:37):
Like I can help people get moreappointments and we can do the
mass appointments and spayMart does sometimes I'll
do the clinics on Saturdays.
Like we can find the appointments.
It's just not enough people trapping.
Dixie (06:48):
Yeah.
I find a lot of people they'llask for help and they're not
willing to do anything at all.
Rachel (06:55):
Oh, that's my favorite.
Dixie (06:55):
Not even watching the trap.
'cause I've had thatsituation where I'm close by.
I'll come get the cat.
Just keep an eye on the trap.
Just call me when thecat goes in the trap.
And they're not even willing to do that.
Rachel (07:06):
Yeah.
Like I made a Google form.
I don't advertise as much as I used towhere you could fill out the information,
you could put like your address,how many cats if you're the feeder.
And then one of the questions waslike, if we come out there and set
the trap, can you at least watch it?
And then it was like, yes or no, I'm notable to, I'm disabled or no, I'm scared.
Or something like that.
And majority of the time everyone put No
Dixie (07:28):
really?
crazy.
Rachel (07:29):
It blows my mind because like I, when I started, first started
learning, like Lisa, my friend, sheused to feed a colony of Ron Williams.
And it was so funny to watch herfeed that colony because whenever new
kid shows up, she put trapped down.
She'd put the food in it and thenshe'd tell all the other cats they
would go near and she's get away.
Don't do it.
And then they would listen to her'cause they were like, her cats, they
were used to her, Hey, this is mom.
(07:50):
She says, no, get away from it.
And the new kid's oh hey, what's this?
And goes right in the trap immediately.
And it's so much easierfor the feeder to trap 'em.
And they always think that it'sno, they'll never forgive me.
And they'll be mad at me and I hurt 'em.
And it's not even, it'snot that big of a deal.
Like I'm telling you, cats are forgiving.
Most animals, you have to think aboutthe abuse that they've been through.
And like all the animals that we'verescued, the dogs like that we've
(08:13):
rescued, I mean like the beaglesdefinitely they've all been abused.
They are so loving and forgiving,and I think most animals are.
And if you trap 'em after theirhormones settled and everything gets
better and they're not so anxious,they're gonna come back around, give
them like a couple days at the most.
And like one feeder, I'vehad the hardest time.
(08:33):
I love her.
I've helped her so many times, but I'mlike, you go there every single day,
you're in better physical shape than I am.
You need to be trapping your cats.
So now she'll do it.
She'll be like one a week, butit makes a huge difference if she
gets that one before it's pregnant.
You're saving five to 10 lives,maybe hundreds if you count
the ones that it would have.
Dixie (08:54):
How many pregnant cats were spayed last week?
Rachel (08:59):
I don't even know.
Pretty much everyone.
So whenever I processed the vouchersto do payments, like pretty much
every female last week out of, 50 to75 were either in heat or pregnant.
So the one colony I was talkingabout that's when I was trapping
in 2020 and it was a colony.
Behind Labarre Road, inthat industrial area.
And I went to trap for a nice coupleand we trapped 15 cats and they were
(09:22):
letting 'em live like in this warehouse.
They were totally fine with 'em.
They were coyotes, so they wereokay with the cats being there.
They wanted to keep 'em in thisfenced in area, but they just grew,
the colony grew so fast and theywere just like, I can't believe it.
And then the wife said, like,whenever you trap 'em, if they're
pregnant, please don't tell me.
So I was like, okay.
So I trapped the 15 cats.
We went to that vet, 10 of them aremale, five are female, and every
(09:44):
single female was pregnant with five.
Dixie (09:46):
Yeah that's what I was gonna say.
At least four or five.
That's the average.
Rachel (09:50):
And whenever I released them back, the husband said,
don't tell her, but tell me.
And I said, yeah, youwould've had 25 more cats.
Yep.
So eventually he did tell her, andlike she came in and she cried.
She was devastated, but sheunderstood because we are so broke.
Doing all the things to feed 'em.
You can't touch 'em all, so then youcan't put flea prevention on 'em.
So then you need to put flea treatmentin your yard, but you gotta do
(10:11):
something that's safe or keep 'emout the yard for, a couple hours
while the flea prevention dries.
