By Janet McAfee
I fell in love with this special young Husky/Shepherd mix when the finder brought her to the Loving All Animals private shelter to check for a microchip. Unfortunately, our scanner did not detect a microchip and she had no engraved ID tag with her human’s telephone number. The man picked her up wandering in Indio, but he had no time to transport her to the county shelter in Thousand Palms.
The dog later named Katy hung out with us inside the office for 40 minutes while we waited for an animal control truck to arrive. Katy was so sweet and loving. She wagged her tail the whole time she was with us, going from room to room to be with Teddy, me, and the volunteers. The kennels at Loving All Animals are too small for us to take her and the unavailability of big dog fosters made it impossible for LAA to keep her. I would have loved to find a place so we could either reunite her or find a new home where she could live the good life.
I put her on the Loving All Animals Facebook page and on my personal page tagging contacts who live in or near Indio. She appeared well fed and from a home where she was loved, and I wanted to somehow reach an owner who may want her back. We will never know if this dog was abandoned. There are dozens of possibilities about her background.
The animal control officer from the Riverside County Department of Animal Services arrived for Katy. She appeared to be leash trained when she willingly trotted outside with him into his truck. She was transported to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, the large county shelter in Thousand Palms. They discovered she appears to have been spayed which means she can immediately go home when adopted.
Someone adopted Katy for a short time and then returned her with complaints. My experience in doing pet adoptions for the past 14 years is that 95% of the returners lie about the dog’s behavior in order to make themselves look good or to make sure the facility takes the animal back. Recently a family returned a Chihuahua to Loving All Animals stating she barked too much causing a nuisance to them and their neighbors. Now that same dog is in a new home and NEVER barks. I could go on, but you get the point. Katy’s options are now more limited with this report.
For those who don’t know, 2024 continues the crisis of too many dogs and cats in our streets. Most parts of our country have overflowing shelters, and not enough homes to take in the large numbers of kittens and puppies who continue to be born. The #1 reason for this is that during the Pandemic spaying and neutering was not considered an essential service and many veterinary offices closed due to staff illness. The puppies and kittens born then are now giving birth to more young animals like 1-yr-old Katy and we cannot find enough homes for them.
The second reason is the housing crisis. Many young people cannot afford the current cost of renting a home or even an apartment. Most landlords do not allow pets or have size restrictions. Many HOA communities limit homeowners to 2 animals under 30 pounds. The phones at Loving All Animals ring from callers being threatened with eviction because of their pets and some are already homeless with animals living in their cars. Coachella Valley residents tend to travel a lot, and often seek small dogs who can travel with them in airline passenger areas. The biggest crisis for Coachella Valley animals is for large size dogs like 50-lb Katy.
I recently spent 4 hours with Katy when the CVAC staff brought her to the October 3 CVAC Animal Commission meeting. Volunteer Pam Murray introduced her to everyone and this precious dog never stopped wagging her tail loving on everyone. She appeared house trained, only relieving herself in the outside dog park.
Big dogs like Katy are usually calm when inside getting attention from their humans. They make your home safer when inside. Potential robbers will skip your house and focus on homes without the sound of a large barking dog inside. Katy loves men and women. She has the best traits of Huskies and Shepherds, extremely smart and wanting to please her people.
You can meet Kay now at the large Coachella Valley Animal Campus shelter located at 72-050 Pet Land Place in Thousand Palms. They are open Monday through Sat 10am-4pm, and recently till 7pm on Wednesday. She is dog ID#A1809663. Ask the staff to meet Katy in a private visiting room where she may give you a grateful kiss. If you adopt Katy and need FREE dog training assistance for any reason, email me at janetmcafee8@gmail.com.
BEAUTIFUL KATY IS WAITING FOR SOME LUCKY FAMILY! She will make a great hiking companion once cooler Fall weather arrives. She will be the perfect hostess when you have guests. She will be a great best buddy if you already have a dog! Katy could be your new best friend!
