Dog Dies Due to Cold at Carson, California Animal Shelter

    /24-7PressRelease/ - LOS ANGELES, CA, December 06, 2007 - A 10 month old puppy died last night due to cold and lack of adequate shelter in the County of Los Angeles Animal Shelter. A few days ago a plea among rescuers went out requesting blankets be sent to the Carson Animal Shelter. Cold cement floors, lack of heat and only a few warm blankets and towels for the couple hundred animals housed at this old run-down Animal Shelter were the conditions a puppy died in last night in a suburb outside of Tinsel Town.

Indie Filmmaker, Judy Crozier puts post production and Season's Greetings on hold to blanket what she can at the Carson Animal Shelter. "Nationwide Animal Shelters need help, blankets, newspapers, carpet remnants, especially during this time of year." Crozier continues, "New reports are coming in that the Shelters are receiving blankets and NOT using them because when they are soiled they have to be thrown out as there are no laundry facilities to clean them. Dogs are also suffering in Lancaster where it drops BELOW freezing nightly. Small breed dogs are especially at risk. Pressure needs to be put on the shelters to USE the blankets people are dropping off, or buy beds that lift the animals off the ground, blankets will be less likely to soiled if a plastic riser is used."

Just a few miles from Rancho Palos Verdes some of the wealthiest land owners in Los Angeles and less than 30 minutes from Beverly Hills where lucky pets such as Paris Hilton's Chihuahua Tinkerbell are adorned in jewels and the highest of pet fashions, this puppy did not stand a chance. Los Angeles both county and city have a very low adoption rate. Which means it has a very high kill rate in certain shelters 75% or more are "euthanized" due to pet overpopulation.

But Los Angeles has a dirty little secret with one of the highest pet overpopulations in the country. "In Los Angeles pets are disposable." Two county shelters Downey and Carson are known for the heavily overpopulated Pit Bulls and Chihuahua. "Ignorant and selfish people keep over breeding them and the number one reason pets are turned into the shelters is because the owners are moving." Judy Crozier, filmmaker of FREE to a Good Home said. "If you want a Tinkerbell of your own go to Downey, there has to be several illegal breeders near that shelter as it is constantly overflowing with Chihuahua's." Crozier continued. "I hoped some good would have come out of the attention Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell received, that people would look to shelters for Chihuahua's."

"The breeds you all LOVE so much are ALL dying in Los Angeles Shelters. From a purebred Maltese I rescued from a City shelter last year to the severely overcrowded Lancaster shelter where you can find Poodles to purebred Golden's." Crozier continued, "the problem is people want a pet immediately; they want to go pick one out and find the pure bred. Finding that perfect pet takes time. Finding the right match also takes time and the commitment to raising a pet takes even more time, love and money."

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. The movie is about one girl's journey into the animal rescue world and the film is nearing the final stages of post-production.

"I always picked up stray animals along the road, just like a lot of people do." Crozier continues, "But when I moved to Los Angeles to attend grad school at USC, I did the same thing with the first puppy I found on campus. I stumbled into this immense world of Animal Rescue. And I began to see the even larger problem Los Angeles has with pet overpopulation. It all lead to my making the film. I kept saying to myself, 'someone should do something." Crozier goes on to say, "With all the power of Hollywood, and all the filmmakers concentrated here, was no one really seeing what I was seeing?"

Crozier mentions, "Although we are still seeking donations to help complete the film, we are farther than we have been. Juggling a full-time job, full-time rescue work and full-time editing has not worked. At the urging of my cast and crew I have slowed down my rescue work to focus on editing. But that gets harder to do when situations like these arise. When I should be spending my extra income on editing costs no doubt it will be redirected to buy or transport blankets to the Carson shelter."

Crozier and the film have suffered severe tragedy that has set back both her life and the film. On December 8th 2001 she lost her home and five of her pets to an electrical fire. But Crozier has continued to work on editing the film even though the footage is unbearable for her to watch at times. With the anniversary coming next Saturday this is not an easy time of the year.

Crozier urges the public to please take old blankets and towels to Carson or any shelter near their home as they are all in need during the winter season. Crozier is taking donated blankets and heaters to Carson this week. I was ready to send out our yearly Season's Greetings Newsletter and donation request letter but that will have to be put on hold, "Pay for postage and printing for a newsletter or take blankets to the shelters...it's a juggling act on a shoe-string budget."

"The dog appears to have all suffered from Kennel Cough, a typical canine disease in shelters, and normally NOT fatal. But this cough also appears to have not been treated, or not treated well, and complaints from Volunteers went unnoticed by staff. The cold, and cement did not help. An overhaul of shelters nationwide is what is needed."

"My hope is that the film will bring some of this issues to light. It is not an in-your-face documentary, but again post-production and even the yearly Season's Greetings Newsletter will be tabled in an attempt to save lives." Crozier states.

To take blankets or towels to Carson please deliver them to:
LA County: Carson Shelter 216 W. Victoria St. Gardena, CA 90248
For a county shelter near you check out this website
http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/locationByCity.asp
For City shelter information go to:
http://www.laanimalservices.com/

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.

About FREE to a Good Home
FREE to a Good Home is a fictional feature film about one girls struggle in the world of animal rescue. The indie filmmaker Judy Crozier is a animal rescuer in Los Angeles, CA.

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