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.
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