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Read this wonderful Lake Charles American Press Opinion on New Leash on Life and the good work the project has been spreading in our community.
 It was the lead Opinion on the Editorial Page, A4 in the Jan. 5, 2011 newspaper!
At the end of the glowing review, they state that the project deserves support from our community -- resources this project needs to continue and keep getting stronger include funding, supplies, and VOLUNTEERS!
We need to make sure that each and every Tuesday and Thursday those kids and dogs have someone from The People's Advocate and The Humane Society there with them, for one hour, if nothing else just showing them that we're pulling for them and that we care about them.
Email
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or
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for more information or a volunteer application.
All donations to the People's Advocate and The Humane Society are tax deductible as they are both 501(c)3 organizations. |
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From Homeless to Home for the Holidays: One Dog's Tale of Paying it Forward |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21
FOR MORE INFORMATION: BETH ZILBERT, THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE 513-2857, KELLY TAYLOR, OJJS 721-3900, SUSAN STANFORD, SWLA HUMANE SOCIETY 802-5616
WHO: Calcasieu Parish Office of Juvenile Justice Services, Calcasieu Parish Animal Services, and The Humane Society Pet Therapy Team – including the Dr. Dog therapy dogs, with their newest addition: Wiley – a border collie mix rescued by Animal Services who was rehabilitated and trained by the kids in the New Leash on Life project at the Juvenile Detention Center.
WHAT: Annual Pet Therapy Team Christmas Visit with the kids housed at the Parish Juvenile Detention Center
WHEN: Tuesday, December 21 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm
WHERE: Calcasieu Parish Juvenile Detention Center, 3615 E. Prien Lake Road
 WHY: Wiley is one of more than 4 dozen homeless dogs trained in the New Leash on Life service-learning partnership at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) that helps provide a new chance at a good life for homeless dogs and helps at-risk kids find a new and better path of their own. Wiley’s new family has seen his gift for giving unconditional love and has joined with the Humane Society’s Pet Therapy project entitled, “Dr. Dogs.” Wiley will now share the gift of love he was given by the kids in New Leash on Life by visiting patients at local hospitals and nursing homes, assisting in physical therapy sessions, and, coming back to the JDC to give love and hope for a better new year and a better life to the kids who will be spending Christmas at the JDC.
Volunteers with the Humane Society have been collecting games and toys to bring to the kids at the JDC so that they too will have presents to open from under the tree on Christmas morning.
The New Leash on Life project is a partnership organized by The People’s Advocate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the cycle of violence in families. Service-learning partnerships, such as New Leash on Life, help reach that goal rehabilitating those caught in that cycle by teaching them new skills while also providing real assistance to local nonprofits who work to make our community a better place to live. |
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Partnership Transforms Homeless Dog to Pet Therapist |
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PARTNERSHIP TRANSFORMS HOMELESS DOG TO PET THERAPIST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010
FOR MORE INFORMATION: KELLY TAYLOR, OJJS 721-2900
BETH ZILBERT, PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE, 436-3475
SUSAN STANFORD, HS-SWLA 802- 5616
The partnership between Calcasieu Parish Policy Jury’s Office of Juvenile Justice Services Detention Center and Animal Services, The Humane Society and The People’s Advocate has helped make a happy new beginning this holiday season for a dog, a family, about two dozen kids, and countless folks healing at area hospitals and nursing homes. Wiley, a two-year-old border-collie mix and participant in the New Leash on Life Program at the Calcasieu Parish Policy Jury’s Office of Juvenile Justice Services Detention Center will be adopted today by a local family who intend to include him in the Humane Society Pet Therapy Program. All involved are winners, as dogs are rehabilitated and adopted, kids learn coping and communication skills and get unconditional love for their efforts and the parish has a chance to reduce the number of kids ending up in court or detention.
About two dozen kids housed at the Calcasieu Parish Policy Jury’s Office of Juvenile Justice Services Detention Center over the last eight months have trained Wiley. He has earned his basic obedience certificate and the kids training him have learned that lives can be changed when kindness and responsibility replace violence and dishonesty. The kids in the detention center are responsible for the care of the dogs by feeding them, cleaning their kennels and the upkeep of their health and grooming. Taking care of something other than themselves teaches real responsibility. The recidivism rate for these young men and women who have taken part in training Wiley is lower than it is for the general population.
By Wiley participating in the Humane Society’s Pet Therapy Program, he can spread the love he was given to people hurt and healing. The Pet Therapy Program/Dr. Dog Therapy Team visit patients in hospitals, nursing homes, work with Physical and occupations Therapists to aid in the healing and repair of patients, and visit with kids needing some love and acceptance. Wiley will join our Dr. Dog Therapy Team bringing joy on four legs through each patient’s door during their hospital stay.
New Leash on Life is a collaborative partnership between the Calcasieu Parish Policy Jury, the Humane Society and the People’s Advocate to create service-learning opportunities for kids in the juvenile justice system. Dogs rescued by the Animal Services come to live at the Juvenile Detention Center in a five-dog kennel area constructed just for them. The kids housed in the Juvenile Detention Center rehabilitate and train the dogs so they can then be put up for adoption. More than 50 dogs have found new homes and over 90 kids have come through the project. Plans are being discussed to expand the project at the Juvenile Detention Center and perhaps to help other interested sites start their own programs like Harris County in Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. |
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Therapy dogs and volunteers at J D C |
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Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence |
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Facts About Animal Abuse & Domestic Violence
In association with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Why it Matters
- 71% of pet-owning women entering women’s shelters reported that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims; 32% reported their children had hurt or killed animals. [1]
- 68% of battered women reported violence towards their animals. 87% of these incidents occurred in the presence of the women, and 75% in the presence of the children, to psychologically control and coerce them. [2]
- 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve domestic violence. [3]
- Between 25% and 40% of battered women are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock should they leave. [4,5,6]
- Pets may suffer unexplained injuries, health problems, permanent disabilities at the hands of abusers, or disappear from home. [7]
- Abusers kill, harm, or threaten children’s pets to coerce them into sexual abuse or to force them to remain silent about abuse. Disturbed children kill or harm animals to emulate their parents’ conduct, to prevent the abuser from killing the pet, or to take out their aggressions on another victim. [8,9]
- In one study, 70% of animal abusers also had records for other crimes. Domestic violence victims whose animals were abused saw the animal cruelty as one more violent episode in a long history of indiscriminate violence aimed at them and their vulnerability. [10]
- Investigation of animal abuse is often the first point of social services intervention for a family in trouble. [4]
- For many battered women, pets are sources of comfort providing strong emotional support: 98% of Americans consider pets to be companions or members of the family. [11]
- Animal cruelty problems are people problems. When animals are abused, people are at risk. [12]
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Donate
The need for funding to keep and expand our programs is significant.
Please consider making a financial contribution.
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