Approximately 12 years ago I was assigned to work the midnight shift for my law enforcement agency. I went to patrol the area north of Anza Road in Calexico, California since it has been a while I’ve seen that area at night. I wanted to familiarize myself with some of the terrain since it changed due to rain and heavy wind.

As I got closer to the area, I heard dogs barking and came across what appeared to be trailer with a fenced in yard. There were no visible signs indicating exactly what this was nor was there anybody inside. I was curious and knew I had to return in the morning to make sure these dogs were safe.

As the sun started to rise and my shift was coming to an end, I knew I had to go back and find out what these dogs were doing there. I gassed up my vehicle and started heading back south. Thankfully I heard voices and saw two men wearing an Animal Control Officer uniform.

I introduced myself and asked many questions which pertained to the dogs and the facility. I quickly learned that this was the city animal pound where stray, unwanted, lost and discarded animals were relinquished. This broke my heart and I knew I had to do something. 

I started contacting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), writing memorandums to the Calexico City Council, and getting a hold of the local newspaper called the Imperial Valley Press. Shortly after, I was able to start a volunteer program
  at the animal control facility where dogs would get walked, bathed, and socialized. Furthermore, the volunteers sanitized kennels, food bowls, and water bowls. The concept behind the volunteer program was to gain the trust of abandoned and relinquished  animals. This hurts for me to say this but it is the unfortunate truth-WE DO NOT DESERVE ANIMALS! Animals are kind and forgiving until humans mistreat them. Unfortunately, animals pay for these heinous situations, and it takes a long time to gain their trust back. 
The volunteer program was a good way to get people involved in their community and see what neglect does to innocent animals.

As time passed, volunteers slowly left and never returned. I guess you can say that LIFE happened: school, careers, family, etc… One thing for sure, I NEVER left. There were good days and bad days. The bad days were when politics were involved and money was always an issue. Kennels were chewed, beds were broken, washer/dryer machines stopped working, animal control trucks broke down, and heaters were never installed. The worst part was the cold season approached and there were no walls to keep the animals from freezing when the temperatures dropped. I can only imagine the agony these poor animals had to endure by sleeping on the cold cement and nobody ever comeback to look for them. 

The good days were when animals got adopted and we heard some amazing stories of their new lives.

For the last 12 years, my ultimate goal was to make these “visitors” as I like to call them as comfortable as possible until they went to an actual animal rescue or to their forever homes. I started branching out and getting rescues involved with accepting animals from the Calexico Animal Control Facility. These rescues and forever homes were in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oregon, Las Vegas, Arizona, Seattle and even Canada. It was not easy, but we were making progress and less animals had to be euthanized due to space issues.

Today, the goal is to work on an actual infrastructure that has walls, roof, heat/air conditioning, running water, and laundry to wash blankets and sweaters. As always, volunteers are the backbone of the Animal Control Facility and without the selfless love this would not be possible.

Thank You