Rethinking Rescue boldly confronts two of the biggest challenges of our time--poverty and homelessness--in asking the question: Who deserves the love of a pet? In Los Angeles's most underserved communities, Lori Weise is known as the Dog Lady, the woman who's spent decades caring for people in poverty and the animals that love them. Long before ..read more

Join us Sunday June 30th for our summer fundraiser.  Tour our mobile clinic and Cat Box Clinic, and meet our medical director Dr. Rachel Hoffman, and the DDR vet team. Meet actor and DDR supporter Danny Trejo, who will be signing autographs, and taking pictures with you and your family.  Last but not least, some of our adoptable DDR dogs will be mingling at the party.  Consider adopting or fostering a DDR dog so that we can rescue more dogs from over crowded shelters. Please RSVP to let us know that you will be joining us as we raise funds to increase access to veter ..read more

Dear Friends and Supporters, I am writing to you today to share an inspiring story about our work and to ask for your vital support to continue serving our community. For the past several months, DDR’s mobile clinic has become a community focused, vital resource for low-income families and their beloved pets. Operating two to three days a week, our clinic offers essential spay/neuter services, vaccinations, and microchipping. Tuesday and Thursday, our mobile clinic parks behind Clancy’s Closet, and our team performs surgeries for 20-25 cats and dogs. Allow me to share a special story that ex ..read more

Meet our new social worker, Jackie Parra. Her first day, on site at the South Los Angeles Shelter, was April 9th. Thanks to a generous grant from https://www.californiaforallanimals.com/ DDR is able to employ her full-time, Tuesdays-Saturdays. Jackie has her masters in social work, and lots of experience working with unhoused people. She shares our belief that everyone deserves to be compassionately supported.                                                    &nbs ..read more

We believe that it is crucial to reflect on the profound impact humane euthanasia can have on both pets and their devoted families. While the decision to say goodbye is undeniably agonizing, it’s a compassionate act born out of love, mercy, and the unyielding desire to alleviate suffering. So when we bought our mobile veterinary clinic, offering access to humane euthanasia was definitely going to be part of our monthly services that we offer our community. Wednesday evening was our first Quality of Life Clinic (QLC) for pets who live with unhoused people and low income families, who cannot aff ..read more

Watch DDR on ABC!  A reporter came out to Clancy’s Closet to highlight what our thrift store for pets is offering our community.  Then, he went with DDR staff and volunteers to do street outreach, where they passed out pet food and supplies, meeting people with pets where they are, while encouraging unhoused people to register their pets to be spayed and neutered. Watch here  – https://abc7.com/downtown-dog-rescue-pet-care-homeless-los-angeles/14612593 ..read more

In December, our Cat Box Clinic vaccinated 35 kittens and cats and provided more extensive veterinary services, including treating skin, ear eye, and upper respiratory infections, for a total of 14 kittens and cats.  Kittens like “Boots”, a 6 week old who was rescued off the street, covered in motor oil, in an area where cats are not treated well.  Even though Boots’ person is unhoused at the present time, and did not plan on adopting a kitten, they could not “leave him on the street to die”.  Our medical director Dr. Rachel Hoffman and RVT Claudia, gave the kitten the best poss ..read more

In January, February, & March, our DDR Pet Support Space counselors and outreach workers provided 1277 new clients and 397 returning clients with services including veterinary care, spay/neuter surgeries, and pet food and supplies. Chevy’s person was referred to DDR by an employee at the Harbor Shelter preventing another dog from entering the shelter. Of the families with pets to enter our program, 999 were dogs and 278 cats.  Of the returning families, 269 were dogs and 128 were cats.  Because DDR is committed to providing more than a one time medical payment, or a limit to th ..read more

DDR will be part of the panel on Saturday from 11am to 1pm to discuss how we can support the ASPCA in their efforts to remove breed restrictions and increase pet friendly housing.  We especially need our supporters who live in South Central Los Angeles to show up.  If you live in one of the following zip codes PLEASE register to attend this important event! 90002 * 90003 * 90043 * 90044 * 90045 * 90047 * 90056 * 90059 * 90061 * 90220 Many of the families with pets that we help on a daily basis, live in these zip codes, especially our Watts families with pets, we need you to show up ..read more

This is 4 month old Bryce who we rescued from an abusive situation on the streets of Skid Row.  We paid his owner $50 to let us take him into our adoption program. Our outreached worker knew that his broken leg was in bad shape, but it wasn’t until his xrays revealed just how bad of a break we were dealing with. He required an expensive orthopedic surgery and after care in order to save his leg.  The alternative would have been amputation. Because of the high cost of care, we started a GoFundMe for this specific case.  https://gofund.me/4f7f260b Once he is healed, he will b ..read more