Or if you're spraying something foryour yard, it just becomes out of hand.
Dixie (10:19):
Yeah, definitely.
Rachel (10:20):
And they're capable.
That's the thing that bothers me.
And the excuses of people notwanting to trap is oh, I'm in my
sixties, or I'm in my fifties.
I'm like, do you know the majority of myvolunteer trappers are in their seventies?
And Karen Lemoine she's a beast and shetraps with a drop trap every single time.
Like I use a drop trap for injured cats.
I rarely bring it out tolike trap, just regular cats.
(10:40):
She'll pull it out and just go dropit out at someone's house, set it up,
feed 'em under there for a week, andthen get all six of 'em in one second,
and then just pull the drop trap.
And then she's oh yeah, justtransfer me to individual cages.
I can't imagine the circus of five orsix cats under a big drop trap, like
flying around, flopping everywhere.
And like Karen in her seventies,got her own health issues
working like two and three jobs.
Also a pet sitter out here doing theLord's work, so , the excuses drive me
(11:05):
crazy because you've lived there, like yousaid, even if you just set the trap and
if I can just put it on your porch, youcould watch a video on YouTube easily.
I could swing back by and pickit up whenever you trap it.
I don't mind transporting.
That's not the problem, but Ican't sit there and watch it.
And you live there.
You go there every day.
If it's a place somewhere else.
It just doesn't make any senseto me why people don't trap.
Dixie (11:27):
Yeah.
And even with dealing with thetrap, it's so easy to just, it's.
It's a no brainer.
You just learn one time how toset the trap and then that's it.
Rachel (11:35):
I've done it where I've trapped on the sidewalk.
I'll have a trap in my back of mycar and I'm like, oh, there's a cat.
Oh, it looks pregnant.
And then I'm like let me put thistogether real quick, and I'll
pull over and put it out on thesidewalk 'cause it's a fair game.
Trap me a cat and then roll away in 10minutes and hey, it's just, so easy.
The hardest part to me is cleaningthe trap after and sanitizing it.
That is the hardest part to me.
Trapping a cat, bringing it to thevet, cover all that stuff, everything.
(11:59):
Piece of cake.
Cleaning the trap afterwards,sanitizing it, getting all the
tape and the newspaper off.
That's the hardest part of trapping.
Dixie (12:06):
What are some of the misconceptions that people might
have about the behavioral changeswith spaying and neutering animals?
Rachel (12:14):
A lot of people like, they use the excuse, they'll get fat and
lazy, you can't use that excuse.
You're still overfeeding them.
So yes, like the hormone and, levels ofchange and stuff like that, and, they
will gain weight, but you can adjust thefood and overall that saves you money.
Less food, in the long run.
I'm trying to think of some of theexcuses that people have told us.
Some people just say they don't believein it for religious reasons, but there's
(12:34):
just, there's too many winning thingsto not do it, like the behavior changes.
It just doesn't make any sense to me
Dixie (12:41):
I know that you do have some of these rabies shot drives, I guess
that's what you call 'em, where youwill offer spay and neuter to people.
Rachel (12:50):
Yeah.
Dixie (12:50):
What is some of the feedback that you hear about that, of why
they don't wanna get it done?
Rachel (12:54):
A lot of them are the typical men that are just like,
I'm not doing that to my dog.
I can't do it.
No.
I would never.
But then there's even thisone husband was like, I want
to do it and my wife will not.
That is her baby.
She loves that dog more than me.
And then she'll say I want grand puppies.
I'm like, it's not the same.
It's so infuriating because if they'recoming to a rabies drive, for the
(13:15):
most part, they need that low cost.
They can't afford it.
So it's already like a financialstrain and that's why they're going
to the rabies drive for some of 'em.
Or they're like me and they have 15dogs and you gotta save where you can.
But they already need things tobe low cost and it's like already
frustrating that it's like a lotof the things that you see skin
conditions one of my dachshunds,I got Chloe, she was like bald.
(13:38):
We were doing all the shampoos,the antibiotics, everything.
Spayed, skin is beautiful, likegorgeous, no more hair issues.
It was all hormonal,dermatitis, like issues.
