July 18, 2025 • 35 mins
Join us for Part 2 of our conversation with Lisa Krohn from New Orleans Bulldog Rescue as we discuss TNR and uncover the dedicated efforts involved in getting a foster dog adoption-ready. From essential training and socialization to understanding individual personalities and addressing specific needs, you'll hear firsthand how Lisa assess, nurture, and prepare their charges for a successful transition into a new home. This episode highlights the immense impact foster parents have in shaping a dog's future and setting them up for a lifetime of happiness.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dixie (00:02):
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
people and rescues making adifference in the lives of animals.
Hi everyone.
We are back with Lisa Krohnof New Orleans Bulldog Rescue.
To finish up our conversation, she isvery well versed in animal rescue and
does a bit of everything from TNR to beingthe vice president of the New Orleans
(00:24):
Bulldog Rescue and fostering kittens.
Welcome back, Lisa.
Do you still do TNR actively
Lisa (00:30):
unfortunately, my job does not allow me to, I work during the evening hours,
so there is no setting traps at dusk.
And then when I get off of work, of coursethe first thing to be re my responsibility
is to come home to let all my animals out.
I just can't, I don't have thetime at night to set the traps.
(00:51):
I started with this job rightin . 2020 , like September.
And Rachel and Sue and I trappedalmost 500 cats that year together.
But after that, I haven'tbeen actively trapping.
Unfortunately, I just don't have the time.
I'm at work when I need tobe setting traps in the best
time to set traps is at dusk.
(01:12):
I don't have a problem withchecking traps at night and
checking traps early in the morning.
I can't set them so it just.
Took me out of the ball game.
But if anybody needs traps.
I have two that I've loaned outoccasionally here and there.
I have a neighbor across thestreet that feeds an eye feed.
We get a straggler here and there.
That was the last cat that I trapped,was a new guy across the street.
(01:32):
A big white and blackguy . And got him neutered.
And besides that, I try to helpout where I can, but unfortunately
I just don't have the time toactively trap 'cause of my job.
But I gotta have a job.
Dixie (01:43):
I understand.
Lisa (01:44):
Unfortunately that's one of the one thing that I did enjoy doing.
It's so much fun to stake out trapsand, sneak around at night, your
flashlights creepy, but, Rachelwould never go out, but man I'll be
out there at 1:00 AM checking traps,walking around with my flashlights.
She's you're not afraid.
I'm like, no, I'm not afraid.
I'm like, we've warned these peoplethat I'm coming, that someone's
gonna be checking the traps.
(02:05):
And, and it's always a thrill when youget a cat that you're going for, and
the one thing I could do without is the,part of putting the traps in my car.
That's not always fun.
Yeah.
Because they make us stink.
Dixie (02:16):
Yeah.
Lisa (02:16):
A lot.
And it can be
messy, so
Dixie (02:19):
yeah.
Male cat urine is no fun.
Lisa (02:22):
And they're in a trap and they're upset and the one nasty part
about doing TNR we learned we putdown multiple layers of plastic.
Like I'd cut up those big, 40 galloncontractor bags, those big plastic
bags that were for yard work.
And , I'd have my dog, seat cover on,and then we put the plastic down and
(02:42):
sometimes we put blankets underneath that.
You just protected your, car.
And I thankfully did not do the majorityof the running around with multiple cats.
'cause I have a smaller car.
Sue and Rachel had larger cars, sothey were taking most of the animals.
But I, pick up a cat in a trap, go checka different location, pick up a cat
in a trap, go to Sue's house, fill outthe paperwork, leave them on her front
(03:05):
porch, she'd wake up in the morning.
There's new cats in the trap because,'cause we were tag teaming it,
we'd set all the traps together.
I'd check late and Sue would do the early.
So it worked out great.
We fixed a ton of cats in our ourcommunity, but it just never ends.
We have a climate here that is,suitable for animals to live and breed
(03:25):
24.
7 365 kitten season neverends, unfortunately.
Yeah, I know you know all about that,
Dixie (03:33):
unfortunately.
Yes.
. Lisa (03:34):
Years and years ago I fostered kittens here and there
for Joan with Spay Mart and onceRachel started with the Jefferson
S-P-C-A-I, fostered kittens with her.
But I've had kittensplenty of times for Joan.
And I'm always the one that reachesout 'cause I have adult cats
and I've always done a rescue.
So I feel like they need that experiencewith another cat coming into their house.
(03:56):
They're not necessarily staying, butit's like good for them to have that
experience, let's help raise anothergeneration, and they get to be the big
cats of the house and, show the littlekittens what the deal is and play with
the babies and, try to sneak there.
You'll meet expensive, wet food whenmommy's not watching out of the bathroom.
They're good for that one too.
(04:17):
Yes, I'm talking about you, Willow.
Dixie (04:18):
Do you have male cats that take care of your kittens or female
cats that take care of your kittens?
Lisa (04:23):
It's the male cats that take care of the kittens.
Dixie (04:25):
Me too.
Lisa (04:26):
Willow doesn't wanna have anything to do with them.
Baby D will swat at them.
Simon is like, hello, let me groom you.
Dixie (04:32):
It's weird.
It's really weird because I have twomales that absolutely adore kittens.
They wanna go in, they wannago see the kittens, they'll
go lick 'em, they clean 'em.
Lisa (04:44):
Yep.
Dixie (04:44):
If
I need a babysitter, I'm,
Lisa (04:45):
that's what Simon does
Dixie (04:45):
y'all go babysit?
And Yes.
It's just, so weird because youwould think it would be the females
and, my females absolutely hate 'em.
They're like, get these kids out here.
Lisa (04:54):
They're like, oh no,
you are not pointing thatwork off on me, lady.
That's exactly whatthey're probably thinking.
Oh, no, Uhuh, my job was done.
So funny.
Yeah.
And for the longest time, Ialways enjoyed, having male cats.
My female cats weren't always thesweetest and they were more reserved.
And, I've gone through a bunchof semi feral cats and that
(05:18):
we're fostering and decided tokeep, because I'm just committed.
And, it's completely different fromthe friendly crew that I have now.
I have strangers come inand my Siamese is Hey.
What's up?
And she will nudge you andpaw at you until you pet her.
And she's like front and center,in the living room saying hello.
A lot of my cats werenot that personality.
(05:38):
And I actually pulled Willow's litterfrom J Paws when they were like, 0.46
pounds or something, and foster themthrough the Jefferson SPCA with Rachel.
And with the intent of always adoptingthe little, blue Point Siamese.
She'll be my fourth Siamese.
I'm partial to them, but then,two years before I adopted
(05:58):
Willow, I also adopted baby D.
His real name is Dylan.
And he and his sister Katecame into the Jefferson SPCA.
It was serious eye issues.
Neither one of them had eyelids.
It's called agnesis.
They're just born without them.
And Kate unfortunately passed away havingsome eye surgery done at 18 months old.
(06:20):
And Dee's he gets his eye drops fourtimes a day and I clean his eyes and
if we get a little stray hair growing,it looks like it's gonna poke his eye.
I just pluck it off just the vet would do.
And then, I also noticed thathe was having some teeth issues.
He's a lanky guy, and I rightaway knew we had stomatitis.
So now we've had all of his teeth removed.
(06:41):
That was, that's been over a year now.
He just has his little frontteeth and he is doing great.
He's still a lanky guy with, andhe looks a little funny without his
eyelids, but he is the sweetest thing.
He, sleeps in bed with me everysingle night and will snuggle
up right next to my head.
Even.
None of my cats really care about the dog.
Even Simon, who was trapped by TrapDat Cat who lived outside, sleeps in
(07:03):
bed with the 14-year-old pit bull.
She's a great cat dog.
She loves the cats.
Not so much a good dog with theother dogs, but she loves the cats.
Dixie (07:12):
That's funny.
Lisa (07:12):
And I definitely trust her with these kittens, but I wouldn't put
her in a room with my other dogs.
And I think that just goes with the yearsof experience that I just know and trust
this dog is people are like, wait, youtrust your pit bull with your eight week
old kittens and not your 5-year-old dog.
I absolutely do.
I've done this a long time and I knowthat she's not gonna hurt them, and
(07:35):
she's not gonna do anything to them.
She's just gonna walk aroundshe daintily walks to make sure
it's not gonna step on anyone.
And she stops when they get puffedand she doesn't, move forward.
She's very good with them.
I never taught her those things.
I'm assuming at.
Some point she's just picked them upbecause I've had her most of her life.
She's been with me since 2013, soshe's just one of those difficult
(08:00):
dogs that never found a good home.
Like she's reactive on a leash.
