Sheltered Life - Letters - Episodes - Final

Sheltered Life www.sheltered-life.com Author: Michael Bilotti Genre: Reality Series – Animal/Educational Title: Sheltered Life – A look into the lives of abused, neglected, and abandoned animals, and the people who sacrifice so much personally to get them a new life. Logline (Short Pitch): “Dog Town” and “Dog Whisperer” (Nat Geo), infused with the spirit and emotion of “Oprah”, in a format that seeks to engage viewer participation each week with an opportunity to be on the show. Sheltered Life is a story about the approximate 5,000 independent Animal Rescues and their volunteers, the desperate animals that enter those doors daily, and the efforts given to see that as many animals make it out alive as possible. This Series will focus on amazing personal efforts and sacrifices that the volunteers give, and showcase the wonderful pets available for adoption thru a Rescue. It will also educate the viewer and explain from A-Z what goes on in the world of rescue, and show them how and where they can jump in and help. Synopsis: Real people, working (volunteering) relentlessly, to save the lives of animals. It is a real world life and death scenario where if an animal cannot get placed in a new home, it gets euthanized, after someone just gave all they had personally to save the animal’s life. This goes on day, after day, after day... The world of dogs, animals, and Animal Rescue has certainly established its draw of television audience. So far the field has been dominated by National Geographic and their programs Dog Whisperer and Dog Town. Cesar Millan is one of the world’s greatest dog handlers and rehabilitators. Dog Town is a self funded, no kill, mega-rescue that sits on 33,000 acres of land that can spend whatever it needs every day to care for all of the animals on its property. While both series are great and admirable, and shows I watch weekly, for the 5,000 independent shelters out there they are like watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Sheltered Life would be an hour long, weekly series, which I believe would sit somewhere in the middle of those programs. I believe Sheltered Life would draw upon their viewership, and appeal to unique viewers as well. Sheltered Life is the Real Life Reality Series of the aforementioned programs. Every day there are tens of thousands of people who work full time jobs to make a living, then spend every remaining minute and dollar they have left to save as many animals lives as possible. This Series aims to show their efforts, tell their stories, and learn more about them as individuals. Additionally, while there are shows that focus on animals that have made it safely into, or out of a shelter, the statistics facing the majority is ignored... Less than half of all animals that make it to a shelter will ever come out alive. These are amazing creatures, which have their own amazing personal stories to tell, for anyone given the chance to watch and learn. Sheltered Life will be their venue.

Let me share with you a few statistics: • • • •

Data from shelters participating in the survey done by the NCPPSP, the percentage of dogs euthanized averaged 56.5%. The cats did not fair as well as an average of 71.1% were destroyed. (www.petpopulation.org) An estimated 5 million cats and dogs are euthanized each year in shelters (www.hsus.org) – This is the LOWEST estimate I found. According to the American Pet Products Association, 63 percent of American households have pets. Sadly, only 10 percent of owned dogs and 18 percent of owned cats were adopted from animal shelters. (www.americanpetproducts.org) Seven dogs and cats are born every day for each person born in the U.S. Of those, only 1 in 5 puppies and kittens say in their original home for their natural lifetime. The remaining 4 are abandoned to the streets or end up at a shelter (www.hsus.org)

Every week viewers will get an inside look, thru my guidance, of the world of animal rescue. The show would follow me along as I give my best to assist in any way possible for three different privately run Rescues. The first two are the locals here in Erie, PA, which are Because You Care and The ANNA Shelter. Our city has the highest unemployment and poverty rate in the State, which creates a scenario where a large volume of animals are given to shelters, or just abandoned, due to financial hardship. The third rescue I assist with is The Akita Rescue of Western New York (ARWNY). ARWNY is a group that has been previously featured on Animal Planet due to our success in working with and re-homing rescued Akita dogs. Akita is a breed that very few dog owners are capable of handling upon reaching maturity, hence the great need for sanctuaries. Whilst loving all animals, Akita is my greatest passion, and a breed that I have a unique ability to work with, even in the most extreme cases of disposition. Viewers will get to meet all the volunteers whom assist at the Shelters, and have a view of their anima. Witness the bitter-sweet days when an animal gets placed in a new home, and see the tears thru the smiles as a volunteer loses someone he/she has invested a lot of emotional resources into. You also witness the worst days, when an animal isn’t adopted within a reasonable time period, and must be euthanized to make room for new arrivals. Watch how private time for volunteers almost always revolves around rescue, as that time is most often spent making sure above duties are all being covered, even if it’s just baking cookies for a fundraiser. The personal demands of daily operational issues of a Rescue shall be addressed as well. To understand more about what goes on in this daily routine, please read the letter of Kathy Dewee, the Director of ARWNY. The desire of Sheltered Life is to expand this story telling nationwide, to all Shelters. Across the country there are smaller rural shelters that are plagued with large abandonment issues, and minimal personnel and financial resources to do anything to deal with it. It is not uncommon for these shelters to have as high as 80% Euth rate on dogs. The conditions of those shelters are horrible, and the methods of Euth are even more disturbing. It is a story that needs to be shown, as people cannot help fix what they

