Making roadside rescues safer

Roadside rescues can be dangerous for dogs and people but luckily with a few gadgets we can make it a lot safer

Roadside rescues can be dangerous for dogs and people but luckily with a few gadgets we can make it a lot safer

A long time supporter, Mary Chatman, who previously called us in to help Yara and Fiona (who's videos you can watch here and here), tipped us off about another dog in trouble. She’d seen a homeless dog in the neighborhood several times and finally tracked them down, cowering under a car. She called Hope for Paws and the team rolled in to rescue Ziggy.  

Even though this wasn’t as risky as one of their many highway rescues, Loretta and Eldad still came fully equipped to make sure everyone, Ziggy included, stayed safe. With so many crazy situations there isn’t always professional gear available so these rescues require the team to get creative! Eldad, Loretta, and Mary (who was able to help out) unloaded a plastic play fence from the Hope for Paws truck and encircled the parked car. With Ziggy protected from the dangerous street, Eldad steps in and helped Loretta loop one gentle leader, and then another around the dog’s neck, pulling him safely from under the car. Ziggy didn’t put up a fight, he was completely frozen and absolutely terrified. Eldad took the chance to check for any major injuries and realized how matted Ziggy was, it must have hurt to even move! It was definitely time to get him to CARES Animal Hospital. 

After a brief struggle to get a frightened Ziggy into the car, the team arrived at the hospital and the dematting process began. Two vet technicians got their clippers and began to cut off over a kilogram of matted hair. Afterwards, Ziggy looked like a completely different dog and went to his foster home with our partners at LA Animal Rescue. Next time we saw him, Ziggy not only looked like a different dog but acted like one too. The terrified, matted dog we found under the car was now running and playing with his foster home friends and more happily jumping around to show off his healthy new coat!