She's the dog that you bring into the vetthat you have to stand off to the side
that has every sticker on her chart, justto warn you, because I can't predict it.
So sometimes she's great when we gointo the vet and sometimes it sounds
like I'm riding a bucking bronco who'sscreaming in the other side of the clinic.
You just never know.
(08:22):
It's always an adventure with her.
Wouldn't trade any of it.
Dixie (08:26):
You have a lot going on.
How do you manage the emotional andphysical demands of doing rescue work and
what keeps you going on like tough days?.
Lisa (08:35):
If I'm having a tough day, what keeps me going is knowing that
tomorrow's a different day and I canapproach whatever issue I had today in
a different way tomorrow because if Ididn't learn today, maybe tomorrow when
I change something, I'll learn or I'llfigure out what the best solution is.
But thankfully, I haven't beenin a position where I had a
(08:56):
super difficult dog lately.
But I've had dogs where like I leftthe house and someone touched the
front door and I'd come home toescape dogs and feces everywhere.
And so it's just doing rescue.
I've learned to run the gauntletas I call it, of emotions
much faster than other people.
I've lost plenty of dogs doing rescue.
I've had to euthanize dogs for behavior.
(09:18):
It's never an easy decision.
But in the long run, I know that ifI can't keep that dog, myself, and
personally give it the life thatit deserves, then and I can't adopt
it out, then what are my options?
And the kindest thing to do is,unfortunately you have to euthanize.
And that is the worstdecision ever to have to make.
(09:42):
But unfortunately it is necessary.
And doing rescue, you justyou deal with the emotions.
I get upset, I cry.
I try not to regret.
That's the biggest one I feel like thatI have had to learn to deal with, is
to know that I've done everything inmy power and I'm at my wits end with
(10:02):
whatever's happening, whether it's,a dog in my house and I'm having,
aggression issues with, or it's Peteywho I cried 45 minutes all the way home
across the lake after dropping him off.
But the dynamic in my house and theway my house smells is different
because Petey is not here withthe constant cleanup and the mess.
And I love Petey dearly, now thathe is not here, it's almost a relief
(10:25):
to know that he's where he belongs.
And my house was neverwhere he intended to be.
Sometimes it's sad, sometimes it'shappy, and you want to take all the
happy, like I will, high five myself.
When I do adoptions, I'mlike, all right, good job.
And people ask me, how doyou move on so quickly?
I'm like I never intendedto keep that dog.
I intended to take that dog into my house.
I intended to give it rules and boundariesand structure and find it a home.
(10:49):
That person who adopts that doggets all that information too.
I've brought this dog home, I'vegiven it structure with the kennel.
I'm telling you, these are therules at my house to, to help
transition the dog to your house.
I suggest this is what you do.
You can never go too slow.
You can go too fast.
When you're integrating a newdog or a new animal into your
(11:12):
house, you can never go too slow.
So we always tell people that weunderstand you wanna bring your new
dog home , and you wanna snuggle.
The new dog, it takes at leasttwo to eight weeks to settle into
a new home and a new routine.
If you start giving a dog like whatWe adopt out these powerful breeds and
these breeds that will take a mile.
When you give them an inch,you have to have structure.
(11:34):
And we use the kennels for that.
And I tell people I feed in thekennel, the kennel controls everything.
It controls outside time.
It controls affection, it controlsfeeding it, and my dogs get
treats every time they get in.
They get something, whether it's ahigh value treat or it's a couple of
little rom crunchies, that they love.
I'll throw four or five in there.
But I do, I.
(11:55):
Bigger treats like the Whimsies shoes,and I buy the red barn bargain bags,
and I take the hollowed out like marrowbones and I stuff them with pumpkin or
yogurt or dog food, and then I freeze 'em.
So it gives them, an extra 30 or 40minutes of work and a nice treat as well.
It's about keeping everybodyhappy so that I'm happy as well.
(12:18):
And when I've got a difficult dog,that's when it's okay, how can I
outsmart them, keep them in theirkennel, what can I do to take the
edge off to get them to settle?
We, I'm not opposed to givingmy dogs drugs to help them learn
to react and to settle down.
And we get dogs straight outta shelter.
I don't know anything about 'em.
I don't know whether they're friendlywith, cats most of the time the shelter
(12:39):
knows that they're friendly with dogs.
Sometimes they're not alwaysfriendly with people or they react
with men or they're shy or, and allthese things need to be overcome.
And it's just about getting the dog,making an assessment and figure out a
plan to get this dog to, tip top shapeso it can go on and find another home.
A home where it's gonna be able to, liveits best life, hang out on the couch,
(13:02):
sleep in the bed eventually kind of thing.
Dixie (13:05):
It's true though because I find one of the most challenging things about
finding a pet a new home is actuallypeople wanting them to just go into
their house and they don't take it slowand they expect everything to work out.
Lisa (13:20):
Yeah.
Dixie (13:21):
There's a lot of truth to what you said because it's not like that.
And if you adopt an animal thinkingthat's what you're gonna do most of
the time it's not gonna work out.
You need to take it slow for that animal.
Lisa (13:31):
Yeah.
It take time to adjust.
I run a very strict type ship here.
My personal dogs are the only ones allowedup on the bed and up on the couch because
the dogs that I adopt out might notnecessarily be allowed on the furniture.
And someone might be like, Ooh, I don'twanna adopt that dog because he jumps
on the furniture and I don't want that.
And I don't want jumping on thefurniture to be the reason why
(13:55):
this perfectly, good match dog foryour family doesn't get a home.
'cause you don't want it on the couch.
So you're in the house, you're in yourkennel, you eating in your kennel, I go
out to the coffee shop every morning.
Usually, I take Cobalt orSusie with me, looks like I'm
getting them out of the house.
We have actually have an event at PortOrleans that we're taking some of our
dogs to and then , we'll be there justselling merchandise and just hanging out.
(14:18):
I think they're doing a big olddog event, like a hot dog event.
And then we'll be there for a littlebit, but we've just been taking a break.
I haven't had any new dogs, so we haven'tbeen doing our monthly adoption events.
Dixie (14:30):
Do you have a website?
Lisa (14:31):
We do, it's www.neworleansbulldogs.com.
And we also have a Facebook page.
I believe if you just searchFacebook for New Orleans
Bulldog Rescue it will come up.
And the Facebook page is usually themost current on what we have in rescue.
We make all of our posts and weshowcase our dogs on Facebook.
(14:53):
And then I believe the Petfinderis usually linked in each of
the the showcases that we have.
But all of our like surrenderforms and our adoption applications
can be found on our website.
They're just in the drop downlist when you click on it.
We do feature dogs there, but it is notalways up to date with who is adoptable.
(15:15):
'cause it's not interfacedwith the petfinder and , so
they don't talk to each other.
But yeah, you can reach us that way.
And we, we usually do oncea month adoption events.
If you are interested in adopting,you must attend an event.
Even if you've attended an event in thepast, we still recommend that you come
out just because it gives you a chanceto see literally every adoptable dog that
(15:35):
we have is required to come for that.
It's just a one hour once a month.
We have no set day or location.
A lot of times it's on Sunday'cause that's my only day off.
And we, try to pay attention tofootball games and all the things.
And when it's summertime likethis, we're having them inside.
Usually at a brewery.
We've got good friends at Urban Southand they'll let us bring the dogs in.
(15:58):
Most of our stuff happens after events.
We have an event, and then that weekright afterwards is when, we vet
check and start setting up one-on-onemeetings that we don't allow children
under the age of 14 at our eventsbecause some of our dogs don't like
kids and kids can be unpredictable.
So to make sure that my dogs andyour children are safe we ask that,
(16:20):
they don't come to these events.
People unfortunately still do bringtheir children and we just ask them
to keep their children, on the side.
Or if they're looking at a specificdog that I personally know will be
good with children or have seen it, ina setting where children are around,
we'll let the children introduceto the dog, but usually it's all.
It's all set upindividually after the fact.
(16:42):
Like you come out to the event, thenthere's a one-on-one meeting either
with all of your family or whateverdog is currently in your home.
And then there's anothermeeting usually at your home to
make sure the dogs get along.
And then we move inside and do,a drop off a home inspection.
And I tell people, I'm like, I don't carewhat your TV looks like, or I don't care,
(17:02):
if your sofa's, brand new or old, shoot mysofa, both corners are torn up from Simon.
I just wanna make sure that,your yard is secure and that
you have space for a dog kennel.
And that's pretty much, what I'm lookingfor because people have been around
and know how to work rescues and theywill lie about things like having
(17:22):
an outside dog or where they live.
Like I've had people tell me they live soand and then I want to drop off the dog.
