Growing up in the Philippines, I often saw stray animals, commonly referred to as “street dogs”, roaming my community. Culturally, these animals were seen as feral and not trusted, which is far from how we all feel about our fur-babies in the United States. Sadly, no one adopted these dogs or took them to shelters. When I moved to the United States, I wondered how I could help both the street dogs overseas and rescue animals in my own community.
I started Vital Pet Life with the goal of healing and supporting animals while modeling compassion and social awareness. At VPL, giving back is a big part of our mission. With this in mind, we’re highlighting two wonderful dog rescues with whom we work and donate our Salmon Oil and Shampoo; Dogs Without Borders and Wags & Walks.
Dogs Without Borders rescues small to mid-sized stray and abandoned dogs from local shelters and as far away as Taiwan and Mexico. Started by Galit Reuben, DWB stands behind their dogs offering their clients advice and support for the duration of their dogs’ lives to ensure happy and successful adoptions. Because DWB does not have a facility, it relies solely on hard-working and dedicated foster volunteers to house and care for their rescue dogs until they are adopted. They’ve placed over 6000 dogs since 2006 and continues to rescue thousands more with the support of generous donations, fosters, and volunteers. Learn more at dogswithoutborders.org
Lesley Brog, the daughter of a veterinarian, founded Wags & Walks in 2011. She was shocked and devastated by the number of sweet and healthy dogs being euthanized due to overcrowding in LA shelters. Wags & Walks’ main mission is “to break the stigma that rescue dogs are damaged goods and to help decrease the number of dogs euthanized in local shelters by showing the community that you can find wonderful dogs of all breeds and sizes through rescue.” That value has remained consistent as the rescue has continued to grow. Learn more at wagsandwalks.org.