So some of the people that comewith these animals, they're
like, oh, he's got all these skinissues and oh, this has happened.
If you fixed them, the skin issueswould probably resolve some,
(13:59):
So like a lot of the things thatthey can't afford or or she's in heat
and this is infected, or just thedifferent things that come up with.
And if you spayed them in the longrun, they'd be overall healthy
and it'd be less money for you,
Be less veterinary expenses.
Dixie (14:13):
Yeah, definitely.
I hear a lot of people too, likeyou said with the grand puppies,
that people wanna experience thebirth of either kittens or puppies.
They can foster.
Yeah.
There's no, no reason to have 'em whenthere's all these rescue groups that need
fosters.
Rachel (14:30):
I mean it's super frustrating.
I overheard a thing yesterday and justbeing where I am, like where our office
we're located inside Jefferson Feed.
There was a person in there yesterdaywanting to check the status of his dog.
It was already artificially inseminatedwith a breed of another dog.
So they're making a mutt.
Dixie (14:50):
Okay,
that's a good one.
Rachel (14:51):
And
it was 70 days, 'cause gestationperiods is about 60, 62, and they were
at 70 days and nothing had happened.
They didn't want to do X-raysbecause they didn't want the
radiation to hurt the puppies, but.
What's so frustrating is one of thebreeds that was in that dog, there's
probably seven of 'em, that one ofour board members, one of our board
(15:14):
members helps us with the rescuedogs, is trying to move up north to
Kaleidoscope canines, Siberian Huskies.
They become like the newpit bull in the shelter.
And I'm just like, you're breeding moremutts of this breed that we already have.
The Huskies, there's so many of 'em inthe shelter that are on at risk of being
(15:34):
euthanized and you're creating five andsix more because it's cute and we wanna
have puppies and we wanna have babies.
And I'm like, what about the onesthat you wanna go hold the veins
of the ones at the shelter that areprobably end up being euthanized?
If you really want grandpuppies just rescue some.
It's the same thing,
Dixie (15:52):
yep, exactly.
. Rachel (15:53):
It's like you pick all your friends to be like your family.
Having all those puppies and dogs,the ones that are already homeless,
already born, already needing love,those can be your grand puppies.
Dixie (16:04):
Exactly.
You said something about allthe Huskies getting surrendered.
So I know people do surrenderfor some strange reasons.
Sometimes
Rachel (16:13):
it's not even that they're surrendering 'em, I guess they would.
The thing that we're facingright now in Jefferson Parish.
We only have the West Bank shelter.
They are in the processof building the East Bank.
They have the plans working.
I have seen them on the desk.
So I know it's coming, but a lot ofpeople, they won't drive to the West Bank
and they're just letting 'em go stray.
And then it falls on us.
So like you and I are driving by and oh,there's a dog and we want to go pick it
(16:36):
up or save it or scan it for microchip.
Of course it's intact has nomicrochip, no one's looking for it.
Dixie (16:42):
Exactly.
Now what are some of the commonsituations where the Jefferson SPCA would
step into actually rescue an animal?
Rachel (16:55):
I try not to, if that makes sense.
Dixie (16:57):
Okay.
Rachel (16:58):
I rather.
Keep an animal in a homeif the person wants it.
And I could offer them care.
If they can't financially afford it.
Like my ultimate goal is like if wehave the money, the donations to afford
it, I'd rather keep it in the home.
And then let me offer to help you fix it.
I can offer, if it has a skincondition certain shampoos and there
are things that we can do to savemoney to help you keep that pet.
(17:20):
I usually try not to get involved.
Sometimes like we have where somebody'semailed and they're desperate
and they can't get an appointmentat the shelter to surrender.
'cause the appointments ownersurrenders are now scheduled for
Jefferson Parish animal shelter.
And so they're scheduled three andfour months out and some people
can't wait and they're desperate.
And so we'll say Hey, can you send usa full bio, full pictures, vet records?
(17:41):
Like you have to send useverything to prove that like you
legitimately cannot keep the animaland you really need our help.
Not just, oh, I'm moving.
Oh, I can't get anymore.
