By Mimi Pollack
SAN DIEGO — Last May, as I was walking around checking out all the booths at the San Diego Humane Society Walk event, I saw two sweet and funny little faces that drew me in. They were two senior Chihuahuas named Fred and Ethel, like the couple who lived next door to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on “I love Lucy”. What perfect names for those silly little faces!
Fred and Ethel are two lucky pooches that were taken in by Lionel’s Legacy, a non-profit organization, out of El Cajon, California, that specializes in rescuing senior dogs.
Lionel’s Legacy was founded in 2011 by elementary school teacher, Laura Oliver, and her family. Lionel was a 15 year old pit bull that inspired them to start an organization that specializes in fostering and finding good homes for senior pets.
When Lionel first came to Laura’s family, he was in terrible shape and everyone thought he had little time left to live. He was painfully thin and very scared. Slowly, he began to trust his new family, and more importantly eat like a lion. He also blossomed into a loving family pet and got along with everyone, including the family cat.
Lionel lived out his last years as a very happy dog, and seeing all this dog had to offer convinced the Oliver family that they needed to do more for other senior dogs. Thus, Lionel’s Legacy was born. Today they advocate for other senior dogs in need through both adoption and fostering. It is their goal to save as many seniors as possible, such as Fred and Ethel.
This bonded pair came to them on their last day at the County of San Diego Animal Control- North Campus. They had been brought to the shelter after being abandoned in a box on someone’s front porch.
A volunteer at the shelter contacted Lionel’s Legacy on the day Fred and Ethel were to be euthanized. Unfortunately, euthanasia in shelters is a fact of life due to pet overpopulation, but for senior dogs, lack of medical resources makes it a double whammy.
Both doggies needed dental work and Ethel had a persistent cough; however, thanks to the generosity of the donors at Lionel’s Legacy, they were able to commit to taking the pair, and providing the necessary care they needed.
Today, Fred and Ethel are happily living in their foster home, but are still on the lookout for someone to fall in love with them, and adopt them both, so they can grow old together.
Lionel’s Legacy not only wants to rescue as many senior dogs as possible, it also wants to educate future dog owners. Besides heading the organization, Laura Oliver has been a 4th grade teacher at Central Elementary in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego for 15 years, where she started the C.A.R.E. club.
This stands for compassion, advocacy, respect and responsibility and education. As Oliver states, “I’m known as the “animal guru” at Central for students and staff and I recognized how many individuals were coming to me for help regarding pet care, training, accidental and purposeful breeding, medical questions, what to do when animals go missing, or when families have to move, etc.. I realized that, what we as rescuers know isn’t always so obvious to the general population because of lack of information and experience. I decided to start the Animal C.A.R.E. Club out of a need to help my students with their pets, but quickly learned it was about growing a total mindset for how we treat all animals, our planet, and one another.
City Heights is a melting pot of people and cultures, with a lot of refugees, families on extremely low incomes, parents working multiple jobs all hours of the day and night, many people struggling to learn English, and some needing to move frequently due to a lack of income.
Many of these families want more for their children and through the Animal C.A.R.E. Club, Oliver said, “we can provide an outlet to students who have a passion for animals and the environment. The students learn about what it means to C.A.R.E., and they get to meet professionals in various animal and environmental fields who share their experiences with them and the possibilities of future careers. We’ve had guest speakers such as RVT’s, trainers, underwater photographers, conservationists and humane and animal control officers. We’ve also had guest speakers from specialized rescue groups covering topics such as dog fighting and racing.
“The Animal C.A.R.E. Club is an 8 week after school program that works with 35 4th and 5th graders,” she added. “We have a wait list each year as everyone wants to participate. Unfortunately, it’s just me at this point, so I can only accommodate a certain number of students. However, my goal is to eventually grow our program to other schools, so that more children are reached.”
Kudos to Laura Oliver and let’s hope that teachers in East County will contact her to start Animal C.A.R.E. Clubs of their own.
On Friday, July 22nd, there will be a fundraiser at Native Foods, a vegetarian restaurant in the Clairemont Mesa neighborhood of San Diego The address is 5604 Balboa Ave, Ste 107, San Diego, 92111. Twenty percent of the proceeds from dinner will go to the organization.
For more information, go to www.lionel’slegacy.org
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Pollack is a freelance writer based in La Mesa, California. She may be contacted via mimi.pollack@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)