Lost Our Home Pet Foundation

Ethel & Kaylee’s Happy Ending

Beth — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:35:54 +0000

Ethel and Kaylee joined our family 8 months ago and are the center of our home. They were fear dogs when we got them, shy of people, animals and loud noises. People thought we were crazy to take two females from the same litter, but a little sibling rivalry is workable. We put them through training to give them a happier balanced life, a work in progress but they have done excellent. Whether we are out running in the desert or in the back yard playing ball the girls are just looking to share the love. We are very thankful that Lost Our Home was able to fill the need we had and that we were able to fill the need they had.

Examiner.com – Help Amelia

Beth — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:56:51 +0000

Amelia is a ten-month-old puppy. She is a happy dog that adores people with the tremendous amount of love she shows; so much so, she hides the pain that she is in. Ameilia was born with a condition known as hip dysplasia. She was rescued from a home that was foreclosed. Her former owners had left her with no food, or water except for a swimming pool covered with two inches of green sludge. She was able to roam the streets because the yard was not fenced in. She stayed close to home just in case her family came back for her, but she was left alone until she was rescued.

With hip surgery, Amelia has a chance to live a normal, healthy and active life from the help of the community. AZ Lost Our Home Pet Foundation needs to raise $2900 for this surgery that she deserves. To see a video of Amelia please visit the following link (Amelia). To donate to her surgery, select the donation link and specify that it is for "Amelia" in the memo line.

Reported by Examiner.com

Help Amelia live pain free!

Beth — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:59:38 +0000

Amelia was rescued from a foreclosed home after being left by her owners. They left her with no food and a pool as her source of water (which was covered in 2 inches of green sludge). Amelia was living at a house that was not fenced and, although she was free to roam the streets, she stayed close to the house waiting for her owners to return; they never did.

Once Amelia made it to a rescue and received vet care, it was learned that Amelia has hip dysplasia. At the tender age of ten (10) months old it is presumed Amelia was born with this condition. Though Amelia has no hip sockets, she is still the happiest dog you will ever meet! She will only show you love and happiness, and never pain.

Fortunately, with your help, Amelia can lead a wonderful, athletic life once she can receive hip surgery. Please help us to cover the costs to give Amelia the surgery she so needs and deserves. We thank you for your kindness and are forever appreciative for any contribution donated toward Amelia's cause.

** If you would like make a donation for Amelia, please be sure to include her name on the memo line of your donation.**

AZCentral: Groups take on challenge to help ‘foreclosed pets’

Beth — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:36:23 +0000

When life got bad for Rocky's owners, it got even worse for the 12-year-old Queensland heeler The people he had lived with for 10 years moved from a Chandler house they could no longer afford into a small apartment that did not allow pets. Rocky was abandoned in the back yard. .

Rescue groups said the same thing is happening to hundreds if not thousands of other Valley pets, as their owners hit hard times.

The Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, which recently placed Rocky in an Ahwatukee home, says calls for assistance from people who can no longer afford their pets continue to increase as the Valley's foreclosure rates remain high.

"There are so many more pets in need than there were even at the beginning of the year," said Lost Our Home president Jodi Polanski, a Mesa resident. "We are just overwhelmed."

One of the the group's most recent rescues was Rocky, who was more fortunate than many other so-called "foreclosure dogs."

He was fed and played with by neighbors for at least three months before someone reported his situation. He did not appear to be in bad health when Lost Our Home took him in.

Two weeks ago, Rocky went to the Ahwatukee home of Tammy and Howard Teeter, volunteers who also are professional dogs trainers that help the group's "foster families" take in displaced pets.

Lost Our Home, which is based in Scottsdale, has rescued about 400 dogs and cats in the last year, Polanski said. All were left behind by owners with financial problems, she said.

Both Lost Our Home and Ahwatukee-based RESCUE, another group that places unwanted pets with new families, say no one has solid numbers detailing the magnitude of the problem.

