A Woman Dedicated to Saving the Lives of Shelter Animals

Julie Marty-Pearson: 0:46

Hello, hello, hello. My friends and fellow animal lovers, welcome to another episode of the story of my pet podcast. I am your host as always, julie Marty Pearson, and I am excited to have a new guest with me today, melissa Brunson. Hi, melissa, thank you so much for being here, hi.

Melissa Brunson: 1:03

Thank you for having me. I'm excited about this opportunity.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 1:06

I'm excited to get to meet you finally. Virtually. We've been following each other on social and kind of hear your story and and also share the work you're doing now with everybody.

Melissa Brunson: 1:19

Yeah, I'm excited to share all of that too.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 1:22

Okay, so a little bit about Melissa. Melissa is the executive director of Marley's Mutt's Dog Rescue in Dehatchby, California, just outside of where I live in Bakersfield. She has her doctorate in organizational leadership and has been a member of the rescue community for two years. She has three children and a her baby. Her and her partner both work in the nonprofit world and love to use their talent to impact our communities. Well, welcome, Melissa. we're so glad to have you. I'm glad that you are. I'm very excited to see you as the new director of Marley's Mutt's. Thank you. Being a native Bakersfieldian I guess that's how you would say it. Born and raised here, i've known about Marley's for a long time, so I'm excited to get to connect with you and kind of hear about your story to getting to where you are now. Excellent, so I know you have been volunteering with Marley's for a few years. Before we get to kind of how that started, let's talk about your love of animals before that. Have you always been a dog person?

Melissa Brunson: 2:27

I think I've always just in general been an animal person. I love dogs First and foremost. I would say I've had dogs pretty much my entire life. I've had a few cats here and there as well, and then of course, when I came to Marley's, we have some livestock here And so I got to kind of dip my toe into that pond a little bit also. But I think being an animal lover my entire life has kind of brought me to where I am today.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 2:55

Great So when did you first start getting involved with Marley's as a volunteer?

Melissa Brunson: 3:03

I did So. I started following Marley's MUDs about five or six years ago on social media, as many of us do, seeing what they do, and prior to actually taking the executive director role, i lived in LA County And so worked on my doctorate. And when I finished my doctorate I thought well, now what am I going to do? Because you know what happens when you finish your doctorate and then all of a sudden you're like I have all this time on my hands, And for me, my parents, my entire childhood, would always insert activities that were giving back to the community, and so the first thing that came to mind for me was what can I do to give back to the community now that I've got all this extra time on my hands? And so I came across to Marley's MUDs post and had in the past thought you know, maybe I'll volunteer for them when I have time. And then I came across to Marley's MUDs post and magically, all of a sudden, post doctorate had time. So I submitted my application and very quickly got a call back. I started as working with the ranch and the dogs that were here And we did have a few cats at the time, you know, doing all the things that we must do when we're working in animal wellness cleaning kennels and you know, all of those things that are not the funnest but that are absolutely an integral part of what we do And playing with dogs, walking with them, hanging out with them as well. And then a few months later I had said, hey, I have, you know, computer skills. I have all kinds of. There's all kinds of other things I can do, And, and so I started being asked to do other things. So I would come up on the weekends And, because I live two hours away, I would spend the night up here and spend two days at the ranch and then, you know, do administrative things, like our donation response team and things like that. And so that's how I, how I got involved at Marley's.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 5:07

Okay, and that's I think that's how a lot of us get involved with different organizations, is just by following them on social, and it's great when we're able to have the time to actually, you know, do the work and actually start volunteering.

Melissa Brunson: 5:21

And I think you know I have I've had people say why do you? why do you, you know, why did you travel so far to go to Marley's? and it was really just the. at first I thought, oh, i'll come up once a month. But the people that work here fantastic, they do really wonderful things. if we've got great programs up here. and it just kind of stuck, you know, right time in the world when COVID was bringing everybody down, you know, and we were trying to just like start things were just starting to open up so they could have volunteers here. It was a good, i think, transition for me to be able to get out and still feel, you know, comfortable doing that Right.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 6:05

And for those of you listening that aren't aware of Marley's Muts, they are a rescue based specifically into Hatchery, california. That's where the the MUT Ranch is, but they're based in Kern County in California And they they work with people all over the country but they do a lot with shelters in Kern County as well as in LA County And for those of you who don't know, la County and Kern County are right next to each other. So I'm in Bakershill, which is about two hours north of LA, and the Hatchery is about. I don't know 30, 45 minutes from Bakershill, depending on the situation, but on the day and the weather. Up in the beautiful mountains that overlook Kern County. So Marley's Muts has a pretty extensive reach. You guys do a lot of amazing things. How did you go from volunteering and doing those things to ending up becoming the executive director?

