AngelDogs Foundation

I had the opportunity to interview Lisa Tipton from AngelDogs Foundation, one of our new FAVORITE organizations.  Their spay/neuter event (held in conjunction with Dogs on Death Row and K9 Compassion) fixed 50 pets on Saturday!  They are a great resource for the low income families in the areas that they serve.  So let's get to know more about Lisa and her wonderful non-profit...

How did AngelDogs come to be? 

We adopted our first dog, Curly, from the shelter in 1992. She is the dog on our logo. That was my first time in a municipal shelter, and it was an upsetting experience to only be able to take one dog, knowing that there were so many in need. We started to rescue in 2001, after becoming aware of how bad the pet overpopulation problem was. In 2004 I began to volunteer for Spay Days hosted by another rescue. That lit the spay and neuter fire, as it was clear to see that attacking the root of the problem was far more efficient and badly needed. I made a verbal wish to someday operate a mobile clinic in the areas where we live. When one became available in 2008, someone remembered my words, and suggested us as new operators. I left my career in the medical field to launch our spay and neuter program.

What services does the organization provide?

We provide high quality/high volume (HQHV) spay and neuter services, rescue all breeds of deaf dogs from all over the country, and also provide positive reinforcement dog training. Mark Tipton is a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer).

What areas does Angel Dogs cover?

We cover a very wide geographic area! Our mobile clinic travels in excess of 1,000 miles per month, visiting some of the financially devastated communities in Southern and Central CA. Our regular locations include Lancaster, Palmdale, Littlerock, Tehachapi and Santa Clarita. We travel/have travelled to Compton, Lake Isabella, Lamont, Bakersfield, Oildale, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Pasadena, South Los Angeles, Ventura, Oxnard, Pinon Hills, Pearblossom, Llano, Lake Los Angeles, Mojave for special events.

The great part about being on wheels is that we can roll right into neighborhoods where the need is, making it very convenient for people and their pets to access service. Many low income pet owners lack transportation.

Why do you believe that spay/neuter is so important?

We love dog rescue, and DO rescue, but it’s the equivalent of sticking your finger in a hole to fix a leaky dam. We are not going to rescue our way out of this mess. The only thing that is going to have an effect on less pets without homes being impounded and killed at our shelters is going to be to stop the flow by making them unable to produce offspring.

How many dogs have you spayed/neutered so far?

We have now been on the road with our non-profit spay and neuter program for 35 months, and have fixed, vaccinated and micro-chipped over 15,000 dogs and cats in four counties. We have a high focus on quality and customer service.

What are your long term goals for the organization?

We hope to be able to provide more spay and neuter services in 2012, as we get busier and add more days on the road. One of the keys to our staying on the road is being able to stay self-supporting. This gets very difficult to do as costs rise, such as fuel and supplies, etc. We hope to bring in more donations and funding to be able to help more pet owners that can’t afford to fix their pets. We also hope to rescue many deserving deaf dogs this year, teach them how to be good family members, and to find them wonderful new homes.

To find out more about this wonderful organization, visit their website here.

Their schedule for 2012 is here.


To help them continue their mission, they have $3 Thursdays!  For $3, you can help provide spay/neuter to the community.  And you have a choice - you can do it once a month, you can do it one time, whatever works for you.  For less than a Starbucks grande Skinny Vanilla Latte, you can help cut down on the population of unwanted pets.  Click here.

Follow them on Facebook, here.