Straight Outta Swampton

Issue #16

Author

Katie
August 02, 2024

THIS WEEK AT VRC

Greetings Villalobos Village!

After taking a little break from our newsletter and making some changes here at Rabid Reality, we’re excited to catch up with you again! Thanks so much for your patience and understanding while we’ve been establishing our new normal. We really appreciate your support during this time. While our mission of rescuing and caring for dogs in need never stops, we're eager to get back to sharing their stories with you.

With summer here in South Louisiana, it's time to get ready for hurricane season again. This is always a crucial time for our team and our furry friends at Villalobos. Keeping our dogs safe and well is our top priority, so we're busy prepping for any challenges that might come our way. From planning evacuation routes for each location, stocking up on essentials like food, medicine, and bedding, and making sure our dogs will have all the care they need if an emergency hits we’ve got our hands full. We’ve weathered many storms over the years, but this season has the potential to hit us hard by the sound of it.

As we get ready for the season ahead, we need your help more than ever. Your donations and volunteer work play a crucial role in our preparedness efforts. Here’s how you can make a big difference:

Donate Supplies: We always need blankets, pet food, crates, and medical supplies, especially during a crisis. Your donations help us take care of animals right away.

Volunteer Your Time: If you’re in the area, whether it’s walking dogs, cleaning kennels, or spreading the word in the community, we really appreciate your time.

Financial Contributions: Monetary donations help us buy essential supplies, keep our facilities in good shape, and provide medical care for our dogs.

Subscribe on Patreon: When you subscribe to my Patreon channel, all the money from the paid subscription tiers go straight to the dogs. To sign up or to check it out, go to Patreon.com/TiaTorres 

Together, we'll keep moving forward with tails wagging.

Slobbers and Drools,

Tia Torres

THE ADOPTABLES

Kermit

Kermit is a 4-year-old puppy who will keep you laughing all day! He loves all people, including kids. One of his favorite things is going for car rides and people-watching from the front seat. You’ll always find him with a huge smile on his face, especially when receiving belly rubs which is an absolute must for him! When he sleeps, he is always sprawled out on his back with his mouth wide open. He loves to play with his toys and snuggle with his stuffies.

Fantome

Fantome is a 4-year-old love bug. She can be shy in new situations and with new people, but give her time and soon she'll be doing zoomies and asking for belly rubs (her favorite)! Also known as Gem around the rescue because she is a gem. Rescued from a terrible breeding situation, she's not a fan of other dogs and should be the only pet in the home. Fantome has manageable allergies with the right meds and food. If you want a couch potato who keeps you smiling every day of the week, Fantome is your girl!

To learn more about Kermit, Fantome and other adoptable dogs at Villalobos, click below.

VRC SPONSOR PROGRAM

Knox

KNOX NEEDS A SPONSOR

Knox is a purebred Plott Hound, known for hunting boar and bear, but he's too sweet and silly for that life, which is why his previous owner gave him up. Add to that, he was also picked on by other hunting dogs. Knox is gradually overcoming his shyness and learning to trust other dogs. Despite being a Hound, he's quiet and rarely barks. Knox is new to indoor life and walking on a leash but is already enjoying air conditioning and watching TV. He prefers being inside most of the time. Knox is still a work in progress, but he's one of the sweetest dogs we've ever met.

VRC dog sponsors get access to a private Facebook group moderated by Tia.

WHAT’S NEW AT VRC?

We haven't had the best of luck with foster homes but we are willing to try again, especially since we are hearing that this hurricane season is predicted to be a very bad one. We would love to get as many dogs out and "Home for the Hurricanes," even if it is temporary.

Here is what we are looking for.

1. Foster from July through September. Hurricane season goes from June until November, but we'd be happy with you fostering one of our dogs during the height of the season.

2. The states/region where you reside need to be north of the Gulf Coast states (for obvious reasons), east of OK City, OK, and any area to the northeastern states is fine. We need to keep our dogs close enough for any medical emergencies yet out of Hurricane Central.

3. You CAN have existing dogs (no more than 2), cats and kids are fine. We don't normally adopt out dogs into these types of situations, but using a crate/rotate system and for such a short amount of time, we are hoping that you will respect our guidelines and keep everyone safe in doing so.

4. We will pay for everything and supply you with everything you need to foster one of our dogs.

If you would like to apply to be a 90 Dog Fiance and help a VRC dog to have a "Home for the Hurricanes," or for more details please email us at: [email protected]

To be able to get even a handful of dogs out of Mother Nature's wrath, would be a huge relief for us and of course the dogs.

CITY BEAT

From City Manager Jenna: Katie, Perry and I are thrilled to announce our new program, VRC KIDS! This initiative features the kiddos of VRC showcasing adoptable dogs at Villalobos and raising awareness about what it’s like growing up in the animal care world. They’re super excited about it and we hope you are too!

Moving the kennel cabin

Lots of changes going on in the city! We’ve had 5 of our kennel cabins pulled out and moved to the Sanctuary in preparation of closing our city location. It was bittersweet, but we are so excited for the dogs to be out in the serenity of the country!

COUNTRY CORNER

From M2: This week we rescued 7 dogs from one of the worst hoarding situations I’ve encountered, which is saying a lot because we’ve seen some gnarly stuff out here!

Since the rescue, the pups have been vetted, bathed and are settling in at our country location. If all continues to go well, we’ll hopefully start to see what we’ll need to work on to get these cuties on the adoptable list and into forever homes.

You’ll be able to watch this rescue in an upcoming episode of Life with the Underdogs!

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