"Unless the owner states 'I've lost my home and can't care for my pet,' we have no way of knowing why a dog or cat ended up at the shelter," said Jennifer Berry, director of RESCUE, which takes pets on shelter "kill lists," rehabilitates them and finds them new families. "Most of the dogs and cats we save have an invisible past."

RESCUE is an acronym for Reducing Euthanasia in Shelters through Commitment and Underlying Education.

Rescuers also can't say for sure why someone would leave a pet behind in an empty house instead of finding a new home, although they suspect the motive is often financial.

"Leaving a pet at a shelter can cost money," Polanski suggested. "And people sometimes think of pets as something disposable. But I really don't have an answer to that question. If I did, we could solve the problem."

Polanski could spend her time telling stories few people want to hear:

A story about more than a dozen cats locked in an apartment and going weeks without food or water because no one knew the owners had walked away. Or one about a foreclosure dog that had to be euthanized because tics consumed much of its blood before it was found.

Instead, her focus is on now finding foster homes where pets can stay temporarily while they recover physically and emotionally from being abandoned - and on placing 130 dogs and cats that have recovered for adoption.

"Maybe Ahwatukee is not filled with foreclosures but it is filled with potential foster homes," said Howard Teeter, the volunteer who helps train pet foster families. He and his wife Tammy own Wiggles and Wags K-9 Training LLC, an Ahwatukee-based dog training business.

Tammy Teeter said being a foster parent for an abandoned dog is not as hard as it might sound - even for people who already have a houseful of kids and pets.

Like blending step-children into a new family, the pets need clear rules and regular schedulea. Too much pampering is actually discouraged, Tammy Teeter said.

"People tend to dwell on what the dog has been though and how bad the situation was ," she said. "But if you just treat them like a normal dog they will thrive."

Source: azcentral.com

ABC 15: Chandler neighborhood bands together, saves abandoned dog

Beth — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:04:11 +0000

CHANDLER, AZ -- The story of pets being left behind when homeowners have to leave is all too common these days.

So when a family in one Chandler neighborhood left their dog "Rocky" behind, neighbors stepped in to help Rocky out.

"The dog is innocent, the dog just is here and he needs help," said Richard Vedas, who lives across the street.

Vedas made sure that Rocky had food and water, and he searched for a no-kill shelter that could take the dog.

It turns out that if you call about a dog, you have to actually own the dog for a shelter to be able to come and take the animal.

Eight-year-old Monse de la Cruz, who lives in the neighborhood, also helped take care of Rocky.

Every day after school she would stop in to see him.

"I'll play with him and then at 6 o'clock I'll feed him," said Monse.

It took almost five months before Vedas was able to find The Lost Our Home Pet Foundation.

Lost Our Home specializes in rescuing animals who have been abandoned.

"Just a great feeling, you know, to know someone else cares," said Vedas.

Now Lost Our Home will take care of Rocky's veterinary needs and set him up with a foster family until they can find someone to adopt him and give him a forever home.

"He's a very lucky dog," said Tammy Wilson Teeter, owner of Wiggles and Wags K-9 Training. "If the neighbors hadn't been taking care of him, he would not be here today."

Teeter, who is also on the executive board for Lost Our Home, also provides evaluations of rescued dogs to determine what home would be best suited for the animal, and will even offer free training for any of the animals that are rescued by Lost Our Home.

"(Rocky's) an old dog, we just need to teach him some new tricks," said Teeter.

Now that Rocky has been rescued, the neighborhood is relieved, and thankful for what Lost Our Home does.

"I'm happy for Rocky now," said Monse.

Source: abc15.com

See Rocky's rescue here:

Pets Often Left Behind as Homes Foreclose

Ashlee — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:58:44 +0000

As homeowners continue to lose their residences to foreclosure, a Valley-based pet rescue organization is forging ahead in the hope of finding homes for furry family members that have been left behind.

Since January, members of the Lost Our Home Pet Foundation said there has been an increase in the number of pets left behind at abandoned homes. The group’s aim is to get them into ones that are occupied where they can be cared for.