You shouldn't have got it in the firstplace, and we always wanna take any
of our animals that we've adoptedout, we'll always wanna take 'em back.
Dixie (17:56):
Yeah.
'cause I do see that seems to be a newtrend now, where people have the means to
take care of an animal, but it's like theyjust wanna get out of the responsibility
of taking care of an animal.
So they think that's what rescues are for.
Rachel (18:10):
Yeah.
Oh, I wanna donate my animal to you.
That happens all the time.
Every week they wannadonate their rabbits to us.
It's Easter, I'm gonnadonate my rabbits to you.
Absolutely not.
You're not doing me any favors,you're not donating anything to me.
Like never ever.
When you're bringing an animal to anyanimal rescue, shelter organization,
you're not helping them by any means.
I don't think there's any organizationperiod across the entire country
(18:32):
that if you ever gave them ananimal that you thought you were
donating, you were helping them.
You're not helping anyone.
I go to bed every night.
Dreaming.
Of a shortage of animals.
I just think that wouldbe the coolest thing ever.
Dixie (18:45):
So how do you address that when somebody wants to donate
their rabbit, cat or dog to you?
Rachel (18:50):
Unfortunately, if we don't have the space sometimes,
I can post it on our pet finder tohelp you, do a courtesy posting.
I know I offer there-homing groups to them.
I try to, ask 'em whythey're surrendering it.
Sometimes we'll take the Guinea pigs andthe rabbits if we have the space, just
because we know they're so delicate andwe don't want 'em get in the wrong hands.
We're scared that people wouldfeed small animals to like, snakes
(19:12):
or dogs or anything like that.
So sometimes small animals we willtake, because we do have the room.
Dogs, it's occasionally cats.
It's just, it's on a case by case basis.
If we have the means, like we had nosenior cats and so somebody wanted
to surrender their senior cats.
So like we took it because.
We had so many seniors wantingcats and I was like, I'm not
(19:32):
gonna adopt a kitten to a senior.
I can't do it.
So I had no seniors.
So it's just on a case by case basis.
If we can help, if we have themeans, if I think that I can find
that animal home, then I'll do it.
Spay neuter is supposed to bewhere I'm supposed to stay.
Even though like I want to rescue becausethe same thing about the whole completion.
Like I can get an animal intorescue, I can get it healthy
(19:52):
and I can find it a home.
It's like a sense of satisfactionthat I completed a task.
And spay neuter.
I can't like always 'cause of thepeople that have to fight with a grand
puppies and all the other excuses.
Dixie (20:03):
Can you do a quick overview of all of the spay neuter programs
that the Jefferson SPCA offers?
Rachel (20:11):
Yes.
So we have the Fix a Fee line program andthe vets that are on that program, they.
Some do owned cats and feral cats.
Some of the vets on our programonly do feral cats which we're
grateful for all of our vets.
We know that some of 'em our vets arecorporations and so they can only
have a certain amount and some vetscan't take the hit on the commission.
(20:32):
So I totally get it.
Most of our vets are locally owned, butsometimes some of the corporate ones will
take the hit if they'll do it for Feralsand it'll be the vet that truly cares
and says, Hey I won't take the commissionbecause I wanna help the community.
So that's pretty awesome.
So it's fix a feline and that'sfor owned cats and feral cats.
And then the Fix a canine program.
(20:54):
I'm trying to expand and get more vetson the program because they're booked
out like at least two to three months.
And I know that's, hard.
We just added another small vet to ourprogram and I told her, the way I got her
to be agree to be in the program, it'slike she was scared to do large dogs.
And I said, you can agree to be on theprogram and just do dogs under 40 pounds.
I don't want to make a vet dosomething they don't wanna do
(21:14):
or don't feel comfortable doing.
So that's the fix A canine program.
We have it it's like by weight category,but if the vet's not comfortable
with it, like big dogs put nextto their listing on the website.
Dogs under 40 pounds only.
So that's fix a canine oh the fixa feline, it's a copay of $15.
If it's an owned cat,you get no vaccinations.
(21:35):
That's a cat brought in,a carrier, a feral cat.
There's no copay.
Must be in a trap.
Must be covered.
It's in the ordinance.
You gotta cover your cat'speople and that is free.
