"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

In response to commentary on this thread on the LakeElsinore-Wildomar Patch

Your attempts to get under my skin have succeeded: "to use a disabled child as a prop in a PR stunt is truly a new low for pit bull promoters" and "at the expense of both the child and the pit bull."

In follow up to the originally posted article, I sent a request to Toni McAllister, Editor, providing and requesting corrected links be added to the article; she opted to remove links altogether instead.

Here's my reply:

I have a very visible and public bio (in PR we call it research and fact-finding): "Julie founded and served as president of a nationally recognized all breed, all age, all size animal rescue. Her foresight when requesting non-profit status created several sub-divisions of her corporation; a program designed to raise Pit Bull puppies as therapy dogs for children with autism (BullNannies); a program to place senior dogs with retired individuals at reduced adoption fees, if any (Rescue Retirement); an online auction site (Bow Wow Bid Now); a retail store (Bones & Scones featuring Beauregard Stubbs' products - a collaboration with her business partner) that created a profit center to fund the non-profit activities."

 I closed my doors and dissolved ^^^said rescue on December 8, 2009 in order to focus on my children (whom all have autism spectrum disorders, by the way) concurrent with a divorce. BullNannies is the only PROGRAM - not company, not corporation, not business - that remained because it was near and dear to my heart; you could refer to it as an "activity" or a "labor of love" or "volunteering" or "fostering." I have never charged for the service, because it's simply my pleasure. I've raised dozens of pit bulls to be SOCIAL in order to assess and prepare them to become therapy dogs; their service dog training occurs after they leave my care. Some go on to become service dogs, some do not. Pup-cake for Rock Da Mullet, Sebastian Saraceno's DaVinci and several others have earned this classification by the appropriate and necessary means (and expense) through the proper channels. We have only rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed about 600ish dogs over the past ten years, however I was hired by Mr. Rossi for my business consulting skills. I have never claimed to be a dog trainer;  nowhere in my bio, my site, my history have I, will I, or do I claim to be a dog trainer; I do, however, hire them on occasion.

During my nonprofit all breed, all age, all size animal rescue days (back in the day when most "all breed rescues" excluded bully breeds "for insurance reasons") I worked as a volunteer, alongside the other 30+ volunteers; i.e. no one at our corporation took salaries although that is legally permitted. I was the primary fundraiser and learned, after its closure, that this particular skill could be used to help others without having to care-take dozens of dogs daily. I moved out of dog-raising and care-taking and moved over to public relations, marketing and professional fundraising for others.

Shorty's Charities Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) charity in the state of California (the IRS spelled it wrong "Shorty's Charieties" and our attorney is working on fixing that, so our hope is that GuideStar will be corrected soon as well). Shorty Rossi has been my client for nearly four years.

The only thing we gain from this is doing what Shorty's Charities was created to do; Creating a strong voice against stereotyping and stigma. We do not seek your pity and don’t appreciate your prejudice. We are here to help one discrimination case at a time through education, enlightenment and fight, if necessary, for the underdogs of the world.

I do not work for Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, nor Pit Boss; my client does. I do work for Shorty's Charities, as I am the co-founder and serve currently in the corporate officer position of Secretary. As a PR rep and independent contractor, I have the ability and right to donate my skill-set to whomever I deem worthwhile of my time.

Julie Miller-Hernandez
Mother. Writer. Ally.
www.ladyluckpr.com
facebook.com/LadyLuckConsulting
@JulieforShortys

Aaaaaand...
Founder of BullNannies, a Labor of Love

To show support for my personal friends and family subjected to this set of circumstances, please like
www.facebook.com/PupcakePitBullServiceDog

Downloadable versions of our press release on behalf of our client, Shorty's Charities

To donate to Shorty's Charities, visit www.shortyscharities.org/help-us-help-them

BLOG POST AUTHORED BY: Julie Miller-Hernandez, President of Lady Luck Consulting
 

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The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray. ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

If one is sincere about wanting to help (and most of us are when we do), it makes more sense to offer specific help rather than just to make a general offer.

We've all heard it.
We've all said it.

"Let me know if you need anything."

In personal matters this can make you feel even more overwhelmed than the reason (or look on your face) that prompted the person to make this offer. People don't normally say this randomly, it's usually prompted by a rant, venting session or an obvious need for assistance.  "Letting someone know if you need anything" requires more work to already burdened mood; then you have come up with a list (whether written or mental) of the things that need to get done so you can FIND something in order to TELL someone what they CAN do to help. When your head is already spinning, the last thing you want to do is analyze what someone who's offered help can do to decrease your load, so most of usually say
                                       "Thanks, but I'm..."

In business, it's downright frustrating especially if you're a Type A, let's get this sh*t done (like yours truly). I'm going to return to using personal life examples in an attempt to make my point as most of us can relate to those best.

If you've joined a committee, whether it be a sports team, moms group or PTA, you know the circles those quick meetings can potentially spin into, fast, and you end the session wondering if anything was truly accomplished. I hate that feeling because you showed up to help and left a little more confused than when you arrived for volunteer duty.