do not know is broken. When a Shelter is lucky enough to have the support of dedicated volunteers, the changes that can be rendered are amazing. The juxtaposition is stunning between a Shelter with no resources or assistance, and a shelter the next county over that has two dedicated volunteers who give all of their best to save animals lives. Two volunteers like my friends Sharon Stone, and Becky Shaw. Their dedication to their local Shelter in Mississippi since 2007 has reduced the Euth rate from 80% down to 20% over the past two years. As their own words are most powerful, please read their letter. Shelters which are Blessed with volunteers like Sharon and Becky are able find new homes across the country for their animals. The opportunity to network online with other dedicated Rescue volunteers gives numerous options to save lives. For example, a Shelter in rural Mississippi may announce they are facing an imminent need to euthanize a group of dogs. People watching this network will work tirelessly to find a Shelter who has room to take them in, and find one for example in Boston, Massachusetts. The connection will be made between the two Shelters, and then a signal will be sent out across the rescue network that “transportation” is needed to save dogs in MS, to be sent to MA. Volunteers will starting signing up to handle “legs” of the journey, which organizers will try to clock out at roughly 75 miles per leg. Sometimes you cannot leg out the whole journey as there are not enough volunteers able to join in. However, what most often happens is that a volunteer who has signed up will offer to run two or even three legs (150 to 225 miles, times two as they need to return home) of the trip, to guarantee the survival of the animals. These people use their own vehicles, spend their own weekends, and pay for their own gas to make this happen. The only reward available for having to drive a group of crated dogs an hour or more (depending on how many legs), is that they can briefly see whom they have just saved the lives of thru a rear view mirror. People love to use the word “Hero”, and if this isn’t a warranted situation to use such a word, I just don’t know when is apparently. To hear the words of a dedicated volunteer in transportation world for the past 8 years, please read the attached letter from my friend Cheryl Staszweski. The real stars of the show should turn out to be the animals, which is my intention. I believe that when you can put a face and a personality to a tragedy, only then can an observer feel emotion over what is going on. This reminds me of World War II statistics and documentaries, as I am an avid history buff, and hope you can relate… If someone throws out the statistic that 50 to 70 million people were killed during WW2, it really doesn’t move anyone. You can’t comprehend the number, it just becomes a “statistic”, and people just cannot relate. However, if you take the time to watch any of the personal stories that happened during the war, just one of these can be enough to get you to stand up and fight to see this kind of thing never happens again. I have seen endless WW2 documentaries, and all are moving, yet there are four that most acutely hit on this point in my eyes: I Have Never Forgotten You, The Pianist, Paragraph 175, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. If you have not seen any of these films, please do so. If you have, I believe that you can immediately envision the concept that I am trying to convey with Sheltered Life. I can state that 5 million animals die each year, and people will go on with their normal daily lives, because it is just a statistic, one they cannot comprehend. However, if I can get them to spend one hour, learning about just one animal, that faces a real life and

