Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lindsay Bird. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
2023 has been the most difficult year Deity Animal Rescue has endured; emotionally, mentally, and financially. The overwhelming state of our L.A. City and County animal shelters, the huge increase in stray, abandoned, and neglected pets, coupled with the rising costs of living has made animal rescue even more critical, and each dollar must stretch even further to make an impact. Because of you, we have been able to contribute to the rescue of over 500 dogs and 1 bunny this year. Our Spay and Neuter clinics, Community Pet Pantries and Summer Ice Drops have impacted countless more. And then cherry on top, Deity expanded to a new platform with “A Pawdcast”, our podcast created to shed light on hero dogs, adoptable dogs, good humans and the most-need-to-be-addressed hot topics of the animal welfare world.
Deity Animal Rescue’s “A Pawdcast” is a new endeavor by Deity Animal Rescue’s founders created to share the message on a wider platform. Each week, we drop a new episode where founders Lindsay and Ellen interview those whose lives have been deeply impacted by animals. We hear from activists, change makers, trainers, fosters, other organizations and rescue warrior badasses who have come to share knowledge, experiences and ways in which we can work together to make this world a more humane, compassionate place. We feature adoptable dogs, hero dogs and their rescue stories. The goal? To educate, inspire, celebrate and fill all of our hearts with hope and “Hell yeahs”. Check out “A Pawdcast” on Youtube, Apple Podcast, and Spotify. Please Subscribe and Like too!
Lindsay, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Deity Animal Rescue is a non-profit rescue organization based in Los Angeles. It is my passion and mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and place stray, neglected, and shelter dogs into loving, responsible, and committed homes. I do not discriminate on age, breed, or ease of placement. Rather, I choose dogs based on temperament and potential to be wonderful companions. I have expanded our initiatives to include Community Pet Pantries which provide supplies for pet care in under-resourced communities, A Pawdcast which allows me to share our message on a larger platform worldwide, and Spay and Neuter Clinics: The main issue in the pet overpopulation problem is the lack of accessible spay and neuter. Some of our local shelters are euthanizing around 50% of their animals. That’s half of all dogs who are brought in, usually by their owners who no longer want or can care for them, or as strays off the street. The bottom line: I SIMPLY CANNOT RESCUE MY WAY OUT OF THIS. IT BEGINS WITH SPAY AND NEUTER. Otherwise, unwanted litters will be born into a world that doesn’t have the resources to provide for them. We as animal lovers must do better. We as animal rescues are trying our best. Deity funds spay and neuter clinics in Southern California. Each day the clinics run, up to 130 pets are spayed and neutered.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My business partner Ellen and I met when I was a full time hairstylist in Los Angeles and found myself with free time to lend a hand to a cause that touched my heart- animal rescue. Ellen was a one woman show rescuing dogs in her spare time and I had spare time to give. I found her profile on Instagram and sent her a message asking if I could help. The rest is history!
We met for dinner and connected quickly and deeply. We became more than business partners, we became sisters. I was dedicating about 2 days a week to the rescue while I was managing a career in cosmetology. We visited a LA County shelter where I experienced a severe and very long lasting headache that sent me to the doctor. After some testing, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and hospitalized for emergency brain surgery.
After a successful surgery and weeks of healing, I was unable to provide my clients the care required to be a hairstylist, and Ellen and I were dreaming big about the possibilities of making Deity Animal Rescue a full time mission. I stepped down from my career as a cosmetologist and into the world of animal rescue with my partner Ellen. This was in 2017- and 6 1/2 years later we have made extraordinary progress in developing our mission, making an impact and meeting incredible dogs and people along the way.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When the COVID 19 Pandemic hit in 2020, Deity Animal Rescue had to pivot in more ways than we could have imagined. First off, the shelters were no longer open to the public without an appointment. That meant dogs chances of being seen were minimized. Resources were limited, vets offices were closed, donations plummeted. But a positive that we did not see coming- people were working from home and we received tons of interest in fostering animals! There were so many dogs in need in the shelters as well as dogs who needed to be re homed as their families fell on hard times. And our community came together to catch these dogs in need in a very big way. With this newfound foster support, Deity Animal Rescue was able to clear shelters, tend to a loving and ever supportive community around us, and get creative in how to make a bigger impact in our communities. From there, our Community Pet Pantries were born.
We had seen Community Fridges pop up in the Los Angeles area. These were aimed at the wellbeing of humans in need by providing fresh food and other necesary items. But pets were suffering too. People were faced with difficult decisions when it came to housing and finances and were, at times, forced to give up their pets because of it. We couldn’t let this happen. In a world where there are so many unwanted pets, if a pet had a loving and committed family who needed a helping hand in order to keep their beloved pets, we wanted to help. We connected with some of the Community Fridges in the area and created the Pet Pantries where we asked our community to donate pet food, leashes, collars, toys, beds, etc to alleviate the financial burden of caring for a pet. We also were able to raise funds to provide veterinary medical care for families who needed financial support for their pets. Though this project started as a response to the COVID 19 pandemic, we have continued to provide Pet Pantries in areas in need and are thrilled with the abundant support from out community to help them thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: deityanimalrescue.org
- Instagram: DeityAnimalRescue , APawdcast
- Facebook: Deity Animal Rescue and Foundation
- Youtube: A Pawdcast
Image Credits
Christine Hilberg