The foundation said calls reporting pets in need have averaged about 140 a month since January — up about 20 a month compared with calls in 2008. About half of those calls involve foreclosures, said Jodi Polanski, a mortgage lender who is the president and founder of Lost Our Home Pet Foundation. Most of the pet abandonment is throughout the East Valley, she said.

The rescue group’s mission is to rescue, foster, heal, adopt and advocate for dogs or cats that have been abandoned or left behind due to foreclosure or eviction, and to help families find options other than leaving the pets unattended in the foreclosed homes.

Last year, 23 pets — 15 puppies and eight dogs — were left behind and eventually rescued at one home in Gilbert, Polanski said. More recently, a beagle mix was found abandoned in the backyard of a Gilbert home in the Coronado Ranch subdivision and was rescued, Polanski said.

“It’s been kind of like a revolving door,” Polanski said of the organization taking in the abandoned pets. “Pets are really my passion. We want to help pets that also have been affected by the economy and help them avoid euthanasia. We can’t take them all in, but we take the ones in the most desperate situations.”

Polanski said as people are leaving homes they’ve lost to foreclosure, they are just leaving the pets outside. The pets often are discovered by realtors, she said.

Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, which will reach its one-year anniversary on June 28, does not have an office or facility to house the abandoned pets and solely consists of volunteers who foster the animals until someone gives them a permanent home.

Currently there are about 150 pets who need homes, pretty much evenly divided between cats and dogs, Polanski said.

Overall, the Lost Our Home Pet Foundation has about 35 people who take in the pets, 30 volunteers and 40 who help with food donations. The rescue group also has a financial assistance group that provides money for emergency veterinary care for the pets, and spay and neutering services.

But empty homes aren’t the only places where people can leave pets behind.

Rosie, an orange 2-year-old tabby, has taken up permanent residence on the patio of an apartment occupied by Sarah Moore and her husband, Tracey. The cat, who resides at Country Club Verandas apartments, 1415 N. Country Club Drive in Mesa, now has been abandoned twice in less than a year.

The cat first was abandoned in July 2008 when the family that owned her moved out, and again after the second owner moved about three months ago, Sarah Moore said.

“I think it’s awful,” she said. “I don’t think anyone should be left behind. She was a part of a family, and now, she isn’t.”

Source: The East Valley Tribune

Volunteer Positions

jodi — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:21:15 +0000

Available as of 8/13/09

Volunteer Coordinator The Volunteer Coordinator touches base with potential volunteers that have filled out an application (after reviewing their interests, experience and availability). This person would collect areas of interest and explain the different positions and tasks. We also verify this is a long term commitment. The Volunteer Coordinator would then; connect them with the appropriate member so they can further prepare placement. This also requires- entering information in Google docs (a database where the applications go to), updating the status and then completing it by putting the individual (volunteer) in the pet point database. This position takes approximately 6-8 hours. It requires making calls, returning calls and emails on a daily basis.

Programmer We would like to make our own database program to track pets, medical records, fosters, adopters etc. This program would most likely be done in MySQL and PHP. You would be working with a talented LOH volunteer who is a Programming Requirements Specialist.

Fundraiser Committee The fundraising committee would be involved in many avenues of fundraising. When a company contacts LOH about working together for a fundraiser, they would be the liaison between the company and LOH to help make the event successful. This committee would be responsible for finding corporate sponsors, working with the Frames for Friends committee, and involved in our annual Pasta, Poker and Pets Party in getting sponsors and auction items. We also need a grant writer. The time this takes weekly will vary greatly depending on what events are going on and who is contacting you. I am estimating 10 hours a week + or -.