They're like, oh.
Oh, we just recently moved.
I'm like, no, you didn't.
You just recently lied is what happened.
Dixie (17:35):
I was recently catfished for a cat.
This is no joke.
Lisa (17:40):
Oh my goodness.
, It's funny, but it's not funny 'cause
Dixie (17:43):
it's it's not funny.
Lisa (17:44):
Don't you have something better to do with your day?
You know what I mean?
It's come on.
Dixie (17:49):
Luckily we caught it.
Lisa (17:51):
Yeah,
that's the worst one.
I feel like I've I'm a volunteer.
I work like 45 hours a week,like I work six days a week.
It's broken up over six days,but I work six days a week.
I don't keep a normal schedule.
I go to work at 2:00 PM I'm usually homein between nine and 10:00 PM at night.
Not the normal everyday schedule.
But I enjoy it.
And when people waste my time, I don'tlike that I have very limited free time.
(18:17):
If I don't have control,it would be absolute chaos.
And I go to work with chaos.
I come home and it's a littlechaotic, but usually can manage it.
Once I get more than threerotations and yes, I rotate dogs
'cause not everybody gets along.
When I get more than three rotations,it starts getting difficult.
And right now I've gota good three rotations
but that's one of the greatthings of doing dog rescues.
(18:40):
I know my animals, I know what theirlimits are and I keep them safe no matter
what, whether it's in the yard, in thehouse, at the vet, in public, yeah.
It's just, I.
That's the commitment that I've made.
If I had children, it'd be the same thing.
I just accidentally got intodog rescue and the first dog
I fostered was a bee hole.
(19:01):
She dug a hole in my bedroom floor.
I learned real quick thatthe kennel is my best friend.
So they're like, yeah, yougotta keep her in the kennel.
I'm like, kennel's.
I learned the hard way when my, oneof my first dogs ate the windowsill
and started eating the walls.
We very quickly got a kennel, butI was like, oh, she just got fixed?
No, she dug a hole through thecarpet to the concrete while I was
(19:24):
sleeping in the same room with her.
Dixie (19:25):
Wow.
Lisa (19:26):
So yeah, crate is my best friend.
I learned real quick that Crate is aextremely important tool, especially
when I'm getting dogs straight outof the animal shelter because I
don't know what kind of dog this isor what kind of experiences they've
had in the house or with furniture.
And I tell people that when they adoptfrom me and I'm like, look, I suggest that
(19:46):
you keep this dog on the same routine forthe next two weeks that I have him on.
They eat in their kennels,they sleep in their kennels.
When I'm around and watchingthem, that's when they're loose.
I don't know if you leave him loose whenyou run to the grocery store, if he's
gonna take a poop on your couch or eat it.
I wanna say that he's not gonna dothose naughty things, but I don't
know, because when I leave, he's safelyand securely sleeping in his crate.
(20:12):
And that's, people think, oh, it's a cage.
No, it's their safe space.
I, it's never a punishment.
It's always a positive.
They get something delicious.
My dogs will run me over to get totheir kennels, and half the time I'm
you're not even going in your kennel.
This is time to, to hang out in the house.
And they will still go in down thehallway and act like they're gonna enter
whatever bedroom their crates are in.
(20:34):
And then when they realize I'vesat down, then they just come
back in the living room and oh,it's my time to be in the house.
But, my dogs enjoy their cratesand they, I've got a bed in
there and they get fed in there.
All the most high qualitytreats are given in there.
And it's, just my experiences over theyears have just definitely, solidified
(20:54):
that the crate is my best friend.
Had dogs that, gave me a run for my money.
And the kennel helped a lot to giveme more control and to learn that
they can trust me because I controleverything with the kennel and my house
is safe and my other animals are safe.
And, most of the time when I'mgone, they're asleep in their
(21:16):
kennel and that's what any ownerwants their dog to be doing.
But maybe sleep on the couch.
Rhonda sometimes stays loose, but Idon't even let her loose now because
of the storms, because I don't wanther to go in the bathroom and hide
or, decide that she wants to actuallyknock the kittens down or something.
So
her kennel is safe foreveryone, especially her.
Dixie (21:39):
Definitely nothing wrong with kennel training them.
It's a good thing to have in my opinion.
Lisa (21:45):
Yeah, it absolutely is.
And my whole extra bedroom is just,there's five, there's six dogs kennels
in there, and if I need to, I canput five more crates in that room.
I have the capacity in one roomto finagle 11 dogs in there.
For my own sanity I don't,but I can if I need to.
Dixie (22:03):
What's the one message you would like to leave our listeners
with about animal rescue in general?
Lisa (22:08):
In general, I just wanna say spay and neuter your animals.
But with rescue, just be honest.
If you wanna adopt a dog.
Be honest.
You wanna adopt a cat, be honest.
Make sure you spay andneuter your animals.
Be responsible and committed.
It's not a, oh, it's a cute little kitten.
It's a, in 20 years when they're inkidney failure and you need to take 'em
(22:28):
to the vet, will you commit to do that?
Will you be doing fluidsat home for your cat?
Will you do the extra, expensivefood and the wet food and all the
things that your animal needs?
There's so many things I could say
I just want people to be responsible.
Just know that it's a commitment.
It's not, it's a cute little puppy.
It's a, when your life changesin five years, make sure that
(22:50):
there's a plan for your dog.
Bulldog Rescue has a safe haven program.
We've only had to use it a couple oftimes, but it is for people like, in
a domestic violence situation thatneed to get out, but don't immediately
have a place to go with their dog.
We've had a couple come in andwe basically foster them until
these people get on their feetand can take their dogs back.
(23:11):
And then still, occasionally I'llstill, Amazon Prime, a bag of food here
and there If they need help, I wouldrather go the extra mile to help you
keep your dog than rehome your dog.
Dixie (23:23):
Absolutely.
Lisa (23:24):
Maybe that's
what I should have said.
Dixie (23:26):
Absolutely.
I absolutely agree with that.
I would rather see people ask forhelp than just rehome their animals.
Lisa (23:34):
Yeah.
Or get in over their head and then have tolike, go bring their half dead dog to the
shelter, in a last ditch effort for help.
Whether the dog survives or notis up to what's happening at the
shelter at the present moment.
If they can, get the vet care that theanimal needs or if it's just a lost cause.
One of my neighbors, just theother day told me that the neighbor
(23:55):
across the street, a couple housesdown, one of their dogs died and
they're like she'd been sick.
I'm like what'd the vet say?
And they're like theydidn't take her to the vet.
I'm like, that's just insane.
It's, my dog misses a meal.
I'm like, something's wrong.
You're going to the vet.
Dixie (24:11):
That's crazy.
Lisa (24:11):
They let their dog die.
Like they didn't take her to the vet.
I'm like, just flabbergasted.
I have a whole creditcard for just my animals.
If I can't afford what needs to bedone, I've got that security blanket
there for a reason, accidents happen.
Animals need proper care to,to live a good, healthy life.
(24:34):
And some of those thingsare unpredictable.
Believe me, I know anyone who owns ananimal should know that animals get sick.
Just like people, you needto buy pet insurance or you
man up and you pay the vet.
But if you're smart about it, youget a puppy from, a, a reputable
breeder or from a rescue, and thenyou immediately get pet insurance.
(24:57):
Most of mine unfortunately come in withmedical issues, so pet insurance was
never a good idea for me because it would,disqualify the preexisting condition,
which is the condition that I wouldbe taking them to the vet for, right?
Unfortunately it doesn't alwayswork in everybody's favor, but.
We do what we gotta do no matter what.
(25:17):
Yeah.
I will eat ramen noodles so I canbuy somebody's meds or I will dog
sit for free, or cat sit for free.
Or anytime I have anything extra,I'll always try to like, give a
little bit of here and there to onGive Nola Day and things like that to
rescues that I don't even work with.
I give my time to, bulldog rescue and Igive my time to the Jefferson SPCA and
(25:41):
anybody else that asks me for help, ifthere was with a rescue, that's what
I contribute is,, my volunteer time.
I don't always have the fundsto spare, but if I do, I will
definitely, do what I need to do.
I've been buying some of my own littlekitten supplies, 'cause I know, the
Jefferson Feed has a ton of kittens.
I know what that costs to run, soI've been providing some stuff for
(26:03):
my own kittens and some fostersdo that and some fosters don't.
But a way that I can get back,is to help with the kitten stuff.
And, I buy my own dogtreats and my own dog food.
So it's just, bulldog Rescuepaying for the dogs that are
technically living in my home.
Rent free huh Rhonda.