death scenario that is playing out live, people will jump up to act with haste and passion to make a change in the fates of all sheltered animals. Not just for today, but for forever. Sorry, no dogs had submitted their letters before the mailing out of this Treatment. A unique novelty that would play out well on this show would be to try and run episode release date as quickly after actual filming as possible. If we could get an episode out for broadcast within two weeks of the shoot week, people watching the show could then go online and see if animals featured are still up for adoption. If an audience member is moved to adopt an animal they peered into the life of for an hour, then they can now apply to the rescue. When the adoption goes thru, we can invite the person to be filmed with their new pet, describe what life has been like since that day, and show on a future episode. This is the personal interaction available to this show that you are not seeing played out on television. This gives the audience a feeling of participation over spectator, and encourages them to become more drawn into the show, and hopefully more inclined to adopt from, or volunteer to assist at an animal shelter in their own town. So who am I to tell this story? I am a person who has had over ten rescued cats come in and out of his home, with three still residing. Additionally I have spent the last 10 years working with and training my adopted Akita dogs full time. If you are not aware, raising two female Akitas is considered one of the greatest challenges in the dog world. If you can manage Akitas, it is also considered one of the greatest ownership experiences in the dog world. My dogs came into my life when I had just lost a very special person, and while I knew I always enjoyed animals, the love and bond that I came to find in them was equal to any personal relationship I’ve had in my lifetime. My dogs became my family, my best friends, and my reason for working to make a living. For everything that they have given me, I want to give back as much as I received. This has drawn me to work with the most challenging cases, the Special Needs. I work with every specials needs case that I can, because I know I have the dedication and experience required to give them an opportunity for a new life. On this series I look at myself as a type of cruise director, so to speak. A good cruise director would be a person that everyone on the ship enjoys talking to and being around. However at the end of the trip, it will not be the director that is the highlight of the experience, but the fun they had thanks to his expert direction in finding for them what they most enjoyed. I would absolutely love to tell the story of Sheltered Life every week, but will not lose sight of what this show is about. The story is, and always be, the volunteers, and the animals. I will give every bit of my best to enhance that experience. Should this show succeed in finding its audience, my personal goal is to launch my own rescue catering to many animals, including horses (a whole new set of dramatic statistics on its own). I have done my best to give a view of a program that is unique to television, has the ability to affect social change, all while providing a format that would be most appealing to very specific, and very generalized advertising clients. That is what I would like to call a Win – Win – Win. If you feel you are able to share in the emotion of this vision, in a way that is equal to the passion I feel for it, please contact to discuss further. I welcome any and all opportunities to get this story to the air. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. – Michael Bilotti

Kathy Dewee’s Story Director, Akita Rescue of Western New York ARWNY

I think its time that a show does show the behind the scenes of rescue. I have owned 2 kennels which is where we always housed the Akitas -- people wanted to come "help" all the time -- only when they realized help meant pick up poop, mow the lawns, lay stone in the runs, suddenly no one was there to help!! People think all we do is play with dogs all day long!! I WISH!! Nancy is in Buffalo--she does our fundraising, our website, handles our banking, our insurance, all our IRS stuff, and keeps all the records of every dog from start to finish -that alone is a 5 person job but Nancy does it herself. Down here, we do the hands on dog stuff - transports, evaluations, kenneling/fostering, vetting, adoptions. I have 5 people I can count on completely for that -- Diane, Carla, Joann & Matt and Deb. Since I had to give up my kennel due to health issues, we have a good friend who lets us board at her kennel when we need to. So it means Jo & Matt keep anywhere from 5 to 7 Akitas at their home at all times; Carla and Diane each foster puppies or really old Akitas at their homes (Carla is in Phila, Diane is in Delaware!) and then Deb, Joann and I handle the kennel dogs --- doing all the driving to vets back and forth, ordering food & other items we give them (vitamins, meds), training & socializing the Akitas daily, and having people come meet the Akitas for adoption. Just doing an adoption can be a 5 hour day -- its not "here's the Akita, bye!" as you well know with this breed -- its hours of making sure all is well before they leave!! Then my daughter Jenn handles all the secretarial stuff -- thank you letters, forms, buying all the raffle items we use, keeping count of what we have in stock, etc. Deb handles our "Store" online and mails out whatever anyone buys. I handle the daily load of emails too, as well as analyze every application. We hold an annual Akita Picnic in Salem County NJ and every year we can we attend the National Akita Club of America National Dog Show -- in 2010 it’s going to be in PA!!!! As you can see, dogs are only one part of what we deal with so making the public aware of everything a rescue does will be really helpful!!!

The Story of Sharon Stone and Becky Shaw Volunteers for Leflore County Humane Society

My name is Sharon Stone. Becky Shaw and I are on the board of the Leflore County Humane Society and we are active volunteers there as well. Both of us have full time jobs which require us to work over 50 hours a week. When we are not working as paid employees we rescue animals. Virtually every minute not spent at work is dedicated to the animals. This is our story. Becky and I began as volunteers at the shelter in 2007. At that time pets were not listed on any website and adoptions were “walk- ins” only. The adoption rate was very low. We decided that we would set up a petfinder account, take digital pictures of all of the