And we vaccin 'em with FVRCPand rabies . Owned cats get no
vaccines feral Cats get both.
Fix a canine, the copay is $60.
(21:58):
But right now I'm coveringtheir copay for pit bulls.
German Shepherds and SiberianHuskies, because those two are now
becoming so common in the shelter.
They're becoming like thepit bulls of the shelter.
And then we also have anotherprogram, which there are not many
vets that are on that program.
(22:18):
We don't it's not one that we advertise,I guess it's called the Fixed Me, and
that is a vet that wants to participatein some form of the program, but
they can't give like the discountas much as like the other vets can.
So it's where we both agreeon a same amount discount.
So if they will discount,$50, then we'll give them $50.
So then the pet owner only gets ahundred dollars off, essentially.
(22:42):
So it's like a discount.
Chateau Veterinary Hospital is onthat program and Metiaire Small
Animal Hospital is on that program.
So that's a way that they canoffer their clients a discount for
spay neuter, but not have to takethe hit if they can't afford it.
I don't blame 'em.
'cause like when you have to be reallygood at spay neuter and it's surgery.
I know that some people are scared of it.
Like Dr.
Ridel with furry friends, she'sprobably of the 130,000 cats we
(23:05):
fixed in the program, probablylike 15 or 20,000 of them.
Dr.
Ridel is done by herself.
Dixie (23:11):
Wow.
Rachel (23:11):
She's a beast.
Dixie (23:12):
Yeah.
That's crazy.
Just to think of that number.
Rachel (23:14):
Yeah.
And the program's only beenaround since June of 2011
Dixie (23:18):
and just
How many cats would that have been?
Yeah.
If they weren't spayed or neutered.
Just thinking about it, that's
just like crazy.
Rachel (23:25):
I'm trying to think, I'm trying to think of the numbers on the board.
'cause I just updated them the other day.
We're at close to 125,000 maybetotal since the program started.
But like 30,000 of that is.
Dogs and 70, 80,000 or whatevercats, but like 15,000 of 'em.
I wouldn't doubt it if it was Dr.
Ridel.
Dixie (23:45):
Wow.
Rachel (23:46):
And then South Shore's a big powerhouse, but they they have five vets.
And whenever I look at thewhole month total, half of
it would be like South Shore.
'cause they did that many,
Yeah.
So they have to be, you have tobe good at surgery and get it.
So dr.
Wisdom's fast obviously, because shewas at the shelter for so many years.
Dixie (24:01):
Yeah.
And I know when they do a neuter too, theycan just do that in like a few minutes.
Rachel (24:05):
Yeah.
A cat neuter
is about seven to eightminutes . If you're good at it.
I want more vets to be inthe program, but I want to do
what they're comfortable with.
But then I applaud the vets that like,I know that work for corporate and they
have these, quotas they have to meetand they're willing to take the hit.
Whenever I signed up, vetcototal care on veterans.
And they said this isthe lowest they could go.
And I was like, I can'tpay more than this.
(24:26):
This is what the contract is.
It's the number we have set.
I can't change it.
And she went back to her vetsand they were like, let's do it.
So I just thought it was just soempowering to be like, Hey, we just
wanna help people spay and neutertheir pets, because some really
understand how important it is.
So I was like, they'renot gonna be on it.
And then she called me andshe's no, they don't care.
They'll take the hit.
And I was like, what?
That's amazing.
(24:46):
Yeah, it just made me really happy.
You really care,
I get it.
Like I a lot of people argue about howmuch vet care is and how they don't
agree with it and how expensive it is.
But at the same time, like I canspeak from personal experience.
My friend just finished vet schoolnot that long ago, and I wanna
say her student loan debt is,like 25 or 27,000 in tuition.
(25:12):
Four years of that.
So it's like a littleover a hundred thousand.
Dixie (25:15):
Yeah.
Rachel (25:15):
And then my husband just finished medical school and he paid
it was like 32,000 or so per year.
So it's like 120,000.
So it's only like a 10 or$15,000 difference between
vet school and med school.
Vets will never make whatmedicals like doctors do, and
they have the same amount of debt.
(25:38):
So just think about it.
