Giving safe shelter

Sara Wilson

When Vivienne McIntosh was young, animals would mysteriously

follow her home.

“Maybe because of what I was feeding them,” she said.

Or maybe it was just that she had a way with animals.

She is currently the proud owner of two cats that she brought with

her from Australia, her home country, and two Chihuahuas.

Undoubtedly, she would own more if her husband hadn’t set the limit

at four.

“I just can’t imagine being without an animal,” she said.

The two Chihuahuas, Moose and Speedy, are alive with energy. They

are happy now, but only three years ago Moose was found in an

abandoned house, and a year ago Speedy had no hair. Rescued by the

Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, McIntosh couldn’t resist taking them

home with her.

“I like to take the dogs that need a bit of attention,” she said.

Every Friday, McIntosh checks in at the shelter for her volunteer

duties, and Speedy and Moose visit their former home. She has been a

volunteer at the shelter for three years and enjoys the chance to

help the animals.

Although most of her own duties are at the front desk, she also

walks the dogs, cleans the runs, bathes the animals, gives them shots

and socializes with them.

Run by only four employees, the shelter is dependent on its

volunteers. Many of them are career people who come to the Shelter to

get a break from work, according to McIntosh.

“All of the volunteers are animal nuts,” she says. “We have all

taken pets home.”

At the shelter, the animals are given a temporary but comfortable

home. They have heated floors, fresh beds and toys and they are

walked and bathed regularly.

“It’s such a well-run shelter,” McIntosh says. “Those dogs are

really spoiled.”

Her commitment to animals extends beyond her weekly shift at the

shelter. She has worked alongside her husband to start and maintain

Aussie Pet Mobile, a national franchise of mobile pet grooming. The

business has grown rapidly in the three years that they have owned

it.

McIntosh is in charge of the public relations and advertising side

of it, but she does it on condition that she can continue her

volunteer work at the shelter.

By the end of next year, McIntosh plans to turn the franchise

responsibilities over to her husband completely so that she can have

more free time to volunteer.

As she sits in her studio with Speedy in her lap, she looks

completely at home. On her desk is a brochure for Aussie Pet Mobile

with colored pictures of animals. Moose barks nearby.

“My whole life is animals, one way or the other,” she says.

* SARA WILSON is an intern for the Coastline Pilot. She writes

features and gathers news information. She can be reached at

494-4321.