“The Legend of the Red Dog of Eagle Rock,” April, 2011

Posted on by

Our regional paper, the Boulevard Sentinel, contains news stories, events, local happenings and stories. Here’s an article I did for them about a very special canine.

The Legend of The Red Dog of Eagle Rock

By Brenda Rees

For many years, Eagle Rock residents who live in the hills above the Eagle Rock Mall have embraced, worried about, talked and watched over, fed and finally rescued a homeless dog that had become a fixture on the winding narrow streets overlooking the 2 Freeway.

But this story is more than just a simple dog tale, it’s how the heart of a neighborhood worked together to save the soul of a discarded dog – a canine that, through the years, developed a legendary status among residents who affectionately refer to the critter as simply The Red Dog.

No one knows for sure how The Red Dog came to wander the neighborhood; stories circulate that a couple was seen placing the auburn puppy near the electrical towers that are perched high on the hills near the intersection of Lawndale Drive and Round Top Drive. Did a kindly coyote mother pity the little pup and take her as one of her own? How did this dog endure in area for so many years, escaping dog catchers, eschewing run-ins with coyotes and surviving only on the kindness of humans who regularly placed food on their doorsteps for the timid beast?

Ask anyone in the area – and neighborhoods beyond – and they will tell their memories of The Red Dog hiding in bushes, hanging out in backyards, playing with other dogs, eating alongside cats and sometimes laying down in the middle of the street, blocking amused drivers who really couldn’t be angry. This was just The Red Dog’s way.

Still, the pooch was a loner. No one could get close to it, not even new homeowner Lynne DeMarco who in 2002 took special interest in the dog; her day was not complete until she had a glimpse of The Red Dog.  Not alone in this routine, Lynne met most of her new neighbors through The Red Dog, including Candy and Don who loved to put out huge bones for him. The Red Dog was their common denominator; everyone was upset when he was gone for a spell of days and all rejoiced when once again he was spotted.

Woven into the fabric of the neighborhood, The Red Dog continued his wanderings until last year when everything changed. Lynne and neighbors were alarmed when L.A. Animal Control trucks started driving through the area looking for The Red Dog. Someone said he killed a puppy, but none of these neighbors could believe that such a shy creature (who was fairly well-fed) was capable of what a hungry coyote could do in a matter of seconds. After many attempts, the dog catchers left empty-handed.

Then the hot days of Summer 2010 came and Lynne realized she hadn’t seen The Red Dog in weeks. Shirley Hawkins, a concerned neighbor – who also fed the dog – told Lynne to check online at the nearby animal shelter. Sure enough, Lynne found a picture of a sadder than usual Red Dog that was caged, lonely and confused. She had to get him out of there, quick. With help from her friend Ana Debasa who runs an animal rescue called One Dog Rescue,  Lynn was able to secure the dog’s release…but there was the bigger question looming: Where does he go? Where does he belong? It was time The Red Dog found a more permanent home.

Using the power of the Internet, Lynne blasted email to thousands of people — friends, clients from her nearby fitness studio and acquaintances — to enlist their help in finding a place for the canine. To Lynne’s surprise, many had memories of The Red Dog – people from Glendale, Glassell Park, Mt. Washington. They wanted to help.

Someone suggested they send The Red Dog to Pete Rodrigues who specializes in training difficult dogs. Pete’s company, K-9 101 Consulting (www.k9-101consulting.com) was in Santa Paula where he trains and boards dogs at his facility. An unknown to these Eagle Rock residents, Pete was the only shot Lynne, Shirley, Candy, Don and all the neighbors had to rescue and rehabilitate The Red Dog. They had to take it.

Lynne and Shirley met Pete at the county vet’s office in downtown L.A. where The Red Dog was taken to be neutered before his release. Handing over The Red Dog to a complete stranger felt odd for both Lynne and Shirley, and at first, Pete’s techniques seemed harsh. The Red Dog had never been on a leash before, cried when he was pulled, and was so resistant that he needed a sedative to eventually get him into Pete’s car.