Melissa Brunson: 7:05

Yeah, so a little bit of an interesting story. I worked for a university and the university was going through some transitions. I got laid off And, without even sharing that with the current executive director, she reached out when I was here one day and said I need to talk to you about something. And I was like okay. And of course, as many of us do who are children of the 70s, we go, oh my gosh, what did I do wrong? Am I in trouble? Right, and she said nothing. I think I'm going to retire and I want to put your name forward as the executive director or as a potential replacement for the executive director role. Would you be okay with me doing that? And it kind of occurred to me at the time that it was just strange how the timing went. And so then I interviewed, we did a public search and here I am. You know, gosh, almost a month later. It's still super new, but that's how it played out. And I think sometimes you just land where you're supposed to land Right, absolutely. And it happens when Yeah.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 8:17

And I have a feeling our backgrounds are somewhat similar in terms of we both have doctorates in the same general area and we both work at colleges and universities, and in those places things change pretty quickly, especially when politics are involved or there's changing of administration, all those things. And I know I've been at several different places at different points in time, but, like you said, i think we always end up where we're meant to be at Mm-hmm. So then you made the. Not only have you become taken on a new position, but you made the move from LA up into Hatchabee.

Melissa Brunson: 8:52

Yeah, I did, and what a different way of living. Obviously, in fact, when we were moving, i had moved a little bit, moved very quickly, like literally the weekend before I started here and had no furniture in the house, which is always fun. We all know what that's like. Right, you've got food in the fridge but no furniture in the house. So I used my iPad and I sat on an office chair and a portable table, and that's what I did for my first week here, and then, when we went down back to LA County to get the rest of our stuff and bring it up, it was amazing to me how quickly the traffic and the pace of life was not. You get used to it, but then you very quickly realize why was I living like this for so long?

Julie Marty-Pearson: 9:43

Yes, It is. It is like it just doesn't take long to get there And then when you're there, you're like whoa, whoa. Life is very different here, very very different. Yep, yeah, and it's the same going from LA to Bakersfield and then going Bakersfield to Hatchabee, because Bakersfield's much faster than it ever was when I was growing up. It's much more like LA in a lot of ways, but then it's still nothing compared to LA. So I totally get what you're saying, yeah, yeah, so let's talk about Marley's Muts. You guys have a lot of amazing programs that do different things, so talk to me a little bit about Marley's Muts in general And what is the purpose of the rescue as a whole.

Melissa Brunson: 10:26

So Marley's Muts is a 501C3 nonprofit, large breed dog rescue. Our motto is all breeds, all creeds, and so when we talk about our programs I think you'll understand why kind of that's our motto. But we very often pull dogs from the shelters that are euthanasia listed. I would say 95% of the time. We're the people that go in that pull the dogs that have a hard time getting adopted Right, spend time rehabilitating them here at the ranch or in foster care, depending on what they need, because some dogs don't do good in an environment like this and they need to be in a home Right, and then we rehabilitate them and then get them adopted, and that's just kind of a small part of what we do. We've got our other three programs that help us to do that to move dogs more. But, like I said, we very often take dogs that are on the euthanasia list. We get calls from shelters on a regular basis that they're 48 hours from being euthanized And we do the best we can to pull as many dogs as we can. The reality is is, even though we have a large facility, we still don't have unlimited resources And I think a lot of people think, oh, marlies is a big rescue, they have thousands of dollars coming in, they must be able to do a lot, and it doesn't really work that way because we're still a nonprofit right.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 11:56

Right, yeah, and the amount of funding you have changes day to day depending on donations or whatever your programs are doing at the time, and I'm sure it's ever evolving. How do we get things done today? situation?

Melissa Brunson: 12:11

Yep, and we're constantly chasing it And people say that on a regular basis. Well, you guys are so big And that shouldn't be an issue, and it is because we're a nonprofit, so we don't have money coming in regularly from sources like for-profit organizations do.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 12:30

Right. You guys aren't funded in any way by the state or the county or the city or anything like that. It's all by donations and fundraising and people giving their time and their space by being fosters in your network. That's right, yep. And when we talk about you guys pulling dogs that are on the youth banagel list, let's talk about what that means. A lot of people don't understand that. unfortunately, most local shelters not no kill in that they are limited by capacity and limited by the regulations in their area. whoever is the oversight for that shelter? So, based on a myriad of reasons a long list of why it happens, whether it's length of time a dog's been there, behavior issues, medical issues there's always a list of potential dogs that will be euthanized at a shelter.

