The Eden Magazine team visited The East Valley Animal Shelter for our February feature cover with Maria Conchita Alonso. You can find the shelter at 4409 Vanowen St, Van Nuys, CA 91405. Although it was a very emotional day for us as we entered the front doors of the shelter, we all felt that it was very important to spread the word to the public about all the precious abandoned animals and of what really goes on in there. We met a couple of the volunteers including, Jake Miller, an Animal Care Technician and Christine Carr, both of whom work tirelessly to help feed the animals, to love them, and most importantly to keep them alive until they can hopefully find a loving home. It really touched our hearts to see all the work that they do. All Shelters are always in need of your help. No matter where you live, please visit your local shelter whether you are looking to add a companion to your household or if you would like to donate. Jake Miller shared with us how the public can help a shelter.
Here is a list of tangible items that you can donate:
Linens – towels, blankets, sheets
Newspapers
Stainless steel bowls of all sizes
Ceramic crocks
Plastic or stainless steel litter pans (all sizes)
Dog and cat treats (hard and soft)
Dog and cat toys (including washable stuffed toys)
Guinea pig, hamster, gerbil food & cages
Hay (timothy or oat)
Cat scratching posts
Baby wipes
Potty-training pads
Heating pads
Dog and cat carriers
Baby bottles (newborn) and kitten bottles
Fabric softener sheets
Dog and cat groom supplies
Shampoo, conditioner, brushes, clippers
Bleach
White vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Gift cards to local pet stores for emergency needs
He also said that people can help out at Shelters by volunteering their time. For children who are under the minimum age to donate (16 years), he suggested that they can have their friends and family make donations to the shelter on their behalf in lieu of presents and gifts for their birthdays and holidays. Some children even hold towel and blanket drives, lemonade stands, bake sales, etc. A ten-year-old girl recently made a donation in the amount of $400. He told us that it’s always amazing to see how resourceful kids can be. He has also had Girl Scout troops and other similar groups come in and make donations.
Here are some very important things to remember and encourage in our communities:
• Spaying and neutering (many cities like LA offer assistance that can often make it free or nearly free)
• Microchipping their pet so it can be identified when found
• walking their dog on a leash
• teaching our children responsible pet ownership
• not giving a pet as a gift but rather giving them a gift certificate to get a pet instead (this way the gifted family can pick one that they want together and if they can’t have a pet, they don’t have to get one)
Scott Miller told us that he has been blessed to be working at this job for the past 15-½ years. Over that time, he has seen that things have gotten, and continue to get, better when if comes to animal shelters and the innovative solutions they come up with to get pets back home or into new homes. Lastly, he would like to say that the best thing anyone can do is to share their positive experience with animal shelters so that it will in turn drive others to go and visit\adopt\volunteer. If people have this dark and dreary opinion of the shelters as presented by Hollywood and a lot of social media, they will never come and visit one. The success of his field is pinned to the amount of happy and positive traffic that flows through the doors.
The Eden Magazine Photographer Brenda (Busaba St. Hilaire) was at the shelter earlier and she witnessed a homeless woman adopting a dog, She told me later, “Even the homeless benefit from the love of a pet. As long as the shelter is there, she will have access to affordable care of her dog. It’s so touching to see how this woman saved her money to adopt a dog and even donated money to save other animals.”
