Thousands of dogs are rounded up annually and taken to East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center. For most, it’s the end of the line.
One local group, however, is doing what it can to save as many dogs as possible. Yelp!!BR is a non-profit animal welfare organization that takes dogs on the euthanization list and places them in loving homes.
The organization began in 2009 after Baton Rouge employees of Commercial Properties Realty Trust realized the extent of the problem, according to Betty Hullinger, Yelp’s executive director.
“Carolyn Martin [President and CEO of Commercial Properties] saw a need for it after finding out how many dogs were being put down every day in Baton Rouge,” Hullinger said. “There were around 5,000 dogs euthanized last year.”
The organization was founded to aid in the No Kill BR initiative, a movement to eliminate euthanasia of healthy and treatable and adoptable cats and dogs in the parish.
Sheila Kimball, Yelp! volunteer and office administrator for Commercial Properties, said she and her colleagues began fostering shelter dogs until they could be adopted.
“We had no idea what we were doing at first, but everyone jumped in with both feet,” she said. “We didn’t have our own location until April, which is when we acquired the Yelp! house.”
Kimball said Joe Greco, owner of Greco’s Pet Supplies on Greenwell Springs Road, offered the house behind his store.
“Now that we have our own location, we can keep around 40 to 50 dogs at the house at one time,” she said. “And whenever we have a few dogs adopted, we go back to Animal Control and pick up more.”
The organization went from having adoption events twice a month to having events every weekend.
“Now we just keep growing,” Hullinger said. “In our first year, we had more than 500 dogs adopted out. We really hope to double our numbers this year.”
After Yelp! volunteers pull dogs from Animal Control, the animals are checked and vaccinated by a veterinarian, assessed for temperament, spayed or neutered and implanted with a microchip — all of which costs around $200 per dog.
“We only charge $100 to adopt, so we lose about $100 for every dog adopted,” she said. “That’s why the support is so necessary.”
Yelp! is funded solely by donations and fundraisers.
“We are operating because of the donations,” she said. “There was a time when we were running out of food, so we put it on Facebook and the next day, people were showing up with food. Baton Rouge is a community that cares about animals.”
Hullinger said she never realized how dire the situation was prior to visiting Animal Control.
“Before I got into this, I didn’t know the real need, but once you go out there and see what happens to these animals, you can’t help but want to help,” she said. “You can’t just have your head in the sand thinking this isn’t happening.”
Hullinger, who has been volunteering at Animal Control for the past two years, said the facility is required to keep stray dogs for six days, but owner-surrendered dogs don’t have that required cushion.
“They can choose to put down an owner-surrendered dog within an hour after it has been dropped off if they don’t have enough space,” she said. “That’s why we try to only take dogs from Animal Control, so we can give them a chance.”
Hullinger said it is easy to become attached to the dogs.
“You want to pull up in an 18-wheeler and load up your entire car, but realistically you can’t do that. You’ve got to put things in perspective,” she said. “You can’t go out there and take home every animal, but you can give the animals as much love and attention as you can while you’re out there and make a difference.”
Yelp! has around 100 volunteers that periodically come by the house, play with the dogs, clean cages and help with adoption events on weekends, one of whom is Allison Claudet, who says she tries to volunteer twice a week.
“When you see people’s faces when they are so excited to get their new dog, it makes it all worth it,” she said.
Claudet checks online lost-and-found dog databases like FidoFinder.com and Petfinder.com in effort to match owners with their missing pets.
Rebecca Owens, University educational theory instructor and Yelp! volunteer, said it’s vital to educate the public on the root of the problem.
“People need to realize the importance of spaying and neutering,” she said. “We hope to educate as many people as we can. It can only help.”
 
 
 
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Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]