Melissa Brunson: 13:20

Yeah, i don't think people realize that shelter. The original intention of a shelter was for dogs to go when they got lost and for their owners to come find them, not for them to be turned in because they're sick or they're having behavior issues or any number of things that happen. They get picked up off the streets because people dump them And so we have a huge problem in Kern County in our shelters. They're overcrowded And I'm not sure if you actually saw the video that we posted on the Marlies Mutz page or not today. That's a segue to this. But it's difficult, not just on the animals but it's difficult on the humans that work in the shelters as well and their mental health. Shelters get overcrowded and the difficulties that they're having and having to assess the dogs and decide who's going to live that day and who's not. It's horrific. So in one instance that I've heard from a story from someone that now works with us that worked at a shelter, he was asked to euthanize 36 puppies in one day because the shelters do not have the capacity to house 36 puppies. Now this was at the height of when we were having distemper issues in Kern County And so any dog that came in that was a puppy was euthanized because they were already presenting with symptoms of distemper. And any dog that comes in that's presenting with those symptoms immediately needs to be euthanized because then it creates an issue in the population at the actual shelter. So there's a lot of reasons. Behavioral issues are another one. Behavioral assessments are done regularly on dogs, but sometimes it's just for space. Good dogs are euthanized very often because they need space. And so if you have a dog that's been there for four months and it's a black pity, and you have a dog that just came in, that's a black pity but hasn't been allowed to be networked, you have a choice to make. Regardless of whether or not that dog has been in a foster home with the folks at the shelter that love, it has been cared for and played with and loved on and trained in all of the things that do happen in the shelter, you're still faced with the reality that that dog might have to be euthanized, right Just?

Julie Marty-Pearson: 15:41

simply because we don't have space. And most often are the dogs. Unfortunately that get you. The nays are the ones that have been there the longest, either have had no interest or, you've said, haven't been able to go to foster, so we don't know anything about them or their personality, which helps us to network them and get them adopted. And unfortunately, as new dogs are coming in, the rules of the shelter are well, the ones that have been here the longest have to be moved out So the new dogs have a chance to find a home. And people don't realize that And unfortunately that's the truth And it's the hard truth. I now work part-time at our county shelter And the shelter does everything they can to get those dogs out and network them and a lot of amazing things. But unfortunately the save rate in that shelter is still about 75% at this point. Before COVID they'd gotten up above 90% And we were getting there And then COVID hit, just like everything. It really impacted what was going on with shelters And now we're at the very opposite of that, where all the shelters all over the country are impacted, but even more so in California and especially in Cranes County. We're just. I know there was one day a week or two ago we got 60 dogs in one day And people don't realize that when we already have 300 dogs, where are those 60 dogs going to go Exactly?

Melissa Brunson: 16:59

Exactly, and for us, when we go to a shelter and we're able to pull dogs because it's it's rescues are having a hard time as well. We very often ask them for a list of adoptable dogs and say who's been here the longest? And we talk to the behaviorist who? who is good in play groups, who is good with children? Do we know if they've been cat tested, like all of the things that we ask them about? the dogs who are the longest stay residents And that's who we try to pull first.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 17:33

Right, And so we were talking about this before we officially started recording this episode but, one of the ways you guys are really have and are continuing to make the biggest impact is by pulling a larger number of dogs and transporting them to other areas. So can you talk a little bit about what that process is?

Melissa Brunson: 17:51

I can. So we have a program called Mutt Movers And what we do is we take dogs from either the Kern County animal shelter or the Bakersfield City Shelter. We load them up on a bus after, of course, we've done all of the legal things we need to do with them, which is get them health-certed, make sure that they've been spayed and neutered, make sure that they have their rabies certificates all of those things. Our Mutt Movers bus has about space for about 30 to 35 dogs, depending on their size, and then we network with other rescues and we transport those dogs from our shelters to laces like Montana or Washington. This weekend we just did a transport to Washington. We made three stops along the way with three separate rescues, and then we stopped in Blaine, washington, and Rain Coast Dog Rescue who is one of our partners and they have been for a really long time came down from Canada, picked up 15 dogs, drove them across the border and, believe it or not, by and large it's only been a few days since we completed that transport And I, from the updates we're receiving, we've already had about 50% of those dogs get adopted and the rest of them are all in foster care. Wow, that's amazing. All because their regulations are different And the same thing happens. We've transported to Bark's Rescue and Calgary. We stop in Montana and they come down across the border and we do the same thing there And we get updates on the dogs and by and large both of those rescues that we work with on a regular basis have great success rates and those dogs get adopted pretty much right away.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 19:33