I know that the suicide rate is very high.
In doctors too.
It's very high in vets, but they stillhave the same amount of debt, they'll
never make the same amount of money.
They'll be struggling to pay thatstudent loan debt off to be your doctor.
Dixie (25:52):
Yeah.
I remember when I was a teenager, thevet that we used to go to, he actually
told us, 'cause I was interested ingoing to vet school and he told me,
look, if you wanna go to vet school,just don't go in it for the money.
Cause there's no money in it.
Rachel (26:05):
Yep.
That, and that's what everybody says.
Shelter medicine, they are paying prettyhigh for shelter veterinary medicine.
But then you don't get touse all of your skills.
So that's like the downside of it.
But it's just some people wanna do it,but then if you lose your skills my
husband said he'd never wanna be a vet.
Think about all the differentanatomies you have to learn.
You're not just like when you'rea doctor, human doctor, you're
just learning the human body.
(26:26):
Yeah.
But when you're a vet, you'rehaving to learn so many different
bodies and all I just can't imagine.
So it's gotta be so much harder.
But people get so mad at vetsand they're like, you don't wanna
help, or you don't want to do that.
It's not that they don't wanna help.
Like their livelihood depends on it too.
Like they have to get paid.
Dixie (26:42):
Absolutely.
Rachel (26:43):
They go through so much sadness, just like all of us in
rescue and like they need to get paid.
They need, to have thatquality of life as well.
So I protect my vets.
I don't like when people are mean to them.
I'm like a mama bear to my vets.
I hate that whenever somebody trapping ora cat or something will come and they'll
post something on one of our communitygroup pages and say something very awful
(27:05):
and mama Bear Rachel will come out.
Don't talk about our vets
Dixie (27:08):
It is a very stressful thing.
And I can only imagine, 'causethey're having to, euthanize animals
that are coming in that are sick.
Need it.
But that's still gotta take a toll on you.
Rachel (27:18):
Yeah.
I don't wanna say that itdoes get easier because I know
some people it's a hard time.
I do love to fospice.
That's my favorite thing.
I love old dogs.
Give me old dachshunds, geriatricproblems all day, every day.
I love having 15 dogs.
Is it exhausting?
Yes.
But I love it.
But whenever they pass away,like I don't usually cry anymore.
(27:39):
And I feel like my husband had to buildme a shelf and I have more passed away
deceased pets than I do alive now.
The only one I really lost it andcried so hard, but most recently
was I had to do one for behavioralreasons and he was barely like, two
And that one, like Dr.
Wisdom was like, are you okay?
You never cry.
It just sucked.
(28:00):
'cause he was so young.
Like he would bite me in hissleep and drew blood and then
like you could put him in a
crate
and then he would screambloody murder all night.
Then he attacked one of my dogsin the middle of the night.
'cause I have a doggy door.
'cause old dogs, no offense,you gotta go when you gotta go.
So I have a doggy door and heattacked one of my dogs overnight.
So that wasn't good.
And then he tried to bite my husbandin the face and that was it because
(28:22):
he bite my husband in the face.
He can't read x-raysand he can't have a job.
Dixie (28:25):
Yeah.
My aunt actually adopted a dog.
And it was like that thedog ended up having a tumor.
And it was the tumor thatwas causing her aggression.
And there was nothing that could be done.
Rachel (28:36):
Yeah, that makes sense.
I've had to do one of those too.
But he had nothing.
We checked all those things andthankfully my vet agreed with it
and so I was like, that's it.
I can't, like I tried, like hewent to two different homes.
He bit a coworker.
It sounded like I didn't
try and I couldn't passit off on someone else
So like that one suckedand I did cry a lot.
He like, he was so smart andtrained, like maybe he could have
(28:58):
been like someone's drug dog orsomething like a police officer.
'cause he loved to work,but it was just difficult.
But, it was strange.
And he was a small dog dachsund mix.
Somebody, something made on the West Bank,he came from the L-A-S-P-C-A actually.
That's the thing that bothers me themost is like the different designer dogs
they're trying to make and then they'rebecoming like all the behavioral problems.
Dixie (29:21):
Oh yeah.
Definitely.
