Success Stories
Tails of Love
Blanca, is now recovering and being treated for her aliments, by the program partner - Tails of Love.
With support from Reservation Animal Rescue (RAR), a program of Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), program partners like Lance in Whiteriver, Arizona help rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home abandoned and injured dogs and cats.
There’s an epidemic of homeless dogs on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Our Partner understands people want to help but lack the resources, and surrounding shelters lack the capacity to extend support to reservation dogs.
Dedicated to the cause, Lance hails from the Blackfoot Tribe in Montana. While working for the Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) in Whiteriver, Arizona, the CEO asked him to come up with a solution for the strays wandering the I.H.S. campus, and Lance started Tails of Love. Since then, Lance and his volunteers have seen the harsh life of reservation dogs first-hand but more importantly have helped with their transformations.
Gracie is also being treated by the Program Partners, and is on her way to a full recovery.
Mange and parvo tend to be the most common diseases presenting on the reservation, leaving the homeless dogs in terrible condition. With diseases like these easily transferred among strays, the need for vaccines, spay and neuter clinics, and awareness is urgent. With vaccines recently supplied by RAR through its Petco Love partnership, Lance plans to host a vaccine clinic to help mitigate the spread of disease in the community.
Dogs like Blanca and Gracie are just two examples of the countless dogs whose lives Lance and his volunteers have changed. Found pregnant and starving in the local Basha’s parking lot, Blanca was treated and rehabilitated before being put up for adoption. Once homeless, she now has a happy home with local resident Shane and his other rescue dog Q-Bit.
Gracie, originally found homeless and sick with a bad case of mange, was treated and adopted by Lance’s aid Shandon, a citizen of the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT). Sadly, six of Gracie’s 8-puppy litter died from parvo; she is now being cared for alongside Shandon’s puppy Tootsie, another rescue treated for mange and fleas.
Despite their efforts, Tails of Love still struggles to aid stray dogs. “A lot of spay and neuter clinics will only assist pets, but the real problem here is strays,” Lance says. “When they do help, it costs $300 to $400 per visit.” Lance and Shandon are currently working with WMAT animal control in the hopes of setting up a large spay and neuter clinic for reservation dogs, imperative for a long-term solution.
Lance doesn’t see an end to their efforts any time soon but believes the issue of strays can be more manageable. With funding for vaccines, spay and neuter clinics, food, and other supplies from groups such as RAR, grassroots leaders like Lance can make strides toward animal equity until the battle is over.