That's amazing And that I've heard people say, well, there was a dog I saw, but they said it got sent to a rescue. It's like, yeah, if there's a rescue going to take that dog, they're going to take that dog and we're going to get them out the door of the shelter, because people don't realize that how impacted we are here but other areas aren't having the same problems for a variety of reasons.

Melissa Brunson: 19:53

That's right, i think you know. We know policy plays a huge role in that. I also think that. So it was interesting when we did our last transport this past weekend. We pulled from the city shelter and we had people ask us where the dogs were going, because they didn't find a dog in the shelter that they had wanted to adopt And so of course they were already health-certed and all those things, so we told them where they were going. But it's interesting kind of the response. Sometimes people go well, but you're taking dogs away from us, but if we don't pull dogs in large quantities from the shelters, they're euthanizing every day. Right, three to five dogs a week, sometimes more. If you're at the county shelter, it's three to five dogs a week at the city shelter, at the county shelter It could be more, right. So the more dogs we pull and move, the more space there is Right. And unfortunately, sometimes the dogs that get moved first or the quickest are the small dogs, because they're small and they're easier to transport and we can fit more small dogs in a van than we can the big dogs, that is absolutely true, and most people want the small dogs, right, and so we have to negotiate with our rescue partners and we do it on a regular basis and we say, okay, so we need to get big dogs out of here, because those are the ones that are most at risk, right, But if we can pull the dogs from the shelters and hold them at our facility for a couple of weeks, it frees up big kennels, it frees up little kennels And it just in general, gives some relief to the community when we can do that Right.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 21:27

And in our In Kern County we definitely have big dogs is what we have the most of right. I would say Huskies, shepherd, vixas, pitbulls is probably gosh 60% of what's in the shelter or more depending on the day And a lot of that is due to people not stay or neutering their dogs and unwanted litters, or them thinking, hey, i have a Husky, i'll get another one and I'll breed them and I'll make some money, but no, you don't want to do that. First of all, huskies is not the right kind of dog to have in in Kern County.

Melissa Brunson: 21:58

It's way too hot here.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 21:59

So please stop breeding Huskies in Inkern County. But they also don't realize things about a lot of big dogs is how much exercise they need, how much space they need, how much money it costs to feed them and take care of them, and that's why we have so many of them in the shelters. So if someone said to you, what can I do as just a person in the community to help with the Marlies Mutz rescue of the shelters, help with dogs, trying to get them adopted, what are some things that you would tell them?

Melissa Brunson: 22:32

So, first and foremost, it's everybody's responsibility right. The more the community gets involved, the more we're able to change policy and change regulations, and so I believe that that is our biggest. I think that's the one thing that folks can do that will help us the most. Second is education. Educate yourselves, stay new to your pets, educate other people about all the dogs that you can find in the shelters. I think sometimes folks are very breed specific and they'll say, oh well, i want a Frenchie. Well, i can tell you that two weeks ago we pulled a French bulldog that had a prolapsed rectum, and so you can find a Frenchie in the shelter. If you are patient and look, you can find we just had a beagle that landed in our care. So I think very often people think, oh well, you're just getting mixed breed dogs. They have behavior issues, that's why they're in the shelter, right, and that's not true at all, and so I think that's a big part of the conversation is another important aspect to making sure that people really understand kind of the plight of what's going on here. I think the other piece is, you know, marley's Mutz is just part of a larger rescue community and so you know all of the rescues need support, we need volunteers, we need funding. $5 a month helps, right, and the goal is thousands of dollars and it helps us to be able to, you know, keep our programs in place. And then writing letters and reaching out to your local and county you know policymakers So that they really understand what's going on. If the community doesn't put pressure on our local policymakers, nothing will ever change.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 24:21

Absolutely. I think that's a big one, because at the shelter level we're not gonna get more staff, we're not gonna get more space, we're not gonna get more funding for more spay and neuters and more vaccine clinics and all those things unless there's a change at the level that none of us right now have an impact on, but the community can. The more people that speak out and the more people that speak up, we can hopefully get some policy level changes made. But I think one of the things you said that's really important is there is kind of a stigma around a shelter dog of what people think that is or what they assume that means, and it's not true.