But yeah, I don't know any other wayto live my life other than to helping
(26:26):
with dogs and cats and, if I have thetime to do TNR or to help out where I
can, I did the shelter neuter returnfor years to try to get the proper
numbers to get that best friend grant.
And then we got that grant andthose girls were here for three
years and then they're gone andthen we're still in the same boat.
Dixie (26:46):
Yeah, it'll get better one day.
We just need to get morepeople on board with the TNR
Lisa (26:52):
But
yeah, when is one day, I'vebeen doing this for 20 years.
Dixie (26:56):
It's amazing the amount, that's amount of work that you do
though working with all these groupsand it's really admirable too.
Lisa (27:02):
Thank you
Dixie (27:04):
A lot of people, there's a lot of ego involved in animal rescue sometimes.
And, so you don't always seepeople helping other groups
because of that ego thing.
And so it's very admirablethat you do as much as you do.
Lisa (27:20):
I
try.
The animals shouldn't matter whatrescue that they're with, just as
long as I have my heart in the rightplace, and that's where I'm at.
I needed something to brighten Myday after Trouble was, unfortunately
found deceased and I wanted kittens.
So I went out and volunteered to foster,and now I'm just laughing and giggling
(27:43):
at my three little corn chip boys.
Because they're definitely a hoot.
They're, yeah they're the corn chip boys.
They've got the Cheeto, the Dorito, andthe Frito, and I call 'em Frito Burrito
and Cheeto Burrito and Dorito Burrito.
They are a kick.
I definitely enjoy havingkittens in the house.
It's a lot of fun.
You get to do all the cutesy littlethings and then they find another home.
(28:05):
My friends are like,you're gonna keep one.
I'm like, no, I'm not reallyplanning on keeping a kitten.
Like I love Dorito, I reallylike Cheeto and Frito and I'm
not keeping three kittens.
We're not keeping kittens.
It's not always the easy decisionsometimes, especially when you
put a lot of extra love and care.
'cause someone gets sick like Dorito,it just builds a different bond, and
I have learned to, to know that, ifI build a special bond with these
(28:29):
animals, that I, that just meansthat I have to keep in touch a little
more and it with whoever adopts 'em.
And I still get, text messages andwe still get emails and things when
our dogs unfortunately pass away.
And, people donate things all the time.
When they lose animals, and that'sunfortunately a sad part about it.
But the good part is that a lot ofthose people come back again and adopt
(28:51):
again, so they're saving another life.
And, it's just, rescue is becoming thepopular thing to do, but unfortunately
we still just don't have enough fosterhomes and enough money to save them all.
I just shake my head.
'cause my family's from the Midwestand animals are treated differently.
They're more like , theyserve a purpose down here.
(29:14):
Their purpose is puppies and kittensin, in the Midwest, it's like the
dog is out there with the cattle.
You don't see loose dogs orloose cats and stuff like that.
It's just a different mentality of thetype of animal and the climate that
nothing stray could live in negative70 degrees when they get a snowstorm.
(29:34):
It's just not possible.
You can't even be outside formore than a couple minutes.
It's the whole society down herein the south, they just don't think
that spay and neuter is important.
For some reason, I don't get it.
Or oh, my dog's not gonna get pregnant.
My dog's not gonna get out.
Yeah, all those thingshappened, I don't know.
It's frustrating to talk about it.
Dixie (29:52):
It is.
Lisa (29:53):
I don't see an end in sight unfortunately.
'cause I still run across people today.
It's, we're in the 21st centuryand they don't understand.
And I don't understand how, at this pointin our life and in society, in the way
that, you know, domesticated animalsare treated that people still have that
mentality and it's gotta start fromsomewhere we need to start educating
(30:16):
like in the schools now or something.
We used to do advocacyprograms, for events at schools.
We've been to a couple of times,with Bulldog Rescue, where they
were having like an environmentevent and they invited our dogs.
And that was a lot of fun and itwas good to, . Teach the kids.
I'm a nanny.
All three of our kids, know allthe rules to ask to pet a dog.
(30:36):
And, we don't, feed our dogall these random things.
We don't hit our dog.
It's so frustrating.
I could talk for hours about it,
When you do rescue , as long asI have, I've got some stories.
Even Michael's man, you got some stories.
I'm like, I know, because every dog hasa story and I can't remember people's
names, but I can tell you the dogand I can tell you the dog's story.
Like the lady that I'm gonna meetwith for the new Frenchie is I
(30:58):
know who she is, but I rememberher dogs before I remembered her.
Dixie (31:02):
It's funny.
I'm the same way..
I remember kittens that Ifostered like 10 years ago.
Lisa (31:07):
I know.
It happens to us too sometimes whenthey send emails, they're like, oh,
here's an update so and and they'relike, did you foster this dog?
I'm like, oh yeah, I fostered him.
His name was Judge.
Because people changetheir names on stuff.
It's you just have to remember.
Occasionally it takes me a minute, butmost of the time, if I've had a dog
for , any significant amount of time inmy home, I can immediately remember them.
(31:29):
I might not remember who adopted them.
The phone the contact that I addedwill tell me the person's name with
the foster dog's name next to it,
Dixie (31:36):
Uhhuh.
Lisa (31:36):
And that's usually how I remember their people's names is 'cause I have
it in there under the dog's name.
So
I can communicate.
And I've met so many people andthen I've adopted dogs to judges
and lawyers and real estate agents.
And, I've had dogs that were downhere in the military that lived
in Washington state and New YorkCity and all over the country.
(31:58):
I even shipped merchandiseto Sweden one time.
It was super exciting.
. It was super cool.
'cause I handle all the PayPal orders.
If you order something fromPayPal, it gets shipped, by me.
I have all the merchandise here.
We, don't have a ton right now, but wejust do t-shirts, can coolers every year.
We do a big ticket item,but it's just a calendar.
We're one of the only rescuegroups that does a yearly calendar.
(32:21):
We have done 'em for years.
I will never let Michaelstop doing the calendar.
It's a great fundraiser.
We always make our money back andthen some, and people love them.
We put them out and all theJefferson feeds and they sell
out and we have to bring more.
A couple of our vet clinics sell 'em.
You can always buy 'em online.
It's a lot of fun.
We get a photographer, we do pictures.
Most of the calendar has alumni in it.
(32:43):
And basically you donate your fee andthen your dog gets into the calendar, and
then you get the professional picturesfrom your professional photo shoot.
And that's how we handle our calendar.
It's a way for us to makesure that we have enough money
to print them, to be honest.
And it's a good fundraiser for us andpeople seem to enjoy it because every year
we, usually get all 12 months to alumnifrom the previous year or anyone actually.
(33:08):
We send out a massive email for,any year that you've adopted.
If you would like to be in thecalendar, you can, like Max, his
mom is a a retired judge, and heis been in the calendar every year.
And I asked Michael just recently,I'm like, is that boy still around?
He is he's still kicking.
I'm like, all right.
He's getting old.
He's gotta be 14 by now.
And he's not a little dog.
He's some sort of like.
(33:29):
Pit bull and bulldog mix.
He's super cute, buthe's like a big blockhead
Dixie (33:34):
uhhuh.
Lisa (33:35):
He's got floppy ears and the docked tail, but he is like a 80 or 90 pound dog.
He's not little.
He's solid.
I fostered him and his mom's momactually just recently adopted a dog.
And I pulled Trixie from theL-A-S-P-C-A, she had no hair.
You couldn't tell what color she was.
(33:55):
She was like a four orfive month old puppy.
She was just a baby.
And she, didn't walk on a leash.
She had mange so bad.
She was disgusting.
Those are one of those dogs,you're like, I need a foster
home like tomorrow for this dog.
Because she not only needs a lot ofwork, meaning bathing and, antibiotics
(34:16):
and, but bulldogs can smell ingeneral, but when you've got a yeast
infection all over your body from headto tail and you have mange, imagine
what that smells like in your house.
It's not fun, but that'ssomething you commit to.
I knew when I was getting her thatthis was gonna be a lot of bathing.
(34:36):
But I had a foster home whodoesn't have any other dogs.
And then she ended up keepingher and I was like, all right.
It's always fun when our fosterskeep a dog and then still
want to continue to foster.
Of course, I gotta put that outthere because if you keep a dog and
then you don't foster anymore, thenI'm like, oh, I lost a foster home.
But if you if you keep a dogand keep fostering more, yes.
(34:57):
High fives, that's what I love.
Dixie (35:00):
Yeah, that is absolutely the best.
Thank you for talking with me today.
I enjoyed our conversation.
Lisa (35:05):
Absolutely.
I did too.
Dixie (35:06):
I'll have you come back on and we'll just do dog stories.