animals and uploading them to that website. We had no idea if this would work but we were willing to try. For the first week we checked our email many times during the day without finding any requests. In the middle of the second week we had two applications. I will never forget how excited we were. Soon we were getting many emails every day, all wanting to adopt one of those precious shelter dogs. They came from all over the United States. We took their application, verified the vet references and made arrangements to get the pup to their new family. Most of them had the pups flown to them. The nearest airport that has cargo service is in Memphis, Tennessee which means we had to drive them the 2 hours to the airport. We were happy to do just that, making the trip at least once a week. As hard as we worked, it was not enough. Dogs were still dying. Then in August of 2008 we were fortunate enough to meet transport coordinator, Toni Klemko. She offered us the opportunity to reach out to all breed rescues in the North East allowing us to place many more puppies in loving homes. In our wildest dreams we could not have imagined the number of dogs that would be saved with this venture. Toni introduced us to several rescue groups and sent pictures of our puppies to them. She explained to each rescue that we quarantined pups for a minimum of 14 days before they would be sent to a rescue. This ensures that puppies are not transported while harboring parvo or other contagious diseases. When a rescue “tags” a dog, they are fostered in our homes until transport can be arranged. During that time we give them vaccinations, worming medication and lots of love. Together with Toni, we named our group “Highway to Heaven” We entered into this partnership between our shelter, the rescues and the transport coordinator thinking if we placed only six dogs with rescue, that would be six dogs that would not die. To our sheer amazement these wonderful people in rescue tagged many more than six puppies. In the 14 months that we have been a part of Highway to Heaven we have placed over one thousand puppies and adult dogs in the very capable hands of these dedicated rescues. Many days one or both of us will stop by the shelter before going to work. One particular day we stopped by to check on some puppies that had not been feeling well. It is our habit to check the night cages while we are there. Huddled in the corner was a small Shih Tzu with a ruptured eye. It was clear the eye had been this way for some time. We rushed him to the veterinarian who performed surgery immediately and removed the infected eye. After four days in the hospital on antibiotics he was ready to start his new life. The work is hard and often heartbreaking. Sadly, we cannot save them all. Some are just too sick by the time they get to the shelter. Some of them get parvo and just cannot survive that awful virus. With each loss you lose a little bit of yourself. There are days when your soul is so bruised and battered that you think you cannot go on one more day. Then you look into the trusting eyes of a dog that has been starved or beaten and you know you cannot stop. As long as there is just one animal suffering, there is no stopping.

Every person on the front lines of animal rescue has the same mantra. “Until there are none”

Martha Lavere’s Story Director of The Leflore County Humane Society

A day in the life of a shelter Director. The shelter is open Tuesday through Saturday, 1:30pm-5:30pm. Those are my official hours but my day begins much earlier and ends much later. Many days the Animal Control Officer calls from the shelter to say, during the night, someone left a dog or cat that is sick or injured and needs help. When that happens I head to the shelter to determine what that animal needs before starting my other job. Yes, I work two jobs. You do not take a job as a Director in a small shelter for the money. You do it for love of that animals and because you want to make a difference in their lives. While at my other job I constantly answer calls about animals in need. Dogs left on a chain, outside and without any shelter in a rainstorm. A mother cat with 5 kittens, left in a box on the side of the road. She will not leave them and has been there for 2 days. Starving dogs abandoned when their owners moved away and left them chained on the property. I have approximately 45 minutes after I leave my morning job to get to the shelter by 1:30. I change clothes and drive to the address given by the caller, hoping against all hope that they are mistaken, that this time I will not find animals in need.

Hoping that I will not find an uncaring owner who thinks there is nothing wrong with having their dog on a chain and only feeding them once a week. Sadly, I usually find the caller has told the truth. Sometimes I am able to convince the owner to release the animal to the shelter, giving it a chance at a new life. Most often, I am forced to give them a written warning giving them a chance to correct the problems before I return in 48 hours. I always wish I could do more, but that all the law allows me to do. I pull into the parking lot at the shelter a couple of minutes before time to open. There is already someone waiting for me and as soon as they see me they get out of their car. They have a dog they no longer want. She has the mange and they don’t want her around anymore. I tell them it’s easy to cure the mange. Would they like for me to dip her for them so they could take their pet back home with them? I offer to dip her once a week if only they will bring her by the shelter. That’s too much trouble, they say. They are too busy to be bothered with that. I lead the sad girl into the shelter and prepare a medicated bath and the dip she will need to cure the mange. Soon, she is placed in a kennel where she will wait, hoping that her family will return for her. They never do. It’s time to check the night cages. That is where people who are too cowardly to bring dogs to the shelter when I am there put pets, after hours, when no one is here to witness their shame. I dread opening the door but it must be done. It is always the same. They are terrified. They have spent a long night in the cage, hearing other dogs barking and not understanding what they did that was so bad that their owner would put them here. Ever so softly I speak to them and assure them that everything is alright. Soon I coax them into my arms. Sometimes they have been sick for a long time without basic medical treatment. Sometimes they are near death, never knowing a kind touch or a loving word and every time I ask myself, why? Why did the owners do this? How could they watch this precious soul suffer every day without helping them?

