The Mia Connect Power Chat – Sanctuaries & Rescues!

We had the privilege to showcase an amazing array of sanctuary, rescue and training organizations that have one thing in common:  They are making a difference!

Our guests included representatives from The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, Going Home Animal Rescue Transport in Tulsa OK, Petiquette Dog Training from Houston, TX and Harbor House of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. We also talked about a great new charity idea called Plus Your Charity

First up is Becca Miceli, the Director of Animal Care at The Wild Animal Sanctuary, a  720 acre facility located on the plains of Colorado, only 30 miles from Downtown Denver!  The sanctuary is a permanent home to over 350 exotic animals (mainly carnivores, a few alpacas and one camel for good measure!)  In addition to providing the VERY best care for all of the animals (bears, wolves, tigers, lions, OH MY!), they also help educate the public about Wildlife captivImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.ity. Founder Pat Craig is a visionary with purpose and designed the facility to provide the VERY best care for these animals, many who have been rescued from dire situations. As an example, they worked in conjunction with Animal Defenders International (and Bob Barker, Price Is Right host) to help rescue a group of Bolivian Lions. The story of the rehabilitation of Kimba and the Pride is amazing! Check out minute 9:50.  Radiant heating anyone?  Yes please! I can’t wait to visit and broadcast a hangout from Lion House & hear the Roar Competition (the wolves jump in sometimes too!)  One of the really great features of the facility is the Mile Into the Wild Walkway – it allows visitors to view the animals at their most relaxed as they don’t view them as a threat when they are elevated.  Make sure to check out their website, read all about the great work they are doing and visit when you are here in Denver. Let us know if you are headed there and we’ll join you!

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Next up we spoke with Kathy Nobles of Going Home Animal Rescue Transport from Tulsa Oklahoma. This is an organization that I’ve been involved with for quite a while and I love what they are doing. Going Home partners with sImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.mall municipal shelters and rescue groups, mainly in rural areas of Oklahoma and Arkansas, that do not have the resources or adoption pools metropolitan areas do, and transport dogs and some cats to receiving rescues in Illinois and Colorado (and other areas of the country) where there is a need for adoptable companion animals. GHART does SUCH a great job of coordinating with shelters in Chicago and Denver. The amount of work that goes into arrangements for each animals’ safe transfer is quite extensive and GHART goes above & beyond with their efforts. Twice a monthly their team takes a 12 hour journey (each way) from Tulsa and delivers anywhere from 40-60 dogs & puppies to the dropoff point where shelter representatives are waiting with open arms. It’s a never ending job and Kathy & Mike Nobles have been making a difference since 2009 and have rescued over 5000 animals.  AMAZING numbers, don’t you think?  Check out their Facebook page and website 

Leila Martin also joined us on the panel. Leila and her husband Jim have a dog training business in Houston called Petiquette  and they are really onto something! Jim has been a dog trainer for over 30 years and he and Leila have really leveraged that experience to create a unique business model that makes a difference.  They were the creators of the very first multi-million dollar pet resort (Rover Oaks Pet Resort). They ran this successfully but decided to sell and go back to what they really love:  training in the home and helping people keep dogs in their forever homes!  Fun fact about Leila & Jim – when they married, they combined their fur families: 7 dogs & 1 Cat. How’s THAT for a furry Brady Bunch?!  What I love about the mission the Leila and Jim are on, is that they have figured out a way to more Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.efficiently and effectively spread the knowledge and reach more people which means more pets are staying in the homes they deserve. As you all know, MANY dogs are relinquished to shelters due to behavior. Leila and Jim’s mission is to diminish those numbers greatly and they are succeeding. They use Google Hangouts to help people all over the world! The principles of dog training translates VERY well over the interwebs and so they have been able to reach many more people and grow their business in a way that matches their heart & spirit. In addition, they also train people to be dog trainers and have really utilized Google Hangouts to streamline that process. Now instead of having students take 6 weeks out of their schedule to be onsite in Houston, they’ve cut that down to two weeks in person. 4 weeks is spent online via Hangouts learning animal behavioral science and then 2 weeks is spent on site. Oh, and get this, they bring in shelter animals for the training so that their students can learn first hand AND the shelter pet is given a “leg up” (ha!) with the training which helps them to be better candidates for adoption.  WIN/WIN !

We also showcased Harbor House of Central Florida, a unique shelter out of Orlando that is really shaking things up in a good way!  My good friends Carolyn Capern and Greg Trujillo have been instrumental in bringing their cause to the attention of many people on Google Plus. Thank goodness – they deserve a TON of attention. Michelle Brady Palmer joined the show and talked about their facility and the unique element they provide for people looking to escape domestic abuse: their shelter provides a pet shelter called Paws For Peace.  Michelle informed us, the majority of shelters do not have the ability for people to bring their animals. The Harbor House format is that they function like Witness Protection: they provide a safe place for the whole family. And pets are your family!

Harbor House has a holistic based program – the furry members are given the same care. Often when they come onto campus, they animals sometimes need MORE care than humans. Their humans know they are safe but the pets don’t know. Sometimes they are more traumatized since they are in a separate space. When a pet comes onto campus, the intake process is carefully crafted:  lavender in the intake room, on-call vets who helps with trauma.  a physical assessment (just like human survivors). Many pets do need some type of medial care . They get the same care & keeping as the humans.  Since the shelter was built in December 2012, they have housed over 70 animals – cats, dogs, turtles, fish, guinea pigs – you name it!  One of the MAIN goals of Harbor House and Paws for Peace is education and empowerment. They have even created a phone app called R3 which stands for Recognize, Respond and Refer, is the first mobile domestic abuse screening tool in the U.S. and the leverages the research based HITS screening tool created 13 years ago and used across the globe.  http://bit.ly/R3App   Most importantly, Harbor House is willing to share their blueprint for combining shelters with kennels. The format is replicable, scalable, and sustainable. They’ve put a ton of time and effort into making this work and want this craze to sweep the nation!

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Those are some crazy scare statistics right there so PLEASE, please check out the R3 app and share the info.

Finally, we chatted with Dennis Duce and Carolyn Capern about the fantastic idea they formulated to harness the power of Google Plus and everyone’s unwavering desire to help those around us!  Plus Your Charity raises funds for charities using Google Plus, Social Media and Online Marketing to support your favorite charity’s mission goals! This new project is bringing attention to great causes… including Harbor House. Through one event alone, PYC was able to raise an additional $250 – enough for a full 6 week stay for one animal at Paws For Peace. Speaking of the power of social media, another $50 was raised during the show.   #GoodStuff   Want to help?  Click below!

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In closing, let me throw out my favorite soapbox rhetoric:

Don’t shop.. adopt!  If you can’t adopt, then foster. If you can’t foster, then volunteer.  If you can’t volunteer, then donate. If you can’t donate, then clean out your linen closet and drop off old blankets & towels at your local shelter.  Get involved. Stay engaged.

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