Lisa (35:10):
Awesome.
Sounds like fun.
Dixie (35:12):
If you are enjoying our show, please consider leaving us a donation.
A hundred percent goes to our animals.
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
(35:32):
. 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.
Hi everyone.
We are back with Lisa Krohnof New Orleans Bulldog Rescue.
To finish up our conversation, she isvery well versed in animal rescue and
does a bit of everything from TNR to beingthe vice president of the New Orleans
(00:24):
Bulldog Rescue and fostering kittens.
Welcome back, Lisa.
Do you still do TNR actively
Lisa (00:30):
unfortunately, my job does not allow me to, I work during the evening hours,
so there is no setting traps at dusk.
And then when I get off of work, of coursethe first thing to be re my responsibility
is to come home to let all my animals out.
I just can't, I don't have thetime at night to set the traps.
(00:51):
I started with this job rightin . 2020 , like September.
And Rachel and Sue and I trappedalmost 500 cats that year together.
But after that, I haven'tbeen actively trapping.
Unfortunately, I just don't have the time.
I'm at work when I need tobe setting traps in the best
time to set traps is at dusk.
(01:12):
I don't have a problem withchecking traps at night and
checking traps early in the morning.
I can't set them so it just.
Took me out of the ball game.
But if anybody needs traps.
I have two that I've loaned outoccasionally here and there.
I have a neighbor across thestreet that feeds an eye feed.
We get a straggler here and there.
That was the last cat that I trapped,was a new guy across the street.
(01:32):
A big white and blackguy . And got him neutered.
And besides that, I try to helpout where I can, but unfortunately
I just don't have the time toactively trap 'cause of my job.
But I gotta have a job.
Dixie (01:43):
I understand.
Lisa (01:44):
Unfortunately that's one of the one thing that I did enjoy doing.
It's so much fun to stake out trapsand, sneak around at night, your
flashlights creepy, but, Rachelwould never go out, but man I'll be
out there at 1:00 AM checking traps,walking around with my flashlights.
She's you're not afraid.
I'm like, no, I'm not afraid.
I'm like, we've warned these peoplethat I'm coming, that someone's
gonna be checking the traps.
(02:05):
And, and it's always a thrill when youget a cat that you're going for, and
the one thing I could do without is the,part of putting the traps in my car.
That's not always fun.
Yeah.
Because they make us stink.
Dixie (02:16):
Yeah.
Lisa (02:16):
A lot.
And it can be
messy, so
Dixie (02:19):
yeah.
Male cat urine is no fun.
Lisa (02:22):
And they're in a trap and they're upset and the one nasty part
about doing TNR we learned we putdown multiple layers of plastic.
Like I'd cut up those big, 40 galloncontractor bags, those big plastic
bags that were for yard work.
And , I'd have my dog, seat cover on,and then we put the plastic down and
(02:42):
sometimes we put blankets underneath that.
You just protected your, car.
And I thankfully did not do the majorityof the running around with multiple cats.
'cause I have a smaller car.
Sue and Rachel had larger cars, sothey were taking most of the animals.
But I, pick up a cat in a trap, go checka different location, pick up a cat
in a trap, go to Sue's house, fill outthe paperwork, leave them on her front
(03:05):
porch, she'd wake up in the morning.
There's new cats in the trap because,'cause we were tag teaming it,
we'd set all the traps together.
I'd check late and Sue would do the early.
So it worked out great.
We fixed a ton of cats in our ourcommunity, but it just never ends.
We have a climate here that is,suitable for animals to live and breed
(03:25):
24.
7 365 kitten season neverends, unfortunately.
Yeah, I know you know all about that,
Dixie (03:33):
unfortunately.
Yes.
. Lisa (03:34):
Years and years ago I fostered kittens here and there
for Joan with Spay Mart and onceRachel started with the Jefferson
S-P-C-A-I, fostered kittens with her.
But I've had kittensplenty of times for Joan.
And I'm always the one that reachesout 'cause I have adult cats
and I've always done a rescue.
So I feel like they need that experiencewith another cat coming into their house.
(03:56):
They're not necessarily staying, butit's like good for them to have that
experience, let's help raise anothergeneration, and they get to be the big
cats of the house and, show the littlekittens what the deal is and play with
the babies and, try to sneak there.
You'll meet expensive, wet food whenmommy's not watching out of the bathroom.
They're good for that one too.
(04:17):
Yes, I'm talking about you, Willow.
Dixie (04:18):
Do you have male cats that take care of your kittens or female
cats that take care of your kittens?
Lisa (04:23):
It's the male cats that take care of the kittens.
Dixie (04:25):
Me too.
Lisa (04:26):
Willow doesn't wanna have anything to do with them.
Baby D will swat at them.
Simon is like, hello, let me groom you.
Dixie (04:32):
It's weird.
It's really weird because I have twomales that absolutely adore kittens.
They wanna go in, they wannago see the kittens, they'll
go lick 'em, they clean 'em.
Lisa (04:44):
Yep.
Dixie (04:44):
If
I need a babysitter, I'm,
Lisa (04:45):
that's what Simon does
Dixie (04:45):
y'all go babysit?
And Yes.
It's just, so weird because youwould think it would be the females
and, my females absolutely hate 'em.
They're like, get these kids out here.
Lisa (04:54):
They're like, oh no,
you are not pointing thatwork off on me, lady.
That's exactly whatthey're probably thinking.
Oh, no, Uhuh, my job was done.
So funny.
Yeah.
And for the longest time, Ialways enjoyed, having male cats.
My female cats weren't always thesweetest and they were more reserved.
And, I've gone through a bunchof semi feral cats and that
(05:18):
we're fostering and decided tokeep, because I'm just committed.
And, it's completely different fromthe friendly crew that I have now.
I have strangers come inand my Siamese is Hey.
What's up?
And she will nudge you andpaw at you until you pet her.
And she's like front and center,in the living room saying hello.
A lot of my cats werenot that personality.
(05:38):
And I actually pulled Willow's litterfrom J Paws when they were like, 0.46
pounds or something, and foster themthrough the Jefferson SPCA with Rachel.
And with the intent of always adoptingthe little, blue Point Siamese.
She'll be my fourth Siamese.
I'm partial to them, but then,two years before I adopted
(05:58):
Willow, I also adopted baby D.
His real name is Dylan.
And he and his sister Katecame into the Jefferson SPCA.
It was serious eye issues.
Neither one of them had eyelids.
It's called agnesis.
They're just born without them.
And Kate unfortunately passed away havingsome eye surgery done at 18 months old.
(06:20):
And Dee's he gets his eye drops fourtimes a day and I clean his eyes and
if we get a little stray hair growing,it looks like it's gonna poke his eye.
I just pluck it off just the vet would do.
And then, I also noticed thathe was having some teeth issues.
He's a lanky guy, and I rightaway knew we had stomatitis.
So now we've had all of his teeth removed.
(06:41):
That was, that's been over a year now.
He just has his little frontteeth and he is doing great.
He's still a lanky guy with, andhe looks a little funny without his
eyelids, but he is the sweetest thing.
He, sleeps in bed with me everysingle night and will snuggle
up right next to my head.
Even.
None of my cats really care about the dog.
Even Simon, who was trapped by TrapDat Cat who lived outside, sleeps in
(07:03):
bed with the 14-year-old pit bull.
She's a great cat dog.
She loves the cats.
Not so much a good dog with theother dogs, but she loves the cats.
Dixie (07:12):
That's funny.
Lisa (07:12):
And I definitely trust her with these kittens, but I wouldn't put
her in a room with my other dogs.
And I think that just goes with the yearsof experience that I just know and trust
this dog is people are like, wait, youtrust your pit bull with your eight week
old kittens and not your 5-year-old dog.
I absolutely do.
I've done this a long time and I knowthat she's not gonna hurt them, and
(07:35):
she's not gonna do anything to them.
She's just gonna walk aroundshe daintily walks to make sure
it's not gonna step on anyone.
And she stops when they get puffedand she doesn't, move forward.
She's very good with them.
I never taught her those things.
I'm assuming at.
Some point she's just picked them upbecause I've had her most of her life.
She's been with me since 2013, soshe's just one of those difficult
(08:00):
dogs that never found a good home.
Like she's reactive on a leash.
She's the dog that you bring into the vetthat you have to stand off to the side
that has every sticker on her chart, justto warn you, because I can't predict it.
So sometimes she's great when we gointo the vet and sometimes it sounds
like I'm riding a bucking bronco who'sscreaming in the other side of the clinic.
You just never know.
(08:22):
It's always an adventure with her.
