Owner Saved by Dog to be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

After a well publicized pet adoption fiasco Ellen hopes to encourage people to adopt pets by highlighting rescue on Monday's show

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 22, 2007 -- Last Sunday Ventura County Star reported the story about rescue dog owner, Kimberly Sanchez, from Ventura County in Southern California, who was roused by her dog when she became unconscious.

See previous release from October 2, 2007 http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/10/prweb558165.htm

And the subsequent article from Ventura County Star
http://venturacountystar.com/news/2007/oct/14/unconscious-woman-roused-by-dog-in-time-to-alert/

Monday, October 22, 2007 Kimberly is scheduled to be on the Ellen show. Ellen has planned a segment on her show to encourage people to adopt animals from rescue groups and other animal organizations.

This show is perfectly timed as an article in the Atlantic Free Press challenges Ellen to step up and turn around the public's distaste of anything rescue. http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/2662/81/

It has been a big week in animal rescue, with DogsinDangers.com being on all the morning news shows which highlights with a ticking clock, showing the euthanasia date of shelter animals. Rescue groups came out on both sides of the website. ASPCA was concerned there would be more people adopting animals for the wrong reasons. And indie rescuers yelled Bravo, hoping the public would see what rescuers see everyday.

With Ellen's well publicized pet adoption fiasco she hopes to encourage the public to adopt from local shelters, adoption agencies and independent rescue groups.

Kimberly's dog was rescued by just such an indie rescuer, Judy Crozier, filmmaker of 'FREE to a Good Home'. "I have no idea what happened in Ellen's case, I was not there. I know some rescuers can react first. But I have also seen some adoptions go very, very wrong. I took back a dog for a local rescue when I found it tied to a tree, and two days prior the dog was running loose a neighbor was able to look at its tag and call the rescuer. Right now I am getting of ton of emails reporting information about Ellen and the rescue group and I have not seen anything by way of evidence from either side."

Crozier goes on to say, "One account I received via email from someone saying they were "close" to Mutts and Moms, mentioned that the hairdresser had an unaltered dog living in their backyard. Again, I have no idea what is or isn't true. But as a rescuer I would think twice about adopting to that person. First, most rescues do not want to adopt to someone who leaves a dog outside 24/7. Second, an unaltered dog is what rescuers are fighting so hard against. I also feel that a large part of rescue work is educating the public. If the rescue group left an unaltered dog there, that is just as bad as leaving a dog you adopted in the wrong home."

"If the animal was well cared for I would have simply taken an application on the new family, done a home-check, talked with all parties and hopefully let the adoption stand. But you have to do what is best for the animal. People can be very nice people and horrible pet owners. Then again, animal rescuers have a reputation of being a little nutty. And a large part of that comes from the work rescue entails. We deal with life and death everyday. We, not the public, get a red list of ALL animals slated for euthanasia in LA city shelters. I get some two hundred emails in my in box daily. Save this animal, last day for that animal with a broken limb or a dreadful disease. It is the heartbreaking reality. Indie rescuers are in the trenches at shelters. And we know it is just barely makes a dent."

"I am glad that Kimberly will be on the show. It demonstrates a successful adoption. And a lot of rescue groups might not have adopted to Kimberly because of her young age. I saw she was responsible and this was a match for life."

Apparently, life meant something completely different in this situation.

Just a few months ago Ms. Sanchez adopted a four-month-old Dutch Shepherd. Crozier has been making a fictional feature film, 'FREE to a Good Home', for the last few years. "The film constantly gets sidelined by my rescue work." Crozier states. "I always picked up stray animals on the road, just like a lot of people do."

Crozier mentions, "Although we are still seeking donations to help complete the film, we are farther than we have been."

Additional information about rescued pets can be found at: http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/shelter69824-pets.html and more information about the film can be found at: http://www.freetoagoodhomemovie.com. Or contact Judy Crozier at 310.492.5569 or via email at freetoagoodhome [at] aol.com.

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