As I finish up with the night cages and move into the puppy isolation room I hear the phone ringing. That ringing never stops. I answer the phone and a woman says she has a dog she no longer wants. She has had another litter of puppies this year. Will I come and get her? I explain that we are unable to pick animals up from owners and add that if she will bring the dog to us we will be happy to take her and the puppies. She is too busy to bring her to us. I am afraid of what will happen to the mom and pups so I tell her I will come by after the shelter closes and get them. Returning to the puppy isolation room I notice that one of the pups is not feeling well. Experience tells me it is parvo, a virus which is almost always deadly for puppies. I remove him from his siblings immediately and take him to the quarantine room where he is given a shot to stop the vomiting. I tell him he will be fine although I don’t really believe what I am saying. I must hurry back to the isolation room and remove his siblings from the cage which now must be disinfected with bleach. Chances are very good that they will have parvo, too.

Someone has come in and is waiting for me by the front door. I hurry back to the front where he stands with a tiny dog in his arms. He found the dog on the side of the highway. At first, he thought it was garbage but then he saw movement. When he stopped the little dog was too weak to run away even though he was very afraid. As I take the dog from him I can feel every bone in his little body. There are several large sores on his sides. Maybe he was attacked by a larger dog, but we will never know for sure. I thank the kind man and take the sad dog to tub room. He is covered with fleas and must have a bath right away. After he is bathed his wounds are treated with antibiotics he is placed in a cage with fresh food and water. It is easy to see that he is grateful for the food. I really need to catch up on some paper work but as I walk in the office someone drives up and comes in the door. They want to adopt a puppy. We spend around 45 minutes looking at different puppies to be sure they get just the right one. Finally, they choose the one they want and after filling out the adoption form they are on their way. I look at the clock and am amazed to see that it is already 5pm so I rush to the puppy room and clean every cage and give them fresh water and food. I still have to check on the adult dogs to be sure they have been fed and watered today. It’s 6pm now and I still have to go by and pick up the mama and pups and get them into the shelter before it gets dark.

The Story of Cheryl Staseweski Transportation Volunteer Since 2000

I got into dog rescue in 2000 from someone that I was dating at the time. He asked me one day if I wanted to drive a pregnant pit bull to Columbus, Ohio. Of course I was like "why would we do that?" - As most people, I had never heard of dog rescue before. I just assumed dogs went to the local shelter where they were all happily adopted. Not true! For a first dog transport, this one went well. The dog did NOT go into labor, thank God! She was picked up by another volunteer and went on to have her puppies the following week. I continued to help him with rescues, but after we stopped dating I delved into it on my own - I was hooked at this point, and now knew there was a lot more behind the scenes to the life of a sheltered dog. The majority of dogs that end up in shelters NEVER make it out. Most shelters in rural areas get 20-30 dogs a week through their doors and euthanize once a week to make room for the next batch of unwanted dogs. Also, many shelters in rural areas still use the gas chamber as their method of euthanization, a truly awful and scary way for these animals to die. They are shoved into a box, often with several other dogs that are terrified as well, and gassed. Then the bodies are dumped in trash bags for the garbage company to pick up and dispose of. I am not making this up - I have seen it. Granted, there are many shelters that have a high adoption rate and are clean and new and the dogs are cared well for. I am talking about shelters in poor