Wouldn't trade any of it.
Dixie (08:26):
You have a lot going on.
How do you manage the emotional andphysical demands of doing rescue work and
what keeps you going on like tough days?.
Lisa (08:35):
If I'm having a tough day, what keeps me going is knowing that
tomorrow's a different day and I canapproach whatever issue I had today in
a different way tomorrow because if Ididn't learn today, maybe tomorrow when
I change something, I'll learn or I'llfigure out what the best solution is.
But thankfully, I haven't beenin a position where I had a
(08:56):
super difficult dog lately.
But I've had dogs where like I leftthe house and someone touched the
front door and I'd come home toescape dogs and feces everywhere.
And so it's just doing rescue.
I've learned to run the gauntletas I call it, of emotions
much faster than other people.
I've lost plenty of dogs doing rescue.
I've had to euthanize dogs for behavior.
(09:18):
It's never an easy decision.
But in the long run, I know that ifI can't keep that dog, myself, and
personally give it the life thatit deserves, then and I can't adopt
it out, then what are my options?
And the kindest thing to do is,unfortunately you have to euthanize.
And that is the worstdecision ever to have to make.
(09:42):
But unfortunately it is necessary.
And doing rescue, you justyou deal with the emotions.
I get upset, I cry.
I try not to regret.
That's the biggest one I feel like thatI have had to learn to deal with, is
to know that I've done everything inmy power and I'm at my wits end with
(10:02):
whatever's happening, whether it's,a dog in my house and I'm having,
aggression issues with, or it's Peteywho I cried 45 minutes all the way home
across the lake after dropping him off.
But the dynamic in my house and theway my house smells is different
because Petey is not here withthe constant cleanup and the mess.
And I love Petey dearly, now thathe is not here, it's almost a relief
(10:25):
to know that he's where he belongs.
And my house was neverwhere he intended to be.
Sometimes it's sad, sometimes it'shappy, and you want to take all the
happy, like I will, high five myself.
When I do adoptions, I'mlike, all right, good job.
And people ask me, how doyou move on so quickly?
I'm like I never intendedto keep that dog.
I intended to take that dog into my house.
I intended to give it rules and boundariesand structure and find it a home.
(10:49):
That person who adopts that doggets all that information too.
I've brought this dog home, I'vegiven it structure with the kennel.
I'm telling you, these are therules at my house to, to help
transition the dog to your house.
I suggest this is what you do.
You can never go too slow.
You can go too fast.
When you're integrating a newdog or a new animal into your
(11:12):
house, you can never go too slow.
So we always tell people that weunderstand you wanna bring your new
dog home , and you wanna snuggle.
The new dog, it takes at leasttwo to eight weeks to settle into
a new home and a new routine.
If you start giving a dog like whatWe adopt out these powerful breeds and
these breeds that will take a mile.
When you give them an inch,you have to have structure.
(11:34):
And we use the kennels for that.
And I tell people I feed in thekennel, the kennel controls everything.
It controls outside time.
It controls affection, it controlsfeeding it, and my dogs get
treats every time they get in.
They get something, whether it's ahigh value treat or it's a couple of
little rom crunchies, that they love.
I'll throw four or five in there.
But I do, I.
(11:55):
Bigger treats like the Whimsies shoes,and I buy the red barn bargain bags,
and I take the hollowed out like marrowbones and I stuff them with pumpkin or
yogurt or dog food, and then I freeze 'em.
So it gives them, an extra 30 or 40minutes of work and a nice treat as well.
It's about keeping everybodyhappy so that I'm happy as well.
(12:18):
And when I've got a difficult dog,that's when it's okay, how can I
outsmart them, keep them in theirkennel, what can I do to take the
edge off to get them to settle?
We, I'm not opposed to givingmy dogs drugs to help them learn
to react and to settle down.
And we get dogs straight outta shelter.
I don't know anything about 'em.
I don't know whether they're friendlywith, cats most of the time the shelter
(12:39):
knows that they're friendly with dogs.
Sometimes they're not alwaysfriendly with people or they react
with men or they're shy or, and allthese things need to be overcome.
And it's just about getting the dog,making an assessment and figure out a
plan to get this dog to, tip top shapeso it can go on and find another home.
A home where it's gonna be able to, liveits best life, hang out on the couch,
(13:02):
sleep in the bed eventually kind of thing.
Dixie (13:05):
It's true though because I find one of the most challenging things about
finding a pet a new home is actuallypeople wanting them to just go into
their house and they don't take it slowand they expect everything to work out.
Lisa (13:20):
Yeah.
Dixie (13:21):
There's a lot of truth to what you said because it's not like that.
And if you adopt an animal thinkingthat's what you're gonna do most of
the time it's not gonna work out.
You need to take it slow for that animal.
Lisa (13:31):
Yeah.
It take time to adjust.
I run a very strict type ship here.
My personal dogs are the only ones allowedup on the bed and up on the couch because
the dogs that I adopt out might notnecessarily be allowed on the furniture.
And someone might be like, Ooh, I don'twanna adopt that dog because he jumps
on the furniture and I don't want that.
And I don't want jumping on thefurniture to be the reason why
(13:55):
this perfectly, good match dog foryour family doesn't get a home.
'cause you don't want it on the couch.
So you're in the house, you're in yourkennel, you eating in your kennel, I go
out to the coffee shop every morning.
Usually, I take Cobalt orSusie with me, looks like I'm
getting them out of the house.
We have actually have an event at PortOrleans that we're taking some of our
dogs to and then , we'll be there justselling merchandise and just hanging out.
(14:18):
I think they're doing a big olddog event, like a hot dog event.
And then we'll be there for a littlebit, but we've just been taking a break.
I haven't had any new dogs, so we haven'tbeen doing our monthly adoption events.
Dixie (14:30):
Do you have a website?
Lisa (14:31):
We do, it's www.neworleansbulldogs.com.
And we also have a Facebook page.
I believe if you just searchFacebook for New Orleans
Bulldog Rescue it will come up.
And the Facebook page is usually themost current on what we have in rescue.
We make all of our posts and weshowcase our dogs on Facebook.
(14:53):
And then I believe the Petfinderis usually linked in each of
the the showcases that we have.
But all of our like surrenderforms and our adoption applications
can be found on our website.
They're just in the drop downlist when you click on it.
We do feature dogs there, but it is notalways up to date with who is adoptable.
(15:15):
'cause it's not interfacedwith the petfinder and , so
they don't talk to each other.
But yeah, you can reach us that way.
And we, we usually do oncea month adoption events.
If you are interested in adopting,you must attend an event.
Even if you've attended an event in thepast, we still recommend that you come
out just because it gives you a chanceto see literally every adoptable dog that
(15:35):
we have is required to come for that.
It's just a one hour once a month.
We have no set day or location.
A lot of times it's on Sunday'cause that's my only day off.
And we, try to pay attention tofootball games and all the things.
And when it's summertime likethis, we're having them inside.
Usually at a brewery.
We've got good friends at Urban Southand they'll let us bring the dogs in.
(15:58):
Most of our stuff happens after events.
We have an event, and then that weekright afterwards is when, we vet
check and start setting up one-on-onemeetings that we don't allow children
under the age of 14 at our eventsbecause some of our dogs don't like
kids and kids can be unpredictable.
So to make sure that my dogs andyour children are safe we ask that,
(16:20):
they don't come to these events.
People unfortunately still do bringtheir children and we just ask them
to keep their children, on the side.
Or if they're looking at a specificdog that I personally know will be
good with children or have seen it, ina setting where children are around,
we'll let the children introduceto the dog, but usually it's all.
It's all set upindividually after the fact.
(16:42):
Like you come out to the event, thenthere's a one-on-one meeting either
with all of your family or whateverdog is currently in your home.
And then there's anothermeeting usually at your home to
make sure the dogs get along.
And then we move inside and do,a drop off a home inspection.
And I tell people, I'm like, I don't carewhat your TV looks like, or I don't care,
(17:02):
if your sofa's, brand new or old, shoot mysofa, both corners are torn up from Simon.
I just wanna make sure that,your yard is secure and that
you have space for a dog kennel.
And that's pretty much, what I'm lookingfor because people have been around
and know how to work rescues and theywill lie about things like having
(17:22):
an outside dog or where they live.
Like I've had people tell me they live soand and then I want to drop off the dog.
They're like, oh.
Oh, we just recently moved.
I'm like, no, you didn't.
You just recently lied is what happened.
Dixie (17:35):
I was recently catfished for a cat.
This is no joke.
Lisa (17:40):
Oh my goodness.
, It's funny, but it's not funny 'cause
Dixie (17:43):
it's it's not funny.
