THIS WEEK AT VRC

Greetings Villalobos Village!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year! It’s been a while since our last Swampton update, but that’s not because of a lack of news. We have plenty in store for you today, along with some cute dogs and cats in need of forever homes, or virtual sponsors!

First, we have some really fun news. I know it’s been mentioned in the newsletter before, but not by me. WE HAVE A NEW MOBILE GAME! We just can’t get enough of it and play it every day. Have you played MUTT yet? 

The goal of the game is to guess the top four breeds in a given dog’s DNA. Every day features a new dog and a new challenge. Some of the dogs featured on MUTT will be Villalobos dogs (and dogs from other rescues) available to be adopted by anyone playing the game. Click the image above, or here, to play!

If you want your dog featured on MUTT, send a photo of your dog and its DNA test results to [email protected] Haven’t done a DNA test on your dog yet?  Click here and save up to $40 with code BESTDOG on an Embark DNA test kit! Part of your purchase using that link supports VRC!

Have fun playing the game, share it with everyone you know, and let’s help get dogs across America adopted!

In other news, a few weeks ago I got to chat with our friends at The Woof about running Villalobos, our transition from Animal Planet to Rabid Reality, and our amazing community of friends, fans and supporters (you!). Check out our interview here.

Scroll on down 👇️ for all the other information and to see updates from our City and Country locations.

Slobbers and Drools,

Tia Torres

THE ADOPTABLES

Meet 10 month-old Prime. He is full of personality and doing good on his crate training. He loves people and just wants to cuddle with his people. We would love to see him get a home before he grows up here at the rescue!

Meet 4 year-old Tiger Lily. She may be small but she has a BIG personality! She is a little pit mix no more than 45 lbs and this girl’s got spunk! We think she may be deaf but it doesn’t seem to make her life any less fun! She has played well with other dogs and loves the water! Not so much for bathing, but she will jump in and splash around a baby pool all day and it is the cutest thing you’ll see! She is very sweet and we know she would make a lovely and exciting addition to your home!

To learn more about Prime, Tiger Lily and all of the other adoptable dogs at Villalobos click below.

MARDI GRAS MERCH

Parades, Parties and Pits…what more do you need? 💜 💚 💛

Show up at the parades with this shirt on and see just how much action you get! 🎊 👀 Support our pups! 🐾 

VRC SPONSOR PROGRAM

WEST NEEDS A SPONSOR

Meet West, our little snaggle-toothed man who has been with us since he was a pup. Now one would think with such a cute face he would’ve been adopted out years ago, but from the minute he was brought to us, we saw that West was a little different and just wasn’t into being around people.

So eventually, we decided that it was best for him to remain with us where he would be accepted as a quirky little dude. Thankfully, one of our very patient and understanding employees has West living with her and, along with the help from his sponsors, he is being spoiled rotten.

To learn more about West and all of the other dogs in the Sponsor Dog Program at Villalobos, click below.

Introducing the first Kajun Kitties available for sponsorship!

Hey all you cool cats and kittens… 🐈️ 🐱 We wanted you to know we don’t just rescue dogs at VRC, we also rescue cats.

Let me introduce you to our VRC Kajun Kitty Krew. 😻 Each cat is now available to sponsor. Since they are all new to the sponsor program, the cats listed don’t have many sponsors and could really use your help!

If you are more of a cat person, we got you covered!

Our sponsor dog and cat program is one of the most important programs we have at VRC. Our monthly sponsorship program allows you to virtually “adopt” and care for one of our dogs or cats. While most of them are awaiting a home, sadly some are not adoptable due to severe medical conditions and, in some cases, severe emotional distress and are not able to leave our facility. As much as we want all of our dogs and cats to get a home of their own, it is simply not possible.

When you join the sponsor program you will receive a photo of your sponsored VRC dog or cat signed by Tia Torres thanking you for your support. Additionally, upon joining, you will get an invite to a private group on Facebook only for VRC Sponsors where you will be able to see constant updates on your sponsored pet.

CITY BEAT

From City Managers Jenna and Kyle: As I'm sure many of you have heard from Tia herself, Villalobos is in the process of moving out of our current city location in New Orleans. Tia didn't come to this decision lightly, but given the rising costs of keeping this facility going, it no longer made financial sense for Villalobos as a whole to stay. That said, Louisiana is our home and we're not leaving the state, we'll just be operating in the parish locations outside of the city limits.

Even with the move announced, our intake in the city hasn't slowed down. Since Christmas we have received 4 new dogs: Everleigh, Ewok, Beria, and Megatron.

Everyone is settling in and doing great! Kyle has been working hard building trust with the 2 German Shepherds, Gundar and Volker, who were tied to the old facility gates in September. They both now comfortably walk on leash and enjoy going for strolls. They are starting to accept other employees and are making amazing progress! Richard went to his home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for Christmas as well!

As we’ve mentioned in Issue 4 and Issue 6: sisters Wednesday and Enid along with Vampirella and Sugar Cookie are now ready for adoption and looking for a home in 2024.

COUNTRY CORNER

From M2: We are just getting back into the swing of normalcy around here. Between New Year’s Eve with the fireworks and recent thunderstorms, the dogs have all been on edge lately and we have been playing catch up. Things are slowly starting to settle down and get back to normal. We have been getting dogs in left and right. A lot of puppies and momma dogs. This tends to happen this time of year, the intake sky rockets and the adoptions dwindle down. Hoping we can get our adoptions back up and get all these new guys ready for adoption soon!

Pictured above is a new dog we just got in named Jetter. He is about 1 year old. He is a mixed breed. Not sure exactly what he is but he’s short and long. Almost like a corgi mix. He is super sweet and a very happy guy!

KAJUN KITTIES

From Kitty Kween Jenny: We have connected with a new, amazing transport partner in Blasdell, NY called Ten Lives Club. We just sent 23 cats to them and all but 2 have already been adopted. 🙌 We are excited to continue working with them as we send cats up north for a better life. If you are interested in adopting a Kajun Kitty or are a rescue that is able to take in some Kajun Kitties, please email us at [email protected]

LIZZY’S TRAINING TIP OF THE WEEK

Building a Positive Association to the Crate

Of course we would rather not kennel our dogs at all. But there could be a time when you have no choice and it would be better for our dogs to be content in a crate rather than anxious. Use a Clicker for this!

If you need training help, visit https://www.itsforlifedogtraining.com/ to book an online session with Lizzy.

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