When working within a volunteer organization, your business dealings, hell even friendships it is extremely helpful to be very specific.

If you genuinely have help to offer try...

"Let me pick up the ice cream cake on the way to the party. 

Will you make sure to pay for it before I arrive?" 

You have offered help with a specific task you're aware needs fulfilling, you've set a boundary for your offer and explained that you're not in a position to foot the bill. Plus you're driving right by Baskin Robbins on your way up to the party AND have offered relief by eliminating one less, time sensitive task for the hostess.

"I've got fifty extra bucks in my wallet, hand me your grocery list. 

I'll be back in 20 minutes."

You went by your buddy's house who's down in the dumps over his recent divorce. You see empty containers of Cup O' Soup on the counter and spoiled milk in the fridge. You've got a little time and money to spare to help a friend out, especially knowing it's his weekend with his kids. Don't ask. Just tell, then do. Done.

"I'm going to be at the (_______) at 2 pm anyway, I'll pick up your kids today. 

Should I drop them off at your house or...?"

You notice the kids of the mom, who recently had to return to full time job, always being the last ones to be picked up from school. You know times are tough and you're there every day, on time, to pick up your two in the car you own that seats eight. I'm not suggesting you become a free bus service or offer free day care, but if you know you're helping out someone during a rough transition, don't offer vague help ("Sorry things are so rough, let me know if you need anything!"), instead offer minor, specific relief. Now if mom shows up with the smell of cocktails on her breath about four hours later, don't make this offer twice, but you may want to speak to the school counselor.


If you're the person in need (or in charge) state clearly:

"I need three people to set up the snack booth at the football game on Friday nights, two to set up one to tear down. There are two two-hour shifts at the home games. Please check the (sport's) calendar and sign up for one or both shifts."

I love being on the receiving end of requests like these and, quite frankly, I reply more quickly than I would to a request for volunteers with only a date mentioned for fear I may have volunteered all of my Friday nights away (again).

"ABC Corp donated (______) last year to (your group) and you, Johnny, work right next door. Could you please go by on Tuesday and confirm that we can count on them again this year?"

One simple, convenient task instead of a long list that every looks at and passes on to the person sitting next to them with a shoulder shrug.


Now let's do an example at work:

"Board members are coming in Tuesday. Order lunch for ten under $150. Delivered by noon to east conference room. Put it on (corporate officer)'s expense account."

I can't begin to tell you how many execs say "order a nice lunch" without any of the details, leaving you to wonder if it's too elaborate, too expensive, too cheap or even enough food.

It's pretty simple yet we all fall victim to this trap with our I'd-LOVE-to-helps and our let-me-know-if-you-need-anythings.

The moral of this story is BE SPECIFIC.

"No problem can be solved until it is 

reduced to some simple form." ~John Pierpont Morgan

BLOG POST AUTHORED BY: Julie Miller, President of Lady Luck Consulting

 

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#smallbusiness #volunteer #help #communication #clarity

"I said 'Somebody should so something about that...' Then I realized I am that somebody. "~ Lilly Tomlin

When you're born a fighter and retire (for lack of a better term) there comes a point where you have to step back into the ring for your own sanity.

This week has been a week of juxtaposition; great joy and great sorrow with reminders of days long gone.

I took a step back into the rescue world this week, much to my dismay, to find that not much has changed just the pace in which information can get out across the airways.

There is a uniting force that comes upon you when you mesh with the right people and an overwhelming bitterness that runs deep when the so-called-do-gooders rear their heads.

It has been four years, two months and 30 days since I officially left the world of daily rescue. The real rescue world where you go to shelters to pull dogs that have no time left. Death row dogs where you become their only chance at life; sickness, behavior concerns, veterinary and training bills.  On December 4, 2008 I shut it down. It took three years to even tip toe back in and I started with two young puppies, scheduled to die and I was their lifeline.  That became a bittersweet situation where one went into the perfect home and the other pup died in my arms - a painful reminder of why I had to stop. Cold turkey.  This event would also be my leap in coming out of the closet - a leap that I was ready for... go public with my rants, my mission, my long-buried soul. 

Then I had an epiphany and thought of a much larger way I could make an impact, without getting my hands so dirty and feeling the pain of loss, literally in my own arms.  I created the A Dog A Day campaign with Shorty's blessing.  I could find dogs across the nation in need of a home, cause we all know an adoption means two lives saved - the dog that finds a home and the dog that takes its place from the certain death of a shelter.  365 chances per year to make a difference without having a single dog step foot inside my home, or my heart for that matter.  I got the blessing and we were off...

You see, I consider myself a former rescuer turned writer.  I knew, back in the day, that it was my daily blogging (on MySpace) that pulled in the money necessary to fund our work.  The volunteers were essential, the donors even more so and the adopters, so we could keep moving forward.  During a chat with my boyfriend this evening, we discussed the similarities and differences between his work and mine; he being a filmmaker who takes videography work to make ends meet and me being a writer, who runs social media sites to make ends meet.  He was asking about a recent project for a client in which a dog was burned in a fire - asked how she was recovering and where she was now. I explained that she was still in the care of my client and that her bill exceeded $30,000. He knew I'd done a fundraising campaign for this dog last month and commented, "wow, I had no idea, how much were you able to raise?" My reply "twenty-five"... "only twenty-five hundred?" "No, thousand."  Then his stunned silent pause... "how is it that people give to animals and not children with cancer or kids with cleft pallets in Vietnam?"  You see, I designed a campaign for his documentary that only needs $60,000 to be turned into a feature film. Funding is at a standstill.