Intake Coordinator The Intake Coordinator decides which pets the group will intake. They get many, many phone calls and emails daily with people wanting us to take in their pet. The intake coordinator needs to determine if the situation meets our mission (pets effected by the economy) and to determine which cases are in the most need. Since space is limited to only the number of foster homes we have available, it's imperative that the intake coordinator only take the worst cases since they will have no choice. Taking in pets that have other choices will fill up space and when an abandoned call comes in, we would not have an opening. It's a balancing act on helping as many pets as we can while making sure we have room for all the abandonment calls. Every call or email we get, we must give them advice and information on how they can get help. We never want to say no and not give them a solution. This means going over other options in the rescue (find them a pet friendly rental, talk to landlord, have them find a foster, courtesy post, provide food bank items, vet care, whatever the reason is they want to give up their pet, and give them the list of all the rescues in Arizona. This position is the hardest one in the group because you hear many, many sad stories each and every day and you know you can't help everyone. This position is estimated to take approx 10 - 15 hours a week. Right now there are 2 people working this position and we are adding a third so the time requirement is an estimate.

Videographer The Videographer would visit the adoptable animals at their foster homes. You would videotape the animals and their precious moments. This would require editing and adding words and music so people feel emotion for the pet and are encouraged to adopt. After completing it, you would post it on the LOH youtube account and send the link to people in our organization who need it.

Special Adoption Event Coordinator (need at least 2 people in this role) The Special Adoption Event Coordinator is the main contact that is responsible for planning Special Adoption Events. This Coordinator would determine scope of event to determine volunteer needs, and how many dogs/cats need to be at an event. Once this is done, it would be communicated to the Adoption Events Logistics Manager. The majority of the Special Adoption Events occur from September-May on a Saturday (sometimes on a Sunday) and is usually an all day event, sometimes over the entire weekend. At times it would be necessary find volunteers to bathe and groom dogs prior to those dogs attending an event. Some volunteers will need to be trained on site on the day of the event. Preparation for events would include bringing all supplies including pop-up tents and tables. At the event, you would make sure all paperwork for potential adopters, foster parents or volunteers is properly filled out, and disseminated to the proper persons within the LOHPF organization. The Special Events Coordinator would communicate with Volunteer and Foster Coordinator about new recruits found at events. Fundraising at the events includes depositing monies in the LOHPF checking account and communicating the amount to the LOHPF accountant.

Adoption Event Logistics Manager The Special Adoption Events Logistics Manager would act as a partner to the Adoption Event Coordinators and would be responsible for securing all volunteers and pets for each event at least 2 weeks prior to an event and would follow up in the week just prior to the event to confirm commitment. This position would be using a map program of some sort to pin point on a map all the fosters who have pets, volunteers and adoption event locations so that he/she can logistically find the a way to get all the pets to all the adoption events. The first choice is to get a foster to bring their pet to an adoption event and back. This is hard to do, so the next option is finding volunteers working the events to pick up pets along the way and bring them to and from the event. The third option is to ask for transportation volunteers to pick up pets and drop them off to an event and then pick them back up and bring them home (unless someone else can do it one way). Using a map with colored "pins" for fosters and another colored "pin" for volunteers would make this job easier and more convenient for all parties involved. This position takes good organizational and phone skills. This position is estimated to take about 5 - 10 hours a week during the busy season and less during the summer months.

Pets Mart Adoption Events Coordinator (need 2 more) The Pets Mart Adoption Event Coordinator would work at Petsmart adoption events as the manager. You would also be in communication with the Adoption Event Logistics Manager to make sure you have pets and volunteers for the events. The events are every Sunday and the locations are in Desert Ridge and Tempe Market Place. Preparation for events would include bringing all supplies (adoption, volunteer and foster applications, current book of pets etc). You would be responsible for setting up and tearing down the event (with the help of other volunteers). Some volunteers you will need to train on site on the day of the event. At the event, you would make sure all paperwork for potential adopters, foster parents or volunteers is properly filled out, and disseminated to the proper persons within the LOHPF organization. The Special Events Coordinator would communicate with Volunteer and Foster Coordinator about new recruits found at events. Fundraising at the events includes depositing monies in the LOHPF checking account and communicating the amount to the LOHPF accountant. We would need a commitment of at least 2 Sundays a month. The events run from 11am or 12am to 4pm and you would typically get there a little early to set up. It would take a few hours a week of coordinating with the Adoption Event Logistics Manager too to make sure you have both volunteers and pets coming to the event.

