What if there was a tv show like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, but for animal shelters? Would you watch? There’s a very cool, new program called Animal House and it can help animal shelters save lives. Founders Rebecca Rodriguez and Alycia Hadfield are transforming shelters in struggling communities into bright, new facilities for their furry charges and helping to spread the word about the awesome pets up for adoption. What could be more wonderful than that?!
A bit about Rebecca and Alycia
Rebecca & Bug
These ladies are both serious animal advocates, who have been involved in the rescue world for years. Rebecca, the creator of Animal House and a filmmaker by trade, founded the humane society on the island of Guam in 1989, and went on to run the animal care department at the largest humane society in the Pacific Northwest. During this period, she developed the EVACSAK, an emergency transportation bag for small animals. She’s worked consulting for various organizations in shelter and program development and she’s won awards for her filmmaking. She and her dog, Bug, have a great site where they write about movies, books and life, called Bug in the Ointment. Pretty cute, right?
Alycia & Beckett, her Pittie
Alycia, the producer of Animal House, spent over nine years working in animal rescue during which she founded and ran a non-profit, volunteer-based animal rescue group. She has a strong understanding of the issues facing homeless animals and progressive practices within animal shelters and sanctuaries. Her insight helps to insure the sustainability of these reborn shelters. Alycia and her pack have the blog, Clearance Puppy, where she writes about being a pet parent to multiples and fostering. Alycia is mom to Beckett, her Pitbull Terrier who was shipped to her from a shelter in LA for rehab. He wouldn’t even walk, he was so shut down. He’d just lay on the shelter floor. Although Alycia began fostering him, Beckett never left her house. She fell in love. “He’s a total breed ambassador. Not sure how he’s so sweet, after what he’s been through,” she shares.
How does Animal House work?
Once the word began to spread about this show, shelters from around the country put in applications for consideration. For the first build, Rebecca and Alycia chose Adams County Pet Rescue in Othello, Washington, a shelter destroyed by fire and struggling to rebuild. The city had given them temporary housing, but it contained only six chain link kennels, with the rest being outdoor facilities. With temperatures going down to the low 30’s in the winter and up to the 80’s in summer, outdoor kennels don’t work to keep the dogs healthy and safe.
Over the course of 16 weeks, the dedicated team of designers, builders, even celebrated L.A.-based vet, Dr. Patrick Mahaney, all rolled up their sleeves and transformed the site. And, Animal House was able to bring together amazing corporate sponsors donating goods and services like Home Depot, Costco, U-Haul, Ramada, Tractor Supply Co., Stella & Chewy’s, Kong and many more.
We get to share in the journey, both of the shelter’s rebirth and of the stories behind the scenes involving shelter staff and the animals they care for. And, there are always surprises in rescue, so even in episode one, there are strays and abandoned animals who cross paths with the Animal House team. Watch what they do.
Alycia with one of the rescues
A behind the scenes interview with the creators
I caught up with Rebecca and Alycia to talk about how Animal House came about and to get any wonderful behind the scenes tidbits.
B&S: What was the inspiration for Animal House; was it from Extreme Makeover Home Edition?
AH: Extreme Makeover is the kind of show where, after you watch it a few times, it is a formula, but it makes you feel great! So, there was that part of it, yes. Having years of experience in sheltering and animal rescue, I knew the support these organizations need. It’s so hard for them to raise money for building. It usually takes years and, with a smaller organization, it can take decades. So, we put those two things together and took into consideration our backgrounds as film makers. It’s a great opportunity to showcase these amazing organizations, the challenges they face and how they overcome. And, its lovely when you can showcase communities winning and animals winning.
Alycia helping with a sheep rescue on site
B&S: You both got involved in a grass roots way in the community of this first shelter. Tell us about some of what happened.
AH: Before we started this build, we said we had to be careful to not get distracted with pulling dogs off the street, because we had this massive crew and a job to get done in a short amount of time. But, we knew unexpected things were going to happen, having our backgrounds in rescue. The first day a guy shows up with a little feral kitten in his coat. It became one thing after another. We had to commandeer one of our trailers to hold the animals, temporarily.
One of our hosts, Miguel, was on his way to a radio interview, when he found a dog thrown from a car. He called Dr. Mahaney, who met them at the clinic. Everyone knew an animal in our path took precendence over everything. She was only one of several animals we would get to know.
Rebecca and Albert
A tiny dog was hanging out at the fairgrounds, where we were shooting. We tried to pet him but he was afraid. We found out where he was living and the person there said if you can catch him, you can have him. So, we laid a trail of treats to the van and we were finally able to grab him. He’s living at my house now [Rebecca]; I’ve adopted him. His name is Albert, after Albert Schweitzer.
To date, we’ve taken over 200 stray animals out of this area and placed them, some in forever homes and some we’ve transported to partner organizations less crowded. All of them have found homes.
B&S: Because you’ve both had long histories in animal rescue and fostering, were you able to shoot this in a unique way?
AH: Yes, definitely. We’re not making it up as we go. We’ve been there, done that. There are people at networks we’ve shown this to who want to turn it into something crazy, where people were fighting over these animals. As animal people, we’re very sensitive to what we watch, that pertains to them. I can’t be left hanging over a commercial break to find out what happened to an animal in need. Every day, you hear about a crazy thing someone has done to an animal. So, are you going to want to watch a show about more crazy things being done to animals? No. You’re going to want to watch a show that showers you with hope. We understand animal people because we are animal people.
Rebecca helps a dog in need
B&S: Now that your first episode is done, what happens next?
AH: We’re still looking for a broadcast home for the show. We’re excited to have found great corporate sponsors, who want to partner with us. They understand what we’re trying to do. And, we want everyone to engage with us on Facebook. Tell us what you’re interested in; what you’re passionate about. Each of us is like one drop of water, but together, we are the ocean. And, that’s a massive force.
This is a big show; it takes lots of people to transform these shelters. In order for us to choose the next shelter in the next city, we have to find the show a home on tv. In the meantime, we’re engaging in a smaller way, online. We can rebuild shelter after shelter, shed light on these wonderful organizations and save so many more animals.
Check out the Sneak Peek of Episode #1 below. Watch the full episode and get more info on Animal House TV here.
Get updates on Animal House on their Facebook page.
Would you help spread the word about Animal House? Let’s find this show a home!
