Volunteers do what they do out of enthusiasm and devotion to an idea or a goal. And when the spotlight shines on them, it’s terrific for both the volunteers and the object of their involvement.
On April 20, Fix Long Beach (FLB), a grassroots nonprofit organization, was recognized by the Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine’s Animal Care Services Bureau with a Volunteer Recognition Award from California Parks and Recreation (CPRS) District 10. FLB Board Member April Devane accepted the award for the organization on April 20 at the CPRS District 10 Awards and Installation Banquet in Garden Grove.
“I selected [Fix Long Beach] because the award is meant to honor volunteer people and groups that have had a significant impact in their community,” Long Beach Animal Care Services Manager Ted Stevens said. And FLB does this extraordinarily well.
From left: Ted Stevens, Manager, Long Beach Animal Care Services; April Devane, Board Member Fix Long Beach; and Marie Knight, Director, Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine.
FLB was founded in 2013 through the work of Claudia Hoffmann and the support of Eldad Hagar, Hope for Paws’s founder, in an effort born of passion and solicitous concern for the well-being of Long Beach’s cats and dogs, both in shelters and rescues and kept as companions. To help reduce shelter overpopulation and euthanasia rate, FLB provides free spay and neuter procedures for the dogs and cats of Long Beach’s low-income residents through the use of a mobile clinic. Many residents cannot afford the procedures, whose prices can be as high as $400.
Volunteers set up appointments for the Pets R Us mobile clinic, hired through funding and donations. Photo courtesy of Fix Long Beach.
“Not only is it rewarding seeing the animals getting fixed, but the looks of gratitude from their owners is the icing on the cake,” board member Pam Rainsdon said.
Because of its successful spay/neuter effort along with one of educating the city’s residents about the reasons for altering cats and dogs, pet health and owner responsibility, FLB has been a welcome complement to the Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance that was put into law in October 2015. Long Beach residents who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to comply with the ordinance can now do so as proud, responsible pet owners.
“For many reasons, good, caring people sometimes just don’t have the ability to be able to get their pets spayed or neutered,” volunteer Leslie Abrahams said. “That’s why we bring spaying and neutering to the people. The pet owners we see love their pets and are overjoyed to be able to do their best to keep them healthy.”
Photos courtesy of Fix Long Beach.
Low-cost shots and nail trimmings are also offered, along with free microchips and gifts of pet food and accessories such as collars and leashes to people who had their animals fixed at the mobile clinics set up once a month in city parks. Countless vouchers for free or low-cost procedures have also been handed out since 2013.
Since its founding, FLB has spayed or neutered over 4,000 pets, which Rainsdon estimated that with an average litter of 6 baby animals, 24,000 unwanted pets won’t be born. (And that’s only for one litter.) Shelter euthanasia, which started to decrease in Long Beach in 2011, has steadily dropped more steeply each year since FLB began its program, with nearly 1,000 fewer pets put to sleep annually since 2013. The number has continued to decrease during the present year.
“I think the impact to the shelter is obvious and has been tremendous, but it is really more than that,” Stevens said. “Fix Long Beach has made an impact on the lives of thousands of pet owners and community members, and they do all of it in the local parks.
Fix Long Beach is funded through donations and is run entirely by volunteers who get up very early to run the operation with bleary-eyed efficiency.
“Our volunteers put in countless hours—oftentimes thankless hours,” board member Diana Kliche said. “On event days, they start the day at 3 a.m. and end well after 5 p.m. This is all in furtherance of creating a no-kill shelter. We are very grateful that the city works with us and makes it very easy to further that goal. And the award bestowed on us by the city not only shows support but also helps to show that anyone can do it, and hopefully other cities will follow.”
FLB’s next clinic will take place on May 20 at Houghton Park on the Atlantic Avenue side. Residents who want to get their pet fixed, get low-cost shots or free microchips, volunteer, or donate funds or supplies are invited to visit the organization’s website or Facebook page. And any resident is encouraged to come to the clinic and watch the animal community in action. Remember to bring your dogs on leashes and cats in carriers!
“Volunteering with Fix Ling Beach has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life,” volunteer Tamara Lopez said. “Claudia Hoffman has really created a good model here that every city needs. When I see the euthanasia rates and intake numbers go down every year in Long Beach, that is the true reward. We will never give up until every cage [in the shelter] is empty.”
Disclaimer: I’ve been an active member of FLB since the organization began, and I’m blinking proud of it!
“Question: How can a person save thousands of homeless dogs?
Answer: Easy—just spay or neuter one.”
~ Seen on a poster