Courtesy Post Coordinator This position would respond to calls/emails from owners of pets who need to place them up for adoption and then send a form to owner that has the listing LOHPF requirements for courtesy posting. Once information (bio, pictures and proof of spay/neuter) is received, you would input the information to get the pet is posted on the Pet Adoption Portal. You would also keep a log of information regarding pet and owners information on a spreadsheet and follow up with owners to see if pet has been adopted. They are supposed to contact you, but if pet has been list for a long time it is best to check. Once adopted, you would remove adopted pets from the Pet Portal. This position takes about 5 hours a week.

Frames for Friends - Marketing Coordinator The Marketing Coordinator for Frames for Friends locates local companies willing to advertise through the program by sponsoring animals for monthly fee. A brochure explaining the program and a digital frame showing examples of sponsorship are provided. There is also a need to expand the Frames for Friends program to other locations throughout the valley, get more digital frames donated to the organization for this purpose, and publicize the program. Requesting at least 3-5 hours per week.

Frames for Friends - Graphic Artist Create .jpgs for the animals currently available for adoption on a monthly basis using a template to be provided. Most of the work is done in Photoshop but does not have to be as long as the "look" of the slides is similar to the current format. The request is for 10-20 slides to be made each month with a two to three week lead time. Approximately 5-10 hours total per month depending on the number of new animals.

Frame for Friends - Memory Card Delivery On a monthly basis, remove the old slides from each memory cards for the digital frames. Download the new slides onto personal computer from online portal. Upload the new slides onto each memory card. Take the newly loaded memory cards to each location and trade them out with the card currently in each digital frame. Replenish LOHPF business cards at each location as needed. Approximately 3-6 hours total per month.

Adoption Coordinator Several times a day the Coordinator would check emails and applications. If there is a new application they would call the person and talk to them. This gives you a feel of who they are and their intentions. You would put them in touch with the foster. If the applicant wants to do a meet and greet then you check references and get them approved. You would notify both the foster and applicant that they are approved and then the meet and greet is up to the foster and applicant. If the pet is adopted, you would do the outcome in the computer and email the Vet Record Administrator know to send the medical records to the adopter. You are on the phone on and off and every day. This position should take about 10 hours a week.

ABC 15: Dentist Chain To Help Homeless Pets

Ashlee — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:52:15 +0000

PHOENIX, AZ -- The Lost Our Home Pet Foundation is known for rescuing pets that have been left behind in foreclosed homes that have been abandoned.

With Phoenix being among the leaders in foreclosures, the number of animals being left behind is almost more than they can handle.

The foundation has come up with a unique way to bring attention to the overcrowded animal shelters.

They have teamed up with Bright Now Dental and are putting digital picture frames in the lobbies of all of the dental chain's offices.

The program, called "Frames for Friends," displays pictures and information about all of the animals in the Lost Our Home shelters.

"Because there is such an influx of pets, not just the foreclosure pets, but there are so many pets being relinquished due to the economy, the shelters are getting full, there's just no way to get all the word out,” said Amie McGraham, a volunteer with Lost Our Home Pet Foundation. “You can put their pictures on a website, but this is just a better unique way to get the message out about the animals."

The people from the Avondale Bright Now office have seen a very positive response to the pictures, and have said that they know of two patients who were persuaded to adopt a pet from Lost Our Home.

Source: ABC15.com

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ABC 15: Valley Pets Fight to Survive

Ashlee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:42:07 +0000

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The Arizona Republic

Ashlee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:35:08 +0000

Scott Craven from The Arizona Republic wrote a wonderful piece on the foundation of Lost Our Home. Click here to learn about our early beginnings and whats to come for Lost Our Home Pet Foundation