Melissa Brunson: 24:59

Whatever you think it is. is it Right? right, and I have a shelter dog. She's probably really mad at me because I adopted her from Marley's and now we're back here and she comes to work with me every day. So she's probably like Mom, what are you doing? But I think there is a misconception. you're right about what shelter dogs are. They don't all have behavior issues. They're not all there because they're bad dogs or because they bit somebody. By and large, the majority of them are there because they got dumped by their owners. They're there because they got out and their owners didn't come to look for them. They're there because they were born in the shelters. That's another huge issue that we're having right now. We have all these juvenile dogs that are in the shelters, that are growing up there And then it's not good for their development because they're not getting what they need. There's just so many things And I think there's so many. like you said, there are such a stigma around shelter dogs.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 25:57

Right, yeah, it's such a stereotype to think, oh well, they're there because they did something bad, or their owners didn't want them, or whatever. Well, yeah, their owners didn't want them because they made a bad decision and they dumped their dogs. Unfortunately, there is a huge amount of dogs being dumped on the streets in Bakersfield and in Kern County, and that's where a lot of the strays come from. Right, but it's not because they're bad dogs, because, for whatever reason, their owners weren't prepared to take care of them, or they got out and they didn't care to look for them. Or, like you said, we've had so many moms give birth to puppies in the shelter. I actually there's a pair of 13 week old puppies that I've had out at events, and they've been in the shelter for two months, yeah, and so they've literally grown up in the shelter. That's right. They don't know anything else, they don't know a home with a nice comfy couch, they don't know home with the backyard, and so it's gonna, you know, it's gonna take them time to realize what it means to be a dog, when, hopefully, they get adopted at some point.

Melissa Brunson: 26:59

Right, and I mean there's so many. So I actually had someone say to me not too long ago well, i want a puppy and you don't have puppies in shelters. And I pulled out my phone and I went through all the videos, right, of all the puppies that I have on my phone in both the city and county shelter, and I said if you can't find a puppy in the shelter, then you're not looking, because they're there Right, especially now. And, by the way, if you don't find one you like, there's three pregnant moms that are in a kennel waiting to have puppies.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 27:32

Or in foster care, and they'll be ready in six weeks. That's right. That's right. It's such a shift, cause I know a few years ago you would very rarely find puppies in the shelter. It just wasn't. And now I know at one point the county shelter had a hundred in the shelter And they're literally litters of them. You walk by the candles and there's one litter and there's the next litter And it's just heartbreaking because that's how they're growing up And it's not the best environment for them in terms of their mental and physical because they're around so many of their dogs, They're more at risk to be sick and things like that. And so yeah, if people are looking for puppies, you have no reason not to find them because they're everywhere.

Melissa Brunson: 28:12

We were literally at the shelter a week ago today and there was a kennel full of puppies. There had to have been 15 of them in. there Had to have found them.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 28:22

Yeah, but I do think it's important when you said, a lot of times people get stuck on I want a certain size or a certain breed, and the thing is they're available. It's just about finding them right. And if there is a certain breed you want, a lot of times You can find a rescue that's specific to that breed, like there's a lot of rescues that only pull pit bulls or only pull boxer dogs Or breed Danes or whatever it may be, and so they network with all the shelters to find those dogs. They know how to treat them best and how to find good homes for them. So it really is about education and and doing your, your research to find the dog that you're interested in Adopting. But I'd say, besides, that Fostering is a huge, is a huge piece of the puzzle. You can you talk a little bit about how fostering works within Marley's?