communities, mostly rural areas - this is the harsh reality of a dog in those types of shelters. Unfortunately there are too many of these types, whose Euth rate is 80% or above per week. Most of these shelters are open a limited amount of time during the day (due to lack of funding by the state) and not on weekends at all - when most people could come to look at the dogs. The traffic through these shelters is very limited - maybe a few people a day, if that. I'm not embellishing here - I have been in these shelters and seen this to be true. Some of the shelters I worked with are out in the middle of the farm country - just a brick building with dreary wet cement floors. A warden comes in maybe once or twice a weekend to feed/water the dogs and that is it. After visiting the one shelter many times, I worked with Kuranda dog beds for their "donate a bed program". This is a wonderful program that allows people to donate dog beds at a discounted rate to shelters. It gets the dogs up off of the cold floor and gives them a little bit of comfort in a bad situation. I would come home from my job and sit on the computer each night, working with various rescues, trying to find the dogs places to go. My weekends were spent driving dogs to and from shelter/rescue. I spent a ton of time in rural Ohio, working with some amazing people. I became part of a network of wonderful people who donate time every day of their lives to saving these dogs that get dumped into a shelter through no fault of their own. Over the years I have met so many amazing people and made great friends. I've lost two of these wonderful souls to Cancer, sadly. Karen from Joyful Rescues in New York continued to foster and care for pets, up until the point where her breast cancer would not allow her to do so anymore. She passed away almost two years ago. She truly is an Angel in Heaven, up there looking after the millions of dogs who do not have the good fortune to be rescued from their dire situation. And Laura - I woman I never met in person and lived thousands of miles from me, but someone I respected all the same and who dedicated her life to saving unwanted animals. What is interesting about dog rescue is that there are tons of people you speak to on a regular basis, people who cross post transport information or do whatever part they can but you never actually meet them in person. It's always interesting if you get the chance to, it's like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in years. I have developed so much respect for the people that do this week after week - saving some dogs but losing many as well. These people that have to go into a shelter and look into the dogs eyes picking and choosing who is lucky to get saved, trying to pick out the most "adoptable" dogs out of a field of mutts that no one wanted. All these dogs are deserving of a loving home, all they want is to be pet and give your hand a lick. It's one of the most heartbreaking things you could ever have to do - I know, because I've done it. To these people that do this week after week - you are truly amazing, selfless people! Fortunately I did not have to do that often - the majority of my volunteering stems with dog transport and dog foster. The general public would be absolutely amazed to see the huge network of dog transports/runs that go on EVERY week! How it works - a rescue (Usually hundreds of miles away) will volunteer to take dogs from the shelter and vet them, give them shots, spay neuter etc until the dog is adopted. A transport coordinator will set up a transport with "legs" each leg about 50-100 miles depending on the length of the trip. People volunteer to drive a "leg" and once the transport is filled, that dog gets a chance at a new life! The dog is picked up by a volunteer who usually drives the first leg, then is handed off to the next driver, etc. The receiving rescue does the last leg and the dog goes

into foster care at that point. I have done countless of these transports over the years, throughout the most rural parts of Ohio, PA and New York. There were times where it was me and eight or so dogs in my truck, driving through the worst blizzard and out in the middle of nowhere on Route 11 in Ohio with no cell phone reception, and with nothing but a printout from MapQuest on where you're going!! Talk about stress! There were times I was scared and lost but all I had to do was look at my cargo and it made it all worth it. There are days I've spent over ten hours in my car driving through various states with various dogs. It can be exhausting, but it is so worth it at the end of the day. I have a lot of great stories over the years, like the black mutt named "Scruggs" who I almost lost on a transport (he got off his leash) and fortunately got back right away. He ended up being adopted by a rich couple that lives on 5th avenue in NYC! They picked him up in their BMW convertible, and he is living the sweet life now. Another is the wolf hybrid that was trying to climb into my lap the entire trip lol - beautiful dog but not conducive to say safe driving :) Or the transports that have young puppies in them - it's always fun to get to cuddle the pups. They're so full of life and joy and have no clue what's going on. I have had tons of different types of dogs in my truck, mostly mutts but some pure breeds that had been abused. In all the time I have been doing this, I've never had a bad situation - never been bitten. I think these dogs understand what you are doing for them and are grateful. I have gotten plenty of sloppy wet kisses in exchange - and that makes it all worthwhile. I have also been part of the dog fostering program. Throughout the years, I've had countless dogs here for anywhere from one night to 3 -6 months! I liked to call my house the Doggie Motel. My nieces/nephews loved to come over and help me care for the dogs, and give them lots of hugs and kisses. They were also able to give the dogs names (since most of these dogs are strays at the shelter) so they loved coming up with new names. Two dogs that stick out in my mind are Shelby and Riley. Shelby was my first foster and I had her for 3 months. I cried like a baby when I dropped her off for her transport to take her to her forever home, but as sad as it was I was also so happy that she was getting a second chance with a new home. Plus, it freed up a spot in my house to rescue another unwanted dog. Then there was Riley - my one and only boy dog lol. Truly just a unique dog, and one that stole my heart. I got updates on him for quite some time after he was adopted and I know he went to a fantastic home. I've been involved in dog rescue for eight years now. This past year I've had to step back and take a break due to some health issues, but I plan on getting back in the game here soon. MY DOGS I have three dogs - Kaya, Hailey and Angel. I have had Kaya since she was 6 weeks old. The Farmer that owned her parents didn't want to have any more puppies (of course he couldn't be bothered to have the dogs spayed/neutered, either) so he was going to drown the puppies. My cousin found this out and immediately called me. She knew I had just bought a house and was going to get a dog "down the road" and begged me to take one of the puppies. So I got in my car and went and picked her up. This tiny black bundle was hovering behind a board and terrified to come out. I didn't have anything - food, toys, etc. Thank God Wal-Mart is open late lol. Now 10 years later, I have a 105 pound black lab that hogs the bed lol. Unfortunately she was attacked by my former neighbor’s dog when