Lisa (17:44):
Don't you have something better to do with your day?
You know what I mean?
It's come on.
Dixie (17:49):
Luckily we caught it.
Lisa (17:51):
Yeah,
that's the worst one.
I feel like I've I'm a volunteer.
I work like 45 hours a week,like I work six days a week.
It's broken up over six days,but I work six days a week.
I don't keep a normal schedule.
I go to work at 2:00 PM I'm usually homein between nine and 10:00 PM at night.
Not the normal everyday schedule.
But I enjoy it.
And when people waste my time, I don'tlike that I have very limited free time.
(18:17):
If I don't have control,it would be absolute chaos.
And I go to work with chaos.
I come home and it's a littlechaotic, but usually can manage it.
Once I get more than threerotations and yes, I rotate dogs
'cause not everybody gets along.
When I get more than three rotations,it starts getting difficult.
And right now I've gota good three rotations
but that's one of the greatthings of doing dog rescues.
(18:40):
I know my animals, I know what theirlimits are and I keep them safe no matter
what, whether it's in the yard, in thehouse, at the vet, in public, yeah.
It's just, I.
That's the commitment that I've made.
If I had children, it'd be the same thing.
I just accidentally got intodog rescue and the first dog
I fostered was a bee hole.
(19:01):
She dug a hole in my bedroom floor.
I learned real quick thatthe kennel is my best friend.
So they're like, yeah, yougotta keep her in the kennel.
I'm like, kennel's.
I learned the hard way when my, oneof my first dogs ate the windowsill
and started eating the walls.
We very quickly got a kennel, butI was like, oh, she just got fixed?
No, she dug a hole through thecarpet to the concrete while I was
(19:24):
sleeping in the same room with her.
Dixie (19:25):
Wow.
Lisa (19:26):
So yeah, crate is my best friend.
I learned real quick that Crate is aextremely important tool, especially
when I'm getting dogs straight outof the animal shelter because I
don't know what kind of dog this isor what kind of experiences they've
had in the house or with furniture.
And I tell people that when they adoptfrom me and I'm like, look, I suggest that
(19:46):
you keep this dog on the same routine forthe next two weeks that I have him on.
They eat in their kennels,they sleep in their kennels.
When I'm around and watchingthem, that's when they're loose.
I don't know if you leave him loose whenyou run to the grocery store, if he's
gonna take a poop on your couch or eat it.
I wanna say that he's not gonna dothose naughty things, but I don't
know, because when I leave, he's safelyand securely sleeping in his crate.
(20:12):
And that's, people think, oh, it's a cage.
No, it's their safe space.
I, it's never a punishment.
It's always a positive.
They get something delicious.
My dogs will run me over to get totheir kennels, and half the time I'm
you're not even going in your kennel.
This is time to, to hang out in the house.
And they will still go in down thehallway and act like they're gonna enter
whatever bedroom their crates are in.
(20:34):
And then when they realize I'vesat down, then they just come
back in the living room and oh,it's my time to be in the house.
But, my dogs enjoy their cratesand they, I've got a bed in
there and they get fed in there.
All the most high qualitytreats are given in there.
And it's, just my experiences over theyears have just definitely, solidified
(20:54):
that the crate is my best friend.
Had dogs that, gave me a run for my money.
And the kennel helped a lot to giveme more control and to learn that
they can trust me because I controleverything with the kennel and my house
is safe and my other animals are safe.
And, most of the time when I'mgone, they're asleep in their
(21:16):
kennel and that's what any ownerwants their dog to be doing.
But maybe sleep on the couch.
Rhonda sometimes stays loose, but Idon't even let her loose now because
of the storms, because I don't wanther to go in the bathroom and hide
or, decide that she wants to actuallyknock the kittens down or something.
So
her kennel is safe foreveryone, especially her.
Dixie (21:39):
Definitely nothing wrong with kennel training them.
It's a good thing to have in my opinion.
Lisa (21:45):
Yeah, it absolutely is.
And my whole extra bedroom is just,there's five, there's six dogs kennels
in there, and if I need to, I canput five more crates in that room.
I have the capacity in one roomto finagle 11 dogs in there.
For my own sanity I don't,but I can if I need to.
Dixie (22:03):
What's the one message you would like to leave our listeners
with about animal rescue in general?
Lisa (22:08):
In general, I just wanna say spay and neuter your animals.
But with rescue, just be honest.
If you wanna adopt a dog.
Be honest.
You wanna adopt a cat, be honest.
Make sure you spay andneuter your animals.
Be responsible and committed.
It's not a, oh, it's a cute little kitten.
It's a, in 20 years when they're inkidney failure and you need to take 'em
(22:28):
to the vet, will you commit to do that?
Will you be doing fluidsat home for your cat?
Will you do the extra, expensivefood and the wet food and all the
things that your animal needs?
There's so many things I could say
I just want people to be responsible.
Just know that it's a commitment.
It's not, it's a cute little puppy.
It's a, when your life changesin five years, make sure that
(22:50):
there's a plan for your dog.
Bulldog Rescue has a safe haven program.
We've only had to use it a couple oftimes, but it is for people like, in
a domestic violence situation thatneed to get out, but don't immediately
have a place to go with their dog.
We've had a couple come in andwe basically foster them until
these people get on their feetand can take their dogs back.
(23:11):
And then still, occasionally I'llstill, Amazon Prime, a bag of food here
and there If they need help, I wouldrather go the extra mile to help you
keep your dog than rehome your dog.
Dixie (23:23):
Absolutely.
Lisa (23:24):
Maybe that's
what I should have said.
Dixie (23:26):
Absolutely.
I absolutely agree with that.
I would rather see people ask forhelp than just rehome their animals.
Lisa (23:34):
Yeah.
Or get in over their head and then have tolike, go bring their half dead dog to the
shelter, in a last ditch effort for help.
Whether the dog survives or notis up to what's happening at the
shelter at the present moment.
If they can, get the vet care that theanimal needs or if it's just a lost cause.
One of my neighbors, just theother day told me that the neighbor
(23:55):
across the street, a couple housesdown, one of their dogs died and
they're like she'd been sick.
I'm like what'd the vet say?
And they're like theydidn't take her to the vet.
I'm like, that's just insane.
It's, my dog misses a meal.
I'm like, something's wrong.
You're going to the vet.
Dixie (24:11):
That's crazy.
Lisa (24:11):
They let their dog die.
Like they didn't take her to the vet.
I'm like, just flabbergasted.
I have a whole creditcard for just my animals.
If I can't afford what needs to bedone, I've got that security blanket
there for a reason, accidents happen.
Animals need proper care to,to live a good, healthy life.
(24:34):
And some of those thingsare unpredictable.
Believe me, I know anyone who owns ananimal should know that animals get sick.
Just like people, you needto buy pet insurance or you
man up and you pay the vet.
But if you're smart about it, youget a puppy from, a, a reputable
breeder or from a rescue, and thenyou immediately get pet insurance.
(24:57):
Most of mine unfortunately come in withmedical issues, so pet insurance was
never a good idea for me because it would,disqualify the preexisting condition,
which is the condition that I wouldbe taking them to the vet for, right?
Unfortunately it doesn't alwayswork in everybody's favor, but.
We do what we gotta do no matter what.
(25:17):
Yeah.
I will eat ramen noodles so I canbuy somebody's meds or I will dog
sit for free, or cat sit for free.
Or anytime I have anything extra,I'll always try to like, give a
little bit of here and there to onGive Nola Day and things like that to
rescues that I don't even work with.
I give my time to, bulldog rescue and Igive my time to the Jefferson SPCA and
(25:41):
anybody else that asks me for help, ifthere was with a rescue, that's what
I contribute is,, my volunteer time.
I don't always have the fundsto spare, but if I do, I will
definitely, do what I need to do.
I've been buying some of my own littlekitten supplies, 'cause I know, the
Jefferson Feed has a ton of kittens.
I know what that costs to run, soI've been providing some stuff for
(26:03):
my own kittens and some fostersdo that and some fosters don't.
But a way that I can get back,is to help with the kitten stuff.
And, I buy my own dogtreats and my own dog food.
So it's just, bulldog Rescuepaying for the dogs that are
technically living in my home.
Rent free huh Rhonda.
But yeah, I don't know any other wayto live my life other than to helping
(26:26):
with dogs and cats and, if I have thetime to do TNR or to help out where I
can, I did the shelter neuter returnfor years to try to get the proper
numbers to get that best friend grant.
And then we got that grant andthose girls were here for three
years and then they're gone andthen we're still in the same boat.