Lynn and Shirley followed Pete to Santa Paula to see where The Red Dog would call home, albeit a supposed temporary one, for the first time in his life. Once there, they met Pete’s wife and young daughter and saw happy dogs who were under Pete’s tutelage. The vibe was good; Lynne and Shirley left happy with their decision.

To cover the cost of The Red Dog’s schooling, Lynne once again contacted her online network – and raised more than $2,000, a sum that even today makes her cry with joy. So many people wanted to help, neighbors dropped notes in her mailbox, clients stopped her after classes, everyone was relieved that The Red Dog was finally off the streets and somewhere safe.

Lynne kept in touch with Pete who provided glowing progress reports. After three months of training, The Red Dog was finally deemed adoptable. He could walk on a leash, sit next to people, beg for treats and, most important, ask for pets. Lynne broadcasted the message: The Red Dog wants a home! Unfortunately, no one stepped forward and Lynne was once again worried about The Red Dog’s fate.

Lynne didn’t have to worry long, since Pete said his family had come to love The Red Dog and they would welcome him as part of their pack. Still, if someone wanted to adopt him, someone from the old neighborhood, Pete would be open. To this date, that hasn’t happened.

Overjoyed, Lynne, Shirley and the other helpful neighbors breathed a sigh of relief – today, they miss seeing The Red Dog on their streets but they know he’s living a happy dog’s life. Through the years, Lynne and Shirley realize how important neighbors are to one another, how working together they showed compassion and care for another living thing.

Lynne, Shirley and other neighbors are planning a trip this month to visit The Red Dog at his new home with Pete at new and bigger location in Camarillo. They can’t wait to see how this once painfully shy dog has transformed into a beloved family pet. They promise to bring all the well-wishes of his Eagle Rock family with them – a neighborhood that cared for a discarded and homeless dog, a canine that continues his legendary story about the power of love and friendship.

(If you wish to make a donation to K-9 101 Consulting for Pete’s canine rehabilitation programs, please visit www.k9-101consulting.com and follow the PayPal link for instructions on how to donate online.)

Posted in Uncategorized.

300 Comments

  3. Magnificent items from you, man. I have have in mind your stuff prior to and you are just extremely
    wonderful. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like
    what you’re stating and the way in which you
    say it. You’re making it enjoyable and you still take care of to stay it
    sensible. I cant wait to read far more from you.
    This is actually a great site.

  9. Very good blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.

    Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress
    or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m
    completely confused .. Any recommendations?
    Appreciate it!

  14. I’m amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I come across
    a blog that’s both educative and amusing, and without a doubt, you have
    hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that not enough men and women are
    speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I found this during my
    search for something relating to this.

  15. Whats up this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
    I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I
    wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be
    enormously appreciated!

  34. My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP.
    I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on numerous websites for about a year and am concerned about
    switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net.
    Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

  58. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
    you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your
    web site is excellent, let alone the content!

  61. Asking questions are in fact fastidious
    thing if you are not understanding anything entirely, however this article provides good understanding even.

  66. I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up!
    I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back later.

    Cheers

  68. Have you ever considered writing an ebook or guest authoring
    on other websites? I have a blog based on the same information you discuss
    and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers
    would appreciate your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e mail.

  73. What’s up everybody, here every person is sharing these experience,
    therefore it’s good to read this web site, and I used to visit this website
    every day.

  80. Pretty component of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Anyway I will be subscribing in your feeds or even I fulfillment you access consistently quickly.

  83. Nice post. I used to be checking constantly this blog and I am inspired!

    Extremely useful info specifically the final part 🙂 I handle such
    info a lot. I used to be looking for this particular information for a long
    time. Thank you and best of luck.

  91. I’m not sure exactly why but this blog is loading extremely slow for me.
    Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end?
    I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.