Melissa Brunson: 29:12

So we actually have a couple of different ways that it works. So you have a program called positive change which is integrated into the Our incarcerated Population here in Kern. So we have five or six programs. We have one that's getting ready to start. We actually take dogs from the shelters. Very often now they're the juvenile dogs that are in between puppy and adult age. Right, because either people want puppies or they want adults. They don't want the in-between. We put them into our positive change program, eight to ten dogs at a time. Then we have inmate trainers and those inmate trainers train the dogs So they come out with an AKC good citizenship certification when they're done And then the dogs get adopted. But they have that foster care training for. Depending on the length of the program, it's usually right around 14, 12 to 14 weeks. So they have that. They have that, that element. So that's one way that we that we foster. The other way that we have fosters is we have actual Foster homes where people volunteer their time to bring dogs in to their homes. I think again, a stigma with fostering is oh, it needs to be a home where we don't have any other dogs or cats or Children, and that's not true either. We very often place dogs in Homes that have existing animals kids, adults, all the things right right and We pay for their medical care while they're in foster, we pay for their food while they're in foster, and then you know, we do require that our fosters bring the dogs to adoption events, where they're going to be seen by the public, and we pay for their vaccinations and all of those kinds of things. And Foster is one of the ways that we can actually take on more dogs. So, we have anywhere between a hundred and thirty and a hundred and sixty dogs in our care at any given time, and a lot of that depends on how many fosters we have. We do have a lot of space at the ranch, but again we don't have unlimited funds. So we've got, you know, only as many staff as we can handle, and then, right, they take care of as many as we have here, and then the rest are in foster care.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 31:25

Right and I think this really important what you said, because I I try to. I advocate for fostering But a lot of times people don't realize most Shelters or rescues that you're going to become a foster for are going to provide you with the food and supplies and medical care That that animal needs. So you're not paying for anything. You're basically giving your time in your space, you're giving your home and the time that you would give any other pet in your house The time to learn to be a pet, to play outside, to go on walks, whatever it is that animal needs of you.

Melissa Brunson: 31:56

Yeah and it's a great alternative for people who don't want to have a full-time animal for whatever reason. Let's say it's a teacher that works during the year But and they're super busy and you know they don't have anyone to help them care for an animal during the year, but in the summer they're home. That dog could be placed in their home for a couple of weeks, a couple of months, and then you know You go back to work and you Let the organization know you'll be ready again at Christmas or you'll be ready again in the summer. And so right that still, even though it's short-term, has it has a huge impact on the organization.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 32:33

Yeah, no, because every you know, for no matter what, every person that fosters is saving a life because they're making space within That shelter, that rescue group, for another dog or cat to be brought in. And the great thing about fostering is you get to see that Animal in a natural environment, in a home. You get to see their personality come out, you get to see their quirks. You get to see are they potty trained, are they good on a leash? You know all the different things and all of that help rescues and shelters, network those pets to find their forever home.

Melissa Brunson: 33:02

Yeah, and it helps us to place them in the right home for them, right.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 33:07

Yeah, yeah. So please, if you're thinking of fostering, just reach out to whatever Organization of shelter you follow and ask for more information. Now, if you sign up to be a foster, you're not required to take one that day. You're not required to take so many in a year. It's all about what works for you and how you can support you know The animals in your area. So I did want to talk to you just a little bit more about positive change, because I think that program really is. I mean, it really is amazing and I don't think a lot of people know about it. So you talked about how, technically, the dogs are in foster care, but they are living in the in the prison or Detention facility that your program is in.

Melissa Brunson: 33:50

Yeah, so positive change is a 14 to 16 week program, depending on the facility That allows for us to pull dogs from a local shelter. Put them into our positive change program Which has an actual curriculum, and the curriculum is designed for the dogs to get basic obedience training That they need and to be adopted. You know all the things we want dogs to do when we have them in a home great training, leash Walking, obedience, those types of things. And then it allows the in. We call them trainers, we don't call them inmates in the print in the program. It allows the trainers to be able to use that for that timing as their training for that period of time, and The inmates are put into a special pod That's just for them with the dogs. The dogs are not allowed in their cells But the dogs have their own separate kenneling area for them and then they work with them day in and day out for 16 weeks And we have our own trainers that go in That work with them and it does a couple of things. Like I said, it's great for the dogs. It gives us another space to be able to pull dogs from the shelter, but our trainers Very often feel a sense of purpose when they go through the program. It softens them a little bit and Once they're released to then they actually have a skill that they can use when they're on the outside. So we work regularly with our inmate trainers who've been released. We've got a few right now three that are working in our positive change program. So they are back in the places that they came from, working with the dogs and working with with inmates, and we have a zero percent recidivism rate. So I think recidivism is up around 70 percent. We have a zero percent recidivism rate in our program. So anybody that's come out of of prison That's been through our positive change program has not gone back. That's amazing.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 35:51

It's huge.

Melissa Brunson: 35:52

Huge, huge, yeah, and many of them end up working in dog training.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 35:56

They go to.

Melissa Brunson: 35:56

LA K9. Yep.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 35:58

They go to.