I couldn't explain to him why people are inclined to give to helpless animals in lieu of helpless children, but was able to tell him my experience in fundraising and why I've been able to get people to part with their money, five dollars at a time, for the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars for years.

Doers. Donors. Minions.  The three key elements to fundraising.  I went on to explain that my marketing and networking strategy is what enabled me to saved nearly 600 dogs from death row all across the state of California for years on end.  How my rescue efforts were funded and how I am able to continue to raise funds for animals in need.  Yes, he was slightly disillusioned and dismayed, yet proud of my ability to help bring in $25,000 in the matter of one week for a dog.  But you see, it's not me, it's the story.

What I'm getting at, is that we all need each other.  We all have our roles.  The Doers must do what their souls crave whether it be providing surgery to countries without medical care and children who would suffer, or individuals who give up nice homes in trade of fur everywhere to feel that feeling of saving "just one" to the tune of hundreds.  The Doers cannot "do it" alone - I am a former Doer.  The Doers must have donors because frankly, everything costs money.  But how do you connect the Doers to the Donors?  The Minions. The most important piece of the puzzle.  Some might perceive minion as a term with some condescension attached to it, or that they are lesser. Quite the opposite - they are the most important piece.

What I then went on to explain was that (for his documentary) he had the Doer and I'm positive there are Donors. He has no minions.

In animal rescue there are minions everywhere.  People who are unable physically, emotionally, psychologically to do the physical rescue.  Those of us that MUST DO SOMETHING but cannot take on the daunting task of rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing which really is a lifelong commitment - at least for the life span of that dog.  The rescue does not end when the dog is no longer on death row.  The rescue is a commitment to this dog's welfare for the rest of its days.  That commitment comes with great cost.

ad·ver·sary noun : one that contends with, opposes, or resists : enemy

al·ly verb : to unite or form a connection or relation between : associate

Funny (not ha ha, but ironic) that this is a status I would post from precisely one year ago...

There are as many critics in rescue as there are when discussing politics or religion in an open forum.  I have blocked more people in the past week on Facebook due to what I refer to as "desktop rescuers" than I had to when I was in the midst of the criminal case last summer.  Critics who voiced their opinions, quickly, fiercely and loudly as they called in their minions to accuse "us" (me and my rescue partners) of scamming people for funds for (what we knew would be) an expensive and risky save.  We planned to do it anyway until someone else stepped up to bat and we bowed out gracefully, letting the reputable, experienced rescuers take on the project of a bait dog that needed some serious recovery time, rehabilitation and care.  But we didn't just walk away, we asked "who needs out the most? who deserves a second chance?" And that's the dog we saved, who is now safely in our care.  There is never a shortage of dogs in need of having their lives saved, especially in the world of pit bull rescue.  The story of our save, now known as Livvy (aka Olivia, is online, no need to rehash it here.

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway."~Eleanor Roosevelt

I drive my boyfriend nuts, I'm sure.  I'm 90% sure it annoys him how (seemingly) easily I can raise funds when he's sitting on more than one film that simply needs the backing of funds to get it out there; important things, documentaries, moving story lines.  I don't work in film though and this is where I step back to become the supportive girlfriend in lieu of his marketing executive.

What this week has brought me is the dreaded fate of being pulled back into rescue... I spent an hour reading the story of Cindy Marabito tonight and by the time I got half way through, tears were streaming down my face from the venomous attacks she is facing.  Then I think back to last year and the tears that streamed down my face due to the responsibility I felt and ultimately weakened defeat in the case of Lennox. Yet there are hundreds, thousands of these cases, these stories. Dogs dying needlessly, venomous wars online between rescuers. Stories of sanctuaries turned hoarders, yet people are so desperate to save a dog's life that they lose their humanity... anything for the save.  ANYthing so that they can post "SAVED" and move on to the next dog... but what happened to that dog after you moved on?  What happens when you send a dog off to live out its life elsewhere and never follow up?

Out of sight, out of mind?  Or do we, as rescuers, have an obligation to comprehend the definition of
com·mit·ment noun : dedication; application.

I realize I'm all over the map with this blog post tonight but it reflects the emotions and experiences of this week. I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting and partnering with some amazing human beings; kind, selfless, generous. I have also had the reminders of the opinionated, arrogant, it's-my-way-or-your-name-is-mud-desktop-do-gooders that blast, bash, "save" and run (on to the next dog).

In closing, thank you to the ones who see the big picture. Thank you to those of you who get it. Thank you for the tireless, aggravating efforts to get the real saves accomplished.

"He  who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to  perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is  really cooperating with it." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.