{"id":1631,"date":"2016-12-27T23:15:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T23:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/nancy-and-larry-gorman-finding-home-for-the-holidays-and-any-other-time\/"},"modified":"2016-12-27T23:15:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T23:15:00","slug":"nancy-and-larry-gorman-finding-home-for-the-holidays-and-any-other-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/nancy-and-larry-gorman-finding-home-for-the-holidays-and-any-other-time","title":{"rendered":"Nancy and Larry Gorman: Finding Home for the Holidays and Any Other Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Losing a pet is heartbreaking and may feel even worse during the holiday season. After all, they\u2019re part of the family, too\u2014if they weren\u2019t, there wouldn\u2019t be so many frantic posts on Facebook and Nextdoor or posters and flyers tacked up everywhere.<\/p>\n

Losing a pet is heartbreaking and may feel even worse during the holiday season. After all, they\u2019re part of the family, too\u2014if they weren\u2019t, there wouldn\u2019t be so many frantic posts on Facebook and Nextdoor or posters and flyers tacked up everywhere.<\/p>\n

In September, The Scratching Post article \u201cHelp! My Pet\u2019s Missing!\u201d<\/a>\u00a0laid out local resources for finding a lost pet. This is the first in a series of stories that comprise a year\u2019s-end honor to three resourceful and passionate humans whose main mission is reuniting pets with their people.<\/p>\n

Nancy and Larry Gorman, and 911LostPetRescue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact information: www.911lostpetrescue.com<\/a>; help@911LostPetRescue.com<\/a> or support@911LostPetRescue.com<\/a>; (562) 666-7154<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be put off by 911LostPetRescue\u2019s telephone prefix\u2014it is, after all, the mark of the beast. That\u2019s what petfinders Nancy and Larry Gorman look for when an animal is lost in Long Beach or Signal Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople panic when their pets go missing,\u201d Larry Gorman said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve just lost your pet, we have a system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larry got the idea for 911 from the lost-pet posters he\u2019d see when he was walking his Yorkie. \u201cThere was no system,\u201d he said. Then\u2014I imagine him pointing a finger in the air with a lightbulb flashing above his head like Betty Boop\u2019s Grampy\u2014he thought, hey! I\u2019m retired, and I can do something!<\/p>\n

911\u2019s system involves first saturating the radius of the point where the pet disappeared with 200 to 500 fliers. Announcements are posted on Nextdoor and Facebook\u2014the number of Facebook pages for lost and found pets is increasing at a heartening rate. Then, whichever volunteers are available fan out 15 to 20 blocks from the center, calling the animal\u2019s name and searching at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, I take my little red rescue car with a big sign on it and a picture of the animal, and an announcement that our neighbor lost a pet,\u201d Larry said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very successful. I\u2019ve had people come out of the houses to grab one of my cards.\u201d To date, the Gormans have been involved with 21 searches and have fulfilled 16 of them.<\/p>\n

\"911setup\"<\/p>\n

The Gormans’ red car is a call to action. Following it is encouraged. Photo by Larry Gorman.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Larry received funding for his project from Omstar Environmental Products<\/a>\u00a0in Wilmington, in exchange for the work on their website that he does.<\/p>\n

\u201cBesides, they\u2019re dog people,\u201d Larry added.<\/p>\n

He gets additional funding from other businesses in exchange for website work. These pay for printing up fliers and maintaining the unmistakable sign on his vehicle. He also has crafted tags with the 911 contact information on it. These are mailed to the pet owner upon registration of the pet, which is free and can be done here<\/a>. Larry requests no further donations unless there\u2019s a dog in need.<\/p>\n

\"Larrys<\/p>\n

The 911 pet tags are free with registration–also free. The bright-yellow color works as an instant message. Photo by Larry Gorman<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And of course, there\u2019s a story there. Larry\u2019s official assistant used to be one of those dogs. He\u2019d been found at the Port of Long Beach, his body covered in chain marks and bites. He\u2019d been hit by a semi, and one of the port workers posted his photo on Nextdoor. Larry saw his photo and was smitten.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the type of rescue I usually get involved in,\u201d Larry said. \u201cBut there were maggots on his chest, and my heart just went out to him. I couldn\u2019t resist.”<\/p>\n