Melissa Brunson: 35:58

LA K9 and they do an internship there with them. When they get out And then they open their own business, they consult for us right as dog trainers in the positive change program, and so it's a win-win all the way around. And it also gives us an opportunity to kind of advocate a little bit for prison reform too, right, and we hear so often from our trainers that are out that this program saved them because if they would have come out, they would have had zero skills, they would have not been able to get a job, they wouldn't have been able to reintegrate back into their families because they wouldn't have had the ability to have a skill that they take out with them to immediately start to earn money.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 36:40

And it's really hard for them to find jobs. Yeah, i mean that's why the recidivism rate is so high is because they're going out into a world that's completely different than when they went into prison or whatever it is, and they haven't gained any new skill. So it's an amazing impact, positive changes having not just on the dogs in terms of fostering them, training them, getting them ready for a home, but all of the inmate trainers are gaining a skill and just being in that program I've seen so many of the stories how it impacts them and changes their life within their time in the system. But then, like you said, they're coming out with a skill and a network of people that are supporting them and they're able to do things, and then they pay it forward by helping even more dogs in the future.

Melissa Brunson: 37:23

And humans that have been in their shoes. They become mentors to you or they work with and start businesses with. It's really kind of phenomenal how it just spreads.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 37:34

Yeah, no, it's great. That's why I wanted to ask you more about it, because I think it's definitely something people don't hear about as much as the other programs and think it's really important for people to learn about it, because it really deserves our support, especially with this. Like this system of dogs we have, that's overwhelming. It's the same thing within our prison system, true? So at this point, being the new director of Marley's Butts, what is kind of what is? I mean, you've been there a month, so you must have you know all your goals set up and know exactly what you're going to do, right?

Melissa Brunson: 38:07

Sure in Rescue. We know that that never sticks and things are changing all the time. Yep.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 38:14

So I guess, when I think about when you, when you agreed to take on this new position and you, you know you've moved your life and now that's really your, your role is working with Marley's What made you decide to do that And what are you hoping to be able to do and move Marley's forward with?

Melissa Brunson: 38:28

respect to. I mean, i think, how often do we get to work in an environment that is purpose-driven? I think so often I hear people say, well, it's a job I'm earning money at It's, you know that's fine, but why not do something that you're passionate about and be able to, you know, pay your bills at the same time, right, right. And so that was the draw, obviously, to Marley's. It's a great organization. It's been around for 14 years. We have, you know, a fantastic programs that impact the community. I think I'll I'll just share. I had people say, oh, so you're going from a university to work in a dog rescue. You guys basically just get dogs adopted. And I was like, no, we have social justice programs as well. We have therapy dog programs as well. You know we're, we're working within our means to impact, you know, the community as as as much as we can. So for me it was how can I pay my bills and do something that I'm passionate about? Because for me it's it's it's more about the impact that I'm having in my, in my life, than it is about, you know, and what I have to contribute than it is about you know, i don't know. I don't want to say that it is about a paycheck, because we all have to pay our bills.

Julie Marty-Pearson 39:43

You understand what.

Melissa Brunson: 39:44

I'm getting out with that.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 39:45

Right, no, I, I totally get it. I have a feeling, you know, I was in the the college university world for over 15 years and came out of it and then COVID hit and all of that, and now I'm like, yeah, i could go back to that and pay my bills. But now I've gotten a glimpse into what the world of animal rescue, animal advocacy is and the impact I can make. And you know, running a 501c3 is not just about getting dogs adopted. I've worked with a nonprofit and there you are busy every day, all day long, with with a long list of things in order for that rescue to keep working, to be able to save dogs.

Melissa Brunson: 40:24

And so So you asked what like what my primary goal is. I have a lot. Obviously, we want to save lives. That's always first and foremost. We want to make sure that the dogs that are in our care are getting the best possible care. My two biggest goals for this year are community involvement, networking with the community, i think, as, as rescues, we very often are critical of each other instead of supporting each other, and so the only way that we're going to be able to impact changes by building relationships with each other And so that's very high on my priority list And then dovetailing into that is how do we affect change at the policy level by building relationships with people in the rescue community, with our shelter, and then with our local and county, state federal government. How do we do that? So that is at the top of my list. You know, aside from making sure that we are able to continue to operate, that we're able to, that everybody that works for us is happy and healthy and, you know, likes what they're doing and they're fulfilled, because rescue is hard, so those are kind of the two sides of it. How do we impact the community and change, and how do I make sure that our staff is feeling like they're making an impact and not burning out.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 41:44

Right, and that's an important thing too. Burnout is huge in the animal rescue world. Whether you're running a rescue, like you are now, whether you're a volunteer for a rescue, whether you work at a shelter, or you're a vet tech or whatever, or you do a little bit of everything, compassion, fatigue, is real, and what we, what people, see on a day in and day out in terms of animal neglect and abuse, and just the overwhelming amount of animals in need right now, can be a lot, and so that's a big part, i'm sure, of your role too, is making sure that all of your staff and volunteers have what they need so they can keep doing the job they're doing.

