Dogs find second lease on life

By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer | Sunday, May 7, 2006 12:12 AM PDT ∞

AGUANGA ---- It started as a way to help friends and family with dogs they could no longer care for. Dolores and Homer Harris, now in their 80s, would take in dogs and let them roam freely on their 135-acre property surrounded by rolling hills.

"At one time, we had as many as 12, 13, 14 dogs roaming around," she said.

The labor of love ultimately became a nonprofit operation called Sage Canyon Animal Sanctuary, run by the Harrises' two granddaughters, Karen Freitas, 32, and Leslie Aliotti, 27. They currently house 29 dogs and have discussed with county officials expanding their operations to care for 80 to 200 animals, said Frank Corvino, deputy director of county animal services.

The dogs they take care of come from animal shelters in the area, the Harrises say, and Sage Canyon has a no-kill policy. They try to adopt out as many of the dogs as possible. They have found homes for between 150 and 200 dogs and puppies, they said. They also help dog owners with issues with their pets.

"Our phone lines are open to the public," Aliotti said. "Even though we don't take their dog, we don't push them away. We try to help them, give them referrals, and some people have even kept their dogs."

A Menifee resident who adopted one of the sanctuary puppies at a pet expo said the sisters go to great lengths to ensure the dogs find loving homes.

"They come and check the house and suggest improvements you can make to your house for a puppy, like (enhancing) the fencing," said Evelyn Cassaro, who adopted a canine from the sanctuary last year. "They want to make sure the home is going to be a good home for the dog."

Evolution of the sanctuary


The Harrises first bought 7 1/2 acres for their retirement home in the sparsely developed area of Aguanga. Eventually, they acquired seven more parcels, which combined for more than 100 acres, Dolores Harris said.

Friends and relatives would bring dogs they could no longer care for because they were familiar with the sprawling property and knew it was all fenced in, she said. By 1993, it was getting expensive to care for all of the dogs so her accountant suggested she create a nonprofit organization. Sage Canyon Animal Sanctuary was created the next year. It wasn't a business in the traditional sense, but operated on an as-needed basis, she said.

An original operating permit was not sought at that time because the Harrises considered what they did a necessity, not a business, Freitas said.

"Through their love of the animals, they (took) in these dogs that have been dumped and abandoned at their property and have in turn gotten them medical attention, and we are now pursuing our (permit) and kennel license," she said.

The Harrises' son, Les, suggested that kennels be built to keep the dogs confined when he and his wife, Jeannette, moved onto the property about seven years ago, Dolores Harris said. About that time, perimeter fencing was installed around the play area.

"It really got to the point where there was a worry about people coming and going and leaving the gates open and dog bites were another concern," she said.

When her granddaughters moved onto the property in 2002-03, they took over the nonprofit organization and, working with other family members, built 30 kennels. The sisters hired a dog trainer and behaviorist to work with them when they first started, they said.

"We made it more like a business," Aliotto said.

The sisters are both tall and slender and complement each other in terms of taking care of the dogs. Freitas typically grooms them in a room on the lower portion of the property, which Aliotti said she doesn't have the patience for.

"I'm more of a clean-up-the-mess-when-done type person," she said.

The sisters submitted an application in September to the Riverside County Planning Department for a permit to operate the sanctuary, their project coordinator Karey James said. If this is approved, they intend to apply for a kennel license that would enable them to expand the number of animals they can take in and would also enable them to take in cats, Freitas said.

Where the dogs come from


The sisters rescue dogs from euthanasia at overcrowded area shelters, Freitas said. The time that these shelter animals are kept before they are put to sleep varies and is based on differing factors, she added.

The sisters look for dogs that are running out of time before euthanasia that meet their adoption qualifications, Freitas said. The sanctuary's criteria includes the dogs' temperament, age, health and breed, she said. They likely wouldn't rescue a dog as old as 10 years because they would be harder to place, she said. Small dogs and certain breeds ---- such as retrievers and Labradors ---- are usually more popular, she said.

The sisters also work with Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, which played a significant part in helping the nonprofit organization get started and refining some of its practices, Freitas said. The center also placed dogs with the sanctuary that didn't meet their criteria and have donated thousands and thousands of pounds of dog food, she added.

The sisters don't always know the history of the dogs they take in and make sure to let their clients know that, Aliotti said.

"We try to tell people, 'They're not pets,'" she said. "We love them like they are our pets. We have respect (for them). They have likes and dislikes, but we don't know their history."

None of the dogs at the sanctuary has ever bitten anyone on their watch, Freitas said.

The sisters also make sure the sanctuary volunteers know as much about the dogs as possible. They write up a description of each dog that includes their behavior, she said.

The sanctuary has two adult and three teenage volunteers.

How it works


The sisters quarantine a dog when they take it in. After that, they vaccinate it and get the canine spayed or neutered if it isn't already, Freitas said.

"We think all dogs should be spayed and neutered unless you're a licensed breeder, because it helps control the pet overpopulation and that's what's required for adoption," she said.

They also treat the dogs for any ailments such as kennel cough and insert microchips in the animals for tracking purposes, if the animals don't have one already, she added.

They take in dogs from a vast variety of breeds, from Shiatsus to shepherd rottweilers. Although they don't know the exact age of the dogs they take, most of the ones on their property are more than 5 years old, Freitas said.

Daily, every dog gets out of its kennel to play either in a group or individually in one of the four play areas on the property, she said. On a recent afternoon when some of the dogs were let out, their tails wagged in delight as they roamed around a fenced-in area with bamboo trees, gravel and other landscaping. Most of the fenced area is ringed with cottonwood trees.

There are interior and exterior kennels. The outside ones are popular with visitors because of their airiness, Freitas said.

"It's not like a dungeon," she said.

The adoptions are by appointment only because the sisters want to maintain the family environment of the sanctuary property, Aliotto said.

"It is a private residence and it's where we grew up," she said.

When people express interest in adopting one of the dogs, the sisters conduct property inspections to make sure the home has a fenced area, Freitas said.

Although it is a no-kill facility, dogs they house do die of natural causes. When that happens, they are taken to a cemetery under a grove of pine trees on the property. The sisters used to bury the dogs, but say they now cremate them and bury their ashes. The cemetery also contains family pets.

"There's a downside to loving the animals," Freitas said. "They don't live long enough."

The sanctuary relies on small-scale, private donations to keep afloat, as well as the largesse of the Harrises, who paid for the kennels, she said. The sisters would like to host some fundraisers on the property. There are some spots conducive to having these kind of events, they say, such as a large grassy area on the lower part of the property that's bigger than a football field. A natural amphitheater around the corner on the property could be used for concerts.

The sisters are also in the process of planting hundreds of pomegranate trees. Their father has a special recipe for a pomegranate drink, and the fruit can also be sold to raise money for the sanctuary, they said.

Dolores Harris said she is proud of her granddaughters for putting so much passion into the sanctuary.

"Every time I see a neighbor, they compliment me on how wonderful these girls are doing," she said. "They're so dedicated to the animals."

Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.