she was young, and now is dog aggressive. What that means is, she will attack any dog that comes near her. This makes my life tricky, as I have 3 dogs! As I mentioned, I have fostered dogs for years. I got a phone call from a lady that I did transport for, out of Zanesville, Ohio about 4 years ago. She had ten black dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized that day and was desperate to get them out. I had her load four of the dogs in the car and we got them to Erie and found homes for them with friends, etc. Hailey was the last dog and no one wanted her. She was quite high strung and it was obvious she had been abused. With no other option other than taking her to a shelter, I decided to keep her and make the best of the situation - meaning she had to be kept apart from Kaya at all times. Not the easiest thing to do in a small house. I found it hard to divide my time between the two of them and felt like Hailey was lonely - so the following year I ended up keeping my then current foster dog Angel for company for her. Angel wasn't having much luck getting adopted, either and she and Hailey got along great. So now my brood was up to 3. I had to cut back on my dog fostering as I was running out of room lol. My home life situation is difficult at best - the dogs still need to be separated. In 3 years I've only had one instance when they had a run in, and as predicted Kaya went after them. Scary as hell, but I got them separated. Needless to say, this has made it difficult to have friends over, and certainly to date. Very few people are tolerant of what I deal with every day, but that's ok. Just looking at their faces and knowing they would all have been dead years ago (Hailey and Angel by the gas chamber in an Ohio shelter and Kaya by drowning) - it makes all the craziness here worthwhile! Even with all of my furniture having been chewed up by Angel, she is the sweetest dog you could ever find. And Hailey is still a big high strung, but she is the best watch dog ever. Kaya is my best friend who’s been with me through a lot of bad times. Do I regret keeping them? Not one bit. Dogs will always be a part of my life, and unfortunately, until people become responsible pet owners and stop breeding their pets because it's "cute and a way to make some money" and have their pet spayed/neutered - there will always be a need for people to volunteer to pick up the pieces and help these dogs into a better situation. Episode Sample List My Local Rescues – learn more about the two groups I work with in Erie. Meet the volunteers, spend time with the animals, and see what we do to care for them and to place in new homes. Cover a monthly Adoptathon that we have. Discuss how and why the people that launched ANNA and Because You Care got started in rescue. (For example, BYC originally founded as a group to ban “decompression chamber” euthanization in PA. It was as horrible as it sounds). Discuss our current battle trying deal with operating a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program for cats, which currently is not allowed in our state. ARWNY Visit – travel down to New Jersey where the sheltered dogs now reside for this group. Learn about the dedicated small group of mostly females whom dedicate themselves to one of the most challenging and powerful breeds of dog. Learn about some of the horror stories regarding the state of some of the dogs when they arrive. Bring along my friend Rebecca, whom is a retired lady living on her own, whom would like to find an Akita that she knows would help keep her safe, and yet be a dog she can manage.

Review the dogs available to learn more about them, see if we can find one for Rebecca, and as well I will take home any hard to place dog they have, as I currently have room to add one more. Return Home – catch up on what is going on in the back home shelters. Get an update on status of dogs in shelter, as well as new arrivals. Review urgent emails that come in day after day, as you try to figure out which ones you can help with, if any. Real life example 11/9/2009… as I write this, Because You Care is desperately seeking 20 foster homes to bring in 20 dogs scheduled for Euth this week at an Indiana shelter, if not removed by BYC. Any dogs that we can place in foster, we will then have to organize transportation, bring to our own Vet, bring to the foster home, make sure pet adjusts well, put photos and story updates on our website adoption page, raise money to cover all the above mentioned list. Leflore County Shelter – MS - Visit – Go meet the amazing people of this shelter, including Becky Shaw and Sharon Stone. These two ladies both have about 5 acres of land each that they have developed into kennel area with fans, heat lamps, all things to make dogs more comfortable, of which they both maintain about 25 dogs EACH! These are dogs that are “overflow” from the Leflore Shelter, dogs that would have to be euthanized if they didn’t bring to their own home. Both Becky and Sharon work 50+ hour weeks, then volunteer at the shelter, then return home to manage the dogs on their own property. Travel with them to another county shelter not too far away were we will find a place with minimal staff, not volunteer workers, where the Euth rate is 80%. Let people know how much volunteering means in the Rescue World, and show how they could turn around a shelter like Becky and Sharon did, if they would just get involved. Leave that shelter with some items that would help them achieve what Leflore has, things like computers, digital cameras, scanners, food, dog beds, all which would be donated by the corporate sponsor I have for Sheltered Life, ECO International, an electronics recycling company. Let the viewers know that this shelter now has everything it needs to reduce it’s Euth rate, if only they had the volunteers that Leflore has. Return Home Again – New animals? New adoptions? New issues? Cover an adoptathon like we are having this coming weekend at PetsMart. It is a 3 day event this weekend, in time for the holidays. Meet more volunteers from our two groups. Meet people in the store shopping and hear there stories about all the sheltered animals they have helped over the years (there’s plenty to hear). Bring along an Akita to help improve breed awareness, and educate people on this enigmatic animal. Join in on a transportation run, normally between Ohio and NY shelters, which we have going on all the time. Again you will see juxtaposition of a rural Ohio shelter (notoriously poor conditions for animals) and the NY shelter that has donors, volunteers, and facilities that provide very favorable environment for pet adoption. Corporate Visit: PetsMart – PetsMart has been a very good friend to the world of animal rescue, and just animals in general. Current to my writing, there is a 3 day adoptathon coming up this weekend at ALL PetsMart’s stores across the country. PetSmart Charity operates the Rescue Waggin’ Program, in their words:

The Rescue Waggin'® program was created by PetSmart Charities to help save the lives of homeless dogs and puppies by transporting them from areas of high pet population (where they face certain euthanasia) to shelters where adoptable dogs are in demand. PetSmart also has several well funded programs to help reduce the homeless pet population, and to prevent further breeding. For example, in 2008 they launched the Spay Los Angeles program. They also offer very large grant programs for TNR programs. TNR is Trap – Neuter – Return program, where volunteers set up traps for feral cats, take them in and spay/neuter, also give rabies vaccines, then return to their roaming area. The benefit this program offers is extensive, too much to list here. This is a VERY PERSONAL story for me. I have a girlfriend Dorothy, whom served in Iraq as a foot soldier in 2004-05, and has now returned to Iraq again to serve our country as a Civilian Contract Biometrics Specialist for an undetermined amount of time. TNR is what Dorothy is most passionate about in her life when she is not working. Dorothy is my best friend, my source of inspiration, the most important thing to me in my life. She exemplifies everything an amazing woman would inspire to be: Brave, Devoted, Strong, Gentle, Caring, to name a few. While she is away, it is my desire to carry this torch for her, as proudly as she carries when here. ARWNY Visit – Find out what is going on at the shelter of my favorite breed. Discuss the outcome of our exhibit at Meet the Breed at the Jarvis Center NYC this past Oct 1718th. Start planning of Akita Club Nationals in Gettysburg, PA Sept 2010. Spend some time working with the dogs under our care. Get to meet the Veterinarians that care for our animals. In the words of Kathy Dewee: “The Vet’s we use and they are fabulous to work with also -- been going to them for 22 yrs, they call their new facility ‘The building that Akita Rescue built!’!!! My own Vet has adopted from me, several vet techs there also have adopted from me over the years! My Vet, Dr. Phyllis, is now working for Animal Orphanage as their house Vet -- she currently has a female Akita she was working in agility & obedience until her ACL’s went bad.” Return Home – This week I would like to do a story on Therapy Dogs United, an organization based in my home town of Erie. In their own words: Therapy Dogs United, Inc. impacts the quality of life for thousands of children, adults and seniors throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York. Our therapy dogs provide the catalyst for positive change by motivating emotionally and physically challenged individuals. We open dialogue with the abused, disabled, sick, lonely, injured, or depressed. Our programs inspire learning and change - and include everyone. Our certified therapy dog teams are personally committed to bring joy and inspiration to every human life we touch. Rooted in the strength of the unique human-to-animal bond, our programs reach beyond traditional forms of rehabilitation and treatment. Let our

team of certified therapy dogs erase the language barrier, and start making a difference in your life today! We're ready to show you how. I want to discuss the use of rescued animals in their organization. I would also like to take a dog from one of our local shelters, and accompany Therapy Dogs United on a patient visit. I want to show what a wonderful program this is, and also show how there are dogs right in our own shelter that can be pulled out and dropped into an environment such as this. This will help highlight what wonderful animals are awaiting adoption at shelters and rescues across the USA, and hopefully encourage people to do other positive things with their dogs like join a local dog therapy organization.

Michael Bilotti 6092 Society Court Erie, PA 16509 814-602-8576 Michael.bilotti – Skype [email protected] – Yahoo IM [email protected] – MSN IM [email protected] – main email address