Same thing like withthe poor Persian cats.
With the eye issues and thenasal issues that they have.
And same thing with some ofthe little like what is it?
The Boston Terriers,
Rachel (29:32):
if you're getting down too far in the line and breeding
things that you shouldn't be, or,they don't care or what's the skin
thing that you get demodex whatever?
Uhhuh.
So if they have it, they're like,don't ever breed that dog again.
And people still do it.
It doesn't make sense.
Like the facts don't matter.
Like they don't care.
I don't want dis breeders orsay that I don't like them.
'cause I do know a veryresponsible breeder.
(29:54):
That breeds dachshunds.
Like she's obsessed with them,but they're all in her house.
This is her master bedroom and right nextto her master bedroom is the puppy room.
And they really are like her babies.
But you can't adopt from herunless you have like another one.
'cause she doesn't wantsingle dog syndrome.
You're not allowed to breed they have tobe spayed, neutered within so many months.
She has very strict rules.
(30:15):
She doesn't want you to get onestart your own train of breeding.
She's no.
Don't do something if you're notgonna do the research behind it.
But she's also still in rescue, so shestill takes old geriatric dachshunds,
just like I do so I don't love it.
But I wish more breeders werelike her, like she will always
make sure hers are okay.
She will always take them back.
Like, why can't we have stricterlaws that say if you're breeding,
(30:38):
you have to microchip it.
If it ends up at the shelter, it's yours.
It comes back to you like, Ilove that we have the Breeders'
Permit Law in Jefferson Parish.
Only one permit's ever been sold.
Dixie (30:53):
Really?
Rachel (30:53):
One.
Dixie (30:55):
I
did not know that.
Wow.
Rachel (30:57):
One,
Dixie (30:58):
wow.
Rachel (30:58):
That is it.
So if you know anyone inJefferson Parish that is breeding
animals, I can tell you 99.9%
chance they are not doing it legally.
Dixie (31:10):
Wow.
That blows my mind.
Yeah, I did not know that.
Rachel (31:13):
Yeah.
So that's, like you're allowed, I thinkone accidental litter, but if you just
don't know about what happens, which iscrazy to think I don't know, four month
old cats at four months can get pregnant.
Mothers and sons will mate.
That's all the questions thatpeople are like, that can't happen.
They're mother and son,or they're so young.
No.
(31:34):
That, just doesn't matter.
But in Jefferson Parish, I just,I wish there could be stricter.
Because it shouldn't fallon us to only clean it up.
It's, it's our parish money that's takingcare of the shelter, but why do we
have to clean up everyone else's mess?
Dixie (31:52):
And I think that is what I'm hearing consistently across
the board with everybody that I'vetalked to that's involved in rescue.
They say the same thing.
There needs to be some kind of laws thathelp with the overpopulation problem.
Rachel (32:05):
Yeah.
Even if they have the laws, like theyneed help enforcing 'em, like I know
we have like humane officers, butif we had a whole JPSO, like humane
division, I would throw a party.
I don't know, , I'd probablybe like Betty White, just happy
endlessly, I just seen all thesuffering and like seeing this stuff.
Jeff Dorson sees it allover the whole state.
He posts those pictures of differentthings and like those rural parishes
(32:25):
like crushes me to think that like anyonewould ever think that the conditions that
they have that animal in are acceptable.
But even people that are inour own backyard are doing it.
Like I know one of the dogs I have,whenever it came into the shelter
in 2021 he was horrible shape.
He's like a cocker spaniel mix.
Never want to get one of those again.
(32:46):
The ears are the worstthings in the world.
. But he came from a over hoarding breedingcase of 67 dogs and it was in Kenner.
Dixie (32:54):
Really?
Rachel (32:55):
Kenner.
67 dogs in one house.
Dixie (33:00):
All right, Animal Posse.
That's it for this segment, but thechat with Rachel keeps going, so stay
tuned for part two in our next episode.
And that's all the time wehave for today's episode.
If you are in animal rescue, or ifyou know someone that has a story that
should be told, please contact us.
We would love to haveyou or them on the show
(33:22):
. Thanks for listening, and pleasejoin us next week as we continue to
explore the world of animal rescue.
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