I first visited the Carson shelter back in April of 2011. It was at that time that I took pictures of their Pit Bulls and then began networking them online. One of the dogs that I photographed on that first day was an extremely shy and depressed pit-mix named Coffee. Someone online had expressed interest in her, and I began making calls on Coffee’s behalf, relaying that interest to the shelter staff, leaving my number, etc. Days after my initial visit I received a phone call for what I thought was going to be Coffee’s temperament test results. Instead, it was the “rescue” coordinator, who immediately started asking questions about who I was and what my intentions were. There was no hello, no sharing of the results, just confirming that it was actually me who answered and then launching into a full scale investigation. I immediately felt as though I was on trial, nice impression. She essentially attempted to tell me that I wasn’t allowed at their facility to take pictures, and if I wanted to take a picture of a certain dog, that I had to clear it with the office first. Obviously this led to me pushing back, and we continued having quite the lengthy conversation, until she presented the option of voicing my concerns to the shelter manager directly. Yes, please. I wrote up a decent sized email that introduced myself, as well as contained 3 or 4 different concerns that I had and sent it off to him. After waiting around for 3 weeks to hear back, I finally received a reply from Gil. He asked me to come in and meet with him, I did. These are the audio notes that I recorded that day, after the meeting…

Here’s a quick key as to what was being discussed and when…
00:50 ~ Purpose of the meeting
03:33 ~ Pit Bulls
05:40 ~ Coffee
09:15 ~ Phone policy
12:25 ~ Concerns about me
16:50 ~ Dealing with the Pit Bulls
18:50 ~ What was established

Coffee, the dog pictured, was called “extremely human aggressive” by the shelter staff. She received an “F” on her temperament test. She was then deemed “rescue only.” I disputed this assessment, as it was totally the opposite of what I had witnessed myself. Fortunately, a rescue did assist with the interested party and Coffee was pulled. After leaving the shelter she received veterinary care and it was then discovered that she had 2 liters of urine backed up in her system. This was drained, and she was immediately placed into a foster home WITH other dogs. She got along perfectly with everyone. She’s since been adopted by the brother of her foster mom and is currently living on the beach and relishing the fact that she is part of his family. She gets along wonderfully with other dogs, children, you name it and Coffee has happily embraced it. She is extremely lucky. So many “Coffee’s” are labeled and put to death. That’s what this shelter does and her story is just 1 example of it.

Why am I now putting out this video? These audio notes were recorded BEFORE this website was even created. I’ve since went through almost a year of witnessing wrongs that keep on coming at a rapid pace. Many on the staff at Carson have developed very negative opinions of me and my work. That’s now a given. But (back then) my opinion towards them was far more centric in approach, as I genuinely wanted to work “with” these individuals in order to help save these Pit Bulls lives. I had a track record of working “with” OC, working “with” East Valley. We certainly didn’t always agree on how things went down, but I was still speaking my mind and they weren’t necessarily scared of that. The dialogue was open. With Carson, not so much. I hope that this video displays the philosophy that has (imo) always been present there, the way of thinking, the way of operating. That’s why I now want people to hear my insights on that very day, as it preempts all that has since happened, and follows all that had already happened long before I was even doing this or aware of the problems…