Dixie (26:46):
Yeah, it'll get better one day.
We just need to get morepeople on board with the TNR
Lisa (26:52):
But
yeah, when is one day, I'vebeen doing this for 20 years.
Dixie (26:56):
It's amazing the amount, that's amount of work that you do
though working with all these groupsand it's really admirable too.
Lisa (27:02):
Thank you
Dixie (27:04):
A lot of people, there's a lot of ego involved in animal rescue sometimes.
And, so you don't always seepeople helping other groups
because of that ego thing.
And so it's very admirablethat you do as much as you do.
Lisa (27:20):
I
try.
The animals shouldn't matter whatrescue that they're with, just as
long as I have my heart in the rightplace, and that's where I'm at.
I needed something to brighten Myday after Trouble was, unfortunately
found deceased and I wanted kittens.
So I went out and volunteered to foster,and now I'm just laughing and giggling
(27:43):
at my three little corn chip boys.
Because they're definitely a hoot.
They're, yeah they're the corn chip boys.
They've got the Cheeto, the Dorito, andthe Frito, and I call 'em Frito Burrito
and Cheeto Burrito and Dorito Burrito.
They are a kick.
I definitely enjoy havingkittens in the house.
It's a lot of fun.
You get to do all the cutesy littlethings and then they find another home.
(28:05):
My friends are like,you're gonna keep one.
I'm like, no, I'm not reallyplanning on keeping a kitten.
Like I love Dorito, I reallylike Cheeto and Frito and I'm
not keeping three kittens.
We're not keeping kittens.
It's not always the easy decisionsometimes, especially when you
put a lot of extra love and care.
'cause someone gets sick like Dorito,it just builds a different bond, and
I have learned to, to know that, ifI build a special bond with these
(28:29):
animals, that I, that just meansthat I have to keep in touch a little
more and it with whoever adopts 'em.
And I still get, text messages andwe still get emails and things when
our dogs unfortunately pass away.
And, people donate things all the time.
When they lose animals, and that'sunfortunately a sad part about it.
But the good part is that a lot ofthose people come back again and adopt
(28:51):
again, so they're saving another life.
And, it's just, rescue is becoming thepopular thing to do, but unfortunately
we still just don't have enough fosterhomes and enough money to save them all.
I just shake my head.
'cause my family's from the Midwestand animals are treated differently.
They're more like , theyserve a purpose down here.
(29:14):
Their purpose is puppies and kittensin, in the Midwest, it's like the
dog is out there with the cattle.
You don't see loose dogs orloose cats and stuff like that.
It's just a different mentality of thetype of animal and the climate that
nothing stray could live in negative70 degrees when they get a snowstorm.
(29:34):
It's just not possible.
You can't even be outside formore than a couple minutes.
It's the whole society down herein the south, they just don't think
that spay and neuter is important.
For some reason, I don't get it.
Or oh, my dog's not gonna get pregnant.
My dog's not gonna get out.
Yeah, all those thingshappened, I don't know.
It's frustrating to talk about it.
Dixie (29:52):
It is.
Lisa (29:53):
I don't see an end in sight unfortunately.
'cause I still run across people today.
It's, we're in the 21st centuryand they don't understand.
And I don't understand how, at this pointin our life and in society, in the way
that, you know, domesticated animalsare treated that people still have that
mentality and it's gotta start fromsomewhere we need to start educating
(30:16):
like in the schools now or something.
We used to do advocacyprograms, for events at schools.
We've been to a couple of times,with Bulldog Rescue, where they
were having like an environmentevent and they invited our dogs.
And that was a lot of fun and itwas good to, . Teach the kids.
I'm a nanny.
All three of our kids, know allthe rules to ask to pet a dog.
(30:36):
And, we don't, feed our dogall these random things.
We don't hit our dog.
It's so frustrating.
I could talk for hours about it,
When you do rescue , as long asI have, I've got some stories.
Even Michael's man, you got some stories.
I'm like, I know, because every dog hasa story and I can't remember people's
names, but I can tell you the dogand I can tell you the dog's story.
Like the lady that I'm gonna meetwith for the new Frenchie is I
(30:58):
know who she is, but I rememberher dogs before I remembered her.
Dixie (31:02):
It's funny.
I'm the same way..
I remember kittens that Ifostered like 10 years ago.
Lisa (31:07):
I know.
It happens to us too sometimes whenthey send emails, they're like, oh,
here's an update so and and they'relike, did you foster this dog?
I'm like, oh yeah, I fostered him.
His name was Judge.
Because people changetheir names on stuff.
It's you just have to remember.
Occasionally it takes me a minute, butmost of the time, if I've had a dog
for , any significant amount of time inmy home, I can immediately remember them.
(31:29):
I might not remember who adopted them.
The phone the contact that I addedwill tell me the person's name with
the foster dog's name next to it,
Dixie (31:36):
Uhhuh.
Lisa (31:36):
And that's usually how I remember their people's names is 'cause I have
it in there under the dog's name.
So
I can communicate.
And I've met so many people andthen I've adopted dogs to judges
and lawyers and real estate agents.
And, I've had dogs that were downhere in the military that lived
in Washington state and New YorkCity and all over the country.
(31:58):
I even shipped merchandiseto Sweden one time.
It was super exciting.
. It was super cool.
'cause I handle all the PayPal orders.
If you order something fromPayPal, it gets shipped, by me.
I have all the merchandise here.
We, don't have a ton right now, but wejust do t-shirts, can coolers every year.
We do a big ticket item,but it's just a calendar.
We're one of the only rescuegroups that does a yearly calendar.
(32:21):
We have done 'em for years.
I will never let Michaelstop doing the calendar.
It's a great fundraiser.
We always make our money back andthen some, and people love them.
We put them out and all theJefferson feeds and they sell
out and we have to bring more.
A couple of our vet clinics sell 'em.
You can always buy 'em online.
It's a lot of fun.
We get a photographer, we do pictures.
Most of the calendar has alumni in it.
(32:43):
And basically you donate your fee andthen your dog gets into the calendar, and
then you get the professional picturesfrom your professional photo shoot.
And that's how we handle our calendar.
It's a way for us to makesure that we have enough money
to print them, to be honest.
And it's a good fundraiser for us andpeople seem to enjoy it because every year
we, usually get all 12 months to alumnifrom the previous year or anyone actually.
(33:08):
We send out a massive email for,any year that you've adopted.
If you would like to be in thecalendar, you can, like Max, his
mom is a a retired judge, and heis been in the calendar every year.
And I asked Michael just recently,I'm like, is that boy still around?
He is he's still kicking.
I'm like, all right.
He's getting old.
He's gotta be 14 by now.
And he's not a little dog.
He's some sort of like.
(33:29):
Pit bull and bulldog mix.
He's super cute, buthe's like a big blockhead
Dixie (33:34):
uhhuh.
Lisa (33:35):
He's got floppy ears and the docked tail, but he is like a 80 or 90 pound dog.
He's not little.
He's solid.
I fostered him and his mom's momactually just recently adopted a dog.
And I pulled Trixie from theL-A-S-P-C-A, she had no hair.
You couldn't tell what color she was.
(33:55):
She was like a four orfive month old puppy.
She was just a baby.
And she, didn't walk on a leash.
She had mange so bad.
She was disgusting.
Those are one of those dogs,you're like, I need a foster
home like tomorrow for this dog.
Because she not only needs a lot ofwork, meaning bathing and, antibiotics
(34:16):
and, but bulldogs can smell ingeneral, but when you've got a yeast
infection all over your body from headto tail and you have mange, imagine
what that smells like in your house.
It's not fun, but that'ssomething you commit to.
I knew when I was getting her thatthis was gonna be a lot of bathing.
(34:36):
But I had a foster home whodoesn't have any other dogs.
And then she ended up keepingher and I was like, all right.
It's always fun when our fosterskeep a dog and then still
want to continue to foster.
Of course, I gotta put that outthere because if you keep a dog and
then you don't foster anymore, thenI'm like, oh, I lost a foster home.
But if you if you keep a dogand keep fostering more, yes.
(34:57):
High fives, that's what I love.
Dixie (35:00):
Yeah, that is absolutely the best.
Thank you for talking with me today.
I enjoyed our conversation.
Lisa (35:05):
Absolutely.
I did too.
Dixie (35:06):
I'll have you come back on and we'll just do dog stories.
Lisa (35:10):
Awesome.
Sounds like fun.
Dixie (35:12):
If you are enjoying our show, please consider leaving us a donation.
A hundred percent goes to our animals.
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
(35:32):
. Thanks for listening, and pleasejoin us next week as we continue to
explore the world of animal rescue.
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