Melissa Brunson: 42:24

Yeah, and all of that is outside of the normal operational things that I have to do on a day-to-day basis, right? So it's a big job, but it's worth it. Yeah, taking care of the staff is, like it's hard for me to prioritize things, because I think if we don't have a healthy, happy staff, we don't have healthy, happy animals, right. And so, absolutely, we need I need to make sure that they're taking care of and invested in and cared for in the way that they need to be in order to do their jobs, because it's not easy to come into a rescue every day and, you know, do all of the things that they have to do in order to make sure that it runs, because we both know that there's a significant amount of drama in rescue, yes, and and so kind of shield.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 43:13

Every day is different.

Melissa Brunson: 43:14

Yeah, every day is different, yeah, and kind of shielding them from that so they don't have to worry about that part and me being the one that worries about kind of all of that other stuff.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 43:25

So yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense. I'm just so happy to finally get to connect with you and talk with you and learn kind of about where, what you're doing and all the amazing things that Marley's Mutts is doing, and I just hope all of my listeners if you don't already follow them you will, and if anyone out there is looking to help whether, like Melissa said, it's $5 a month or you're going to volunteer for a day or whatever you want to do all of it matters and we all have to do our part, yeah, so I really appreciate you being here and getting to talk with you and learning more about your story. And I do have to say one thing I know you have a fur baby. I forgot to ask what is it. I don't know if it's a here or she. It's a she.

Melissa Brunson: 44:10

She is a Brindle pit bull mix. We think she's about five or six, we don't know for sure. Her and her sister went into the Bakersfield City Shelter and Marley's Mutts pulled them shortly before euthanasia as we always do, which kills me. Last time we were at the shelter, one of our, our foster coordinator, who has been here for a long time, said oh, that's where your girl and her sister were when they were here at the shelter and not just like killed me. I was like are you like? that is not. I'll never be able to look at that kennel the same way again. But Zoe's a happy, healthy, on re pit bull mix, super stubborn but super loving, as they all are. Right, she's a colossal bed hog. She tries to take up most of the space on my couch too. Let's be honest. I adopted her after she had been here a year and her sister literally just got adopted at the beginning of the month and she had been here almost two years. So it's sad. I mean she's sweet. Everybody talks about how great they are. You know how, how fantasticals of them are, their temperament Like you haven't heard a peep out of her. She is laying on her bed right And the sun looking out the window and she's fantastic. And it's just sad to me that you know that people overlook these dogs So yeah, pit bulls are amazing dogs.

Julie Marty-Pearson 45:33

You can't convince me otherwise Anyone I've ever interacted with. Yes, they are stubborn, i will agree with that, but they are the most loving, happy, just want to be wherever you are dog that you can find, and you know, that's just another area of education that we have to get people to realize that can't can't stigmatize by breed And sometimes when we're in the shelter we're just guessing what breed they are. We actually have no idea And just because you think it looks like something, you never know what you're going to get. But it sounds like Zoe had a happy ending with you And and then you get to pay that forward and help other Zoes find their you know their forever homes.

Melissa Brunson: 46:14

Absolutely, and it's always emotional to do that, for sure, you know she's. She's the dog that, like the quintessential black pit bull that nobody wanted right, she's Brendel, she's brown, but but still Same thing, yeah. And she's also the dog that, when people are having a rough day, they come into my office and sit on the floor and hang out with to have a better day. And so I think it's really sad that people don't see that in our, in our shelter dogs and also in, you know, in certain breeds of dogs.

Julie Marty-Pearson: 46:46

Right, Well. I just want to thank you again for being here, melissa, and we will link Melissa and Marley's Mutts and all of their programs social media in the show notes And when I post on social, when I post this episode when it comes out, so that everybody can follow along and support in any way that you can. So I just really appreciate your time and getting to talk to you and just doing everything we can to help the shelter animals in our area. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Melissa Brunson: 47:16

Thank you.