Lend A Paw visits the LA Mission

The Lend A Paw team is excited to get to work after arriving at the LA Mission

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

             It is now a tradition that on Christmas Eve, the Lend A Paw team visits the LA Mission. The mission serves the public all year, and on Christmas Eve they block off the streets in order to be able to provide food and entertainment to the homeless. Thousands of people, many of them children, line the streets from 3am in order to be able to participate. We had 12 volunteers bring their dogs to visit with the children to ease the stress of their long wait.

Dawson sits patiently while this woman pets him.

Lisa and Ash are always ready to brighten someones day.

Many of the homeless are children, and others are disabled. It is comforting to them just to be able to pet a dog for a few minutes. Without having steady income and a place to live, most disabled homeless individuals do not have the luxury of being able to apply for the help of a service animal.

Gabi is happy bringing joy to these children.

   Many of these children have experience with dogs, but not with     healthy well-trained dogs. The children told stories of dogs they had seen running on the streets, and many spoke of being scared when seeing certain dogs. A big part of our work is education. It is important to educate children about how to treat animals and help them to understand that they too can raise happy and healthy pets.

Ash is new to our team, and doesn't mind standing still for babies.

Dex loves to "lend his paw."

Joel Moore was at the mission helping to serve the food. He has volunteered with New Leash On Life as a judge during our Nuts for Mutts events.

 

We hope you had a happy holiday season. New Leash On Life wants to thank all of its dedicated volunteers for a successful year, and want you to know how much we truly value your support. We are looking forward to working together in 2011!

Alyssa Milano, fellow animal advocate, enjoyed taking time off the food service line to visit our therapy dogs. She enjoys giving back to the community on a regular basis.