  93. I believe what you posted was actually very reasonable. However, consider this, suppose you
    composed a catchier title? I am not saying your
    content is not solid, however suppose you added a headline to maybe grab folk’s attention? I mean “The Legend of the Red Dog of Eagle Rock,”
    April, 2011 – Brenda Rees is a little boring.
    You ought to glance at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create article headlines to grab people interested.
    You might add a related video or a picture or two to grab readers
    interested about what you’ve got to say. Just my opinion, it might make your posts a little bit more interesting.

  94. Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers?
    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing many months of hard work due to
    no data backup. Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?

  95. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog.

    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance.
    I must say you’ve done a awesome job with this.
    Additionally, the blog loads very fast for me on Opera.
    Outstanding Blog!

  97. Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it
    from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog
    stand out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Thank you

  98. Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but
    after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Nonetheless, I’m definitely delighted I found it and
    I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!

  102. Howdy! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering
    which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m
    looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic
    if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  103. I’m not sure why but this blog is loading very slow for me.
    Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end?
    I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.

  107. Usually I don’t learn article on blogs, but I would like to say
    that this write-up very pressured me to take a look
    at and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, very nice article.

  109. I have been browsing online more than 4 hours today,
    yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all site owners
    and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  119. Hi, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your blog in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, great blog!

  120. Howdy! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if
    that would be ok. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look
    forward to new updates.

  122. This is very fascinating, You’re a very skilled blogger.
    I’ve joined your rss feed and stay up for in quest of extra of your excellent post.
    Additionally, I’ve shared your site in my social networks

  123. Howdy I am so delighted I found your web site, I really found you by error, while I was searching on Askjeeve for something else,
    Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a fantastic post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design),
    I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it
    and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read
    a great deal more, Please do keep up the awesome jo.

  124. Wonderful work! This is the type of info
    that are meant to be shared across the net. Shame on the search engines for not positioning
    this submit upper! Come on over and visit my website .
    Thanks =)

  125. Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga
    group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your
    content. Please let me know. Cheers

  126. I think the admin of this web site is truly working hard for his
    website, for the reason that here every material is quality based stuff.

  132. I think this is among the so much significant info for me.
    And i’m satisfied reading your article. But want to commentary on some basic things,
    The web site style is ideal, the articles is really great :
    D. Good task, cheers

  135. Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative.
    I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you continue this in future.
    A lot of people will be benefited from your writing.
    Cheers!

  136. I got this web site from my buddy who shared with me about this web site and now this time I am browsing this web site and reading very informative posts at this
    place.

  139. Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.
    It will always be interesting to read through content from other authors and use something from their websites.

  140. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert
    that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Any way I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently rapidly.

  141. Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like
    to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your
    blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great
    site and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

  143. Excellent post. I was checking constantly
    this blog and I am impressed! Extremely useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such info much.

    I was seeking this certain information for a very long time.
    Thank you and best of luck.

  145. An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this
    onto a friend who had been doing a little homework on this.

    And he actually bought me lunch because I discovered it for
    him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!

    But yeah, thanx for spending some time to talk about this matter here on your internet site.

  149. I have learn several excellent stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting.
    I surprise how much attempt you set to create this type of excellent informative web site.

  153. Hey there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give
    a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading through your
    blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that
    cover the same topics? Many thanks!

  155. I blog frequently and I really thank you for your
    content. This article has truly peaked my interest. I will bookmark your website
    and keep checking for new details about once per week.
    I opted in for your RSS feed too.

  157. Hello there, You’ve done an excellent job. I’ll definitely digg it and personally recommend to my friends.
    I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.

  161. Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but
    after looking at some of the articles I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyways, I’m certainly delighted I came across it and I’ll be book-marking
    it and checking back regularly!

  162. My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find
    almost all of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for.
    Would you offer guest writers to write content for yourself?
    I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write related to here.
    Again, awesome website!

  165. I have been browsing on-line more than three hours as of late, but I never discovered any
    fascinating article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me.
    In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content
    as you did, the net shall be much more helpful than ever before.

  166. Wonderful beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog website?
    The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of
    this your broadcast offered bright clear concept

  172. I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.

    I do not know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if
    you are not already 😉 Cheers!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.