Larry spent an hour with the dog, and when he walked to his car, the dog followed him. Three hours and 50 staples later at Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital<\/a>, Larry had a new friend and associate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bluff Heights neighborhood paid the vet bill\u2014he got fixed later,\u201d Larry said.<\/p>\n

Larry\u2019s parents had trained circus animals, so it\u2019s in the blood. He\u2019s training Picasso\u2014so he was named, likely because he was pieced back together\u2014to help with watching and lurking for lost animals.<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

Picasso Gorman, with his sidekick. A Scooby-Doo at heart. Photo by Kate Karp<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Larry and Nancy\u2019s enterprise has been a gratifying one for them, but they cannot forget the few who got away, The most memorable of them was their first attempt\u2014a little Yorkie who reminded them of the one that they have.<\/p>\n

\u201cNancy and I spent weeks looking for him,\u201d Larry said. \u201cThe boy had opened the door to get the paper and didn\u2019t see the Yorkie dash out the door. He was out front less than five minutes\u2014someone had to have gotten him. It sticks in my mind. I still have the flier in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larry says that his main issue with dogs is dog owners. \u201cThey\u2019re not educated enough about the breeds, and what they do on the walks can be counterproductive,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to be aware that you have an animal or a pet who may leave, who may get spooked. And certainly do not let them off the leash when you\u2019re walking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skateboarders and fireworks can frighten dogs, he warned. He cited a case in which he found a dog in front of his house. The dog\u2019s leash was still on and was hooked to a tire. Larry immediately put up a sign with the address and the contact information, and the owner showed up right away. \u201cWhat happened was, the guy had on earphones, a skateboard came up behind him and spooked the dog. He took right off,\u201d Larry said.<\/p>\n

Cats are a different animal in every sense. While a dog will usually come to the sound of the owner\u2019s voice or even a stranger\u2019s, cats tend to get scared and hide. It\u2019s also common for them to get locked in a garage or other structure. If the owner moves to a different house, the cat may become skittish, worm its way out, and try to find the old haunts.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have to stop letting them outside\u2014that\u2019s the whole key,\u201d Larry said. \u201cIf they want to let them roam, that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d Larry\u2019s own cat is a prisoner of love.<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, Larry stressed the importance of having a plan in case a pet goes missing and to put it into action immediately. And he\u2019ll help.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery moment that the animal is gone from the home, that\u2019s a mile they can go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lately, Larry\u2019s had a few setbacks. He\u2019s recently recovered from bladder cancer\u2014completely, thankfully\u2014and because no good deed goes unpunished, his rescue vehicle was stolen\u2014twice. He got it back both times, but unfortunately his rescue equipment was missing along with the spare tire. But his down-home good-humor and the ability to find silver linings in every cloud seem to be what keeps him going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing that came from all this was that I met many of our officers that work the area, and I had the best experience with all of them,\u201d he said of the thefts. \u201cOfficer Garry also met Picasso and took a liking to him right from the start, and became friends with him. He now stops if he sees us on a walk and says hello to Picasso if he is not on a call.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being able to find hope and humor in everything from health issues to his bad rotator cuffs that came out of a rescue of a husky inspires volunteers, community members and local businesses to join the Gormans\u2019 efforts in finding lost pets and educating the owners. Larry\u2019s next project is to create a pet-safety-awareness education workshop at Wilson High.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes another village!\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer.\u201d<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

~ Source unknown but right on<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Losing a pet is heartbreaking and may feel even worse during the holiday season. After all, they\u2019re part of the family, too\u2014if they weren\u2019t, there wouldn\u2019t be so many frantic posts on Facebook and Nextdoor or posters and flyers tacked up everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":67026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[39],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","tag-scratching-post","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1631"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=1631"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}