Heroes of New York
Heroes of New York
#3 Luisa Montalvo - Every dog we rescue has a story
She has transported and rescued over 1000 dogs till date. At the age of 60, she rose to prominence as the runner up of the World Championship of Public Speaking 2019, beating over 30,000 contestants from 143 countries.
Our guest for this episode is Luisa Montalvo, resident of South Texas who is rescuing stray dogs from certain death and transporting them to New York where each and every one of them is adopted by foster families who are grateful for her service.
In this episode Luisa opens her heart about what it means to find people who care about animals, using her storytelling skills to spread awareness about the plight of animals ,
and giving herself the next 10 years to take South Texas of the map as a place where dogs are euthanized.
At the time of this interview, TIME magazine, carried an article on the high demand for foster animals in the US. People are adopting or fostering pets to beat the isolation.
Foster home website :http://ruffhouserescue.org/
Chapters:
00:01:03
How the dog rescue project started
00:06:19
Staying connected with the dogs after adoption
00:10:33
Rescue agency details and how you can help
00:13:20
Spreading awareness about the plight of stray dogs
00:15:03
Why New Yorkers' make amazing foster families
00:15:57
00:19:17
spk_0: 0:02
Hello and welcome to Heroes off New York, a podcast about everyday heroes who have refused to let the pandemic stop them from serving others. In every episode, I will introduce to you someone who has risen about the odds to up lift people around them. I'm your host Anu Senan.
spk_0: 0:22
Today I have with us Luisa Montalvo from San Juan, Texas. She's not from New York, but she's well known all over the world because she placed second in the World Championship of Public Speaking contest in 2019. And that's how I know Louisa - as an amazing storyteller and a public speeker. But Louisa has a passion very different from story telling. She rescues dogs and brings them to New York and what amazes me is that she's been doing this despite the lock down during the Corona crisis. And so I'm really happy to have her with us today. Welcome, Luisa.
spk_1: 0:55
Thank you so much for having me. Anu. Thank you.
spk_0: 0:57
It's our pleasure. Tell us a bit more about yourself and your project.
spk_1: 1:01
Well, it's I'm just one volunteer out of many, and three years ago I was looking on Facebook and came across supposed to where someone had shared a post and shared a post and shared post, and they were looking for someone who could foster a mother and four puppies. I thought, Oh, I could do that. No problem. And it said only for about a month or two. I said, Okay, perfect. I can do that. Well, before I knew it, once I started working with this organization and volunteering, I had about 80 dogs in my backyard. Uh, you're reaching their own kennel. They were all well taken care of fed water clean. I would walk them, and that took almost all apartment. Part of all, my day was just caring for the dogs. And what I've learned is that in South Texas we have a really bad We could almost say it's up endemic down here also with animals, because we don't treat our animals the way we should. We don't spay, we don't need her. And because of that, we have on over population problem here. The animals that are picked up off the streets and there are animals roaming the streets with no owners. They're homeless dogs, and if a neighbor or someone calls animal control animal control. We're going pick up the dog or dogs or mother and puppies will take it to the shelter. And in three days, if no one comes to claim it due to overpopulation and lack of space, the dog and the puppies were euthanized. So that's the tragedy we have down here in this wonderful lady from New York. Name is Diane Rose in Delicate. She started Roughhouse Rescue approximately 10.5 years ago there on Island Park, and she's done amazing work. And when she realized that South Texas was such a mess, she decided to help South Texas. So she started pulling dogs from the shelters down here, she's asked, She found me, and so I almost started to make a weekly run to the shelter and she would say, Let me see all the dogs and I will take pictures of all the dogs And she would say, OK, we'll take his many as you can and I would load up 2030 40 dogs. And right now we're blessed because we have a ranch here in Mission, Texas, where we were able to take them or able to give them proper care, quarantine them and then once they're ready to go healthy and good vaccinated, then we go ahead. And I have now started to drive them up to New York to New York City. And there she has her kennel and she just moved to new location. She's making amazing amount of progress, but they say that trying to beat rescuers, trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon it's never ending. It is never ending. So I have come to the conclusion that what I would like to do, starting this year is started project down here in South Texas, where I'm able to spay and neuter as many dogs as possible so that we don't have tragedy. We have
spk_0: 3:59
Wow, that's a huge exercise And you said, You're one of many volunteers. Do you drive them up by yourself?
spk_1: 4:06
No, no. There's always two drivers, a minimum of two drivers. Although I have made the news, I have made the trip from New York City to South Texas. It's a 32 hour drive. I have made it find myself. That's not fine. And I think I'm lucky because I'm gonna kind of people that loves to drive. I can drive and drive, and it does not bother me at all. I love it. I absolutely love it. It's It's kind of a time where again, either play loud music or just be quiet and think of my thoughts or try to organize the rest of my life, which you know is always a work in progress. So, yes, there's always two drivers. We drive up there. First, we pick up the dogs, drive up there every time we stop, which is about 3.5 hours. We stopped every time to fill up The gas tank will take some dogs down. We'll walk them, exercise them cleaning crates. If we have to clean any crates, feed water, check on everybody. So all the way up there, it's kind of huge responsibility because it's your job to get these dogs to New York safely. And so once we get there, then we'll go ahead and empty. All the dogs will put him into the kennels. They thought, there ready to go. They start all the medical procedures that they need to. They'll start updating all their information, posting pictures, putting them on Facebook and all the social media and a lot of these dogs, Luckily, because we've always said pictures beforehand. They already have a doctor's waiting for them or they have fosters waiting for them so they don't spend that much time at the kennel waiting for someone to come pick them up and put them into a loving home. So we're very blessed with that, but it's a job to get them up there. But once we get him up there and we've unloaded the last dog, it's a big sigh of relief. Like Okay, who can relax now? So we'll usually head to a hotel shower crash week for 10 hours straight, do what we have to do, and then the next day we'll go. We'll load of food but load of supplies and then we'll drive back. But on the drive back were able to stop and just take our time. And if you want to visit a rest area or if you want to visit some local landmark or something, we we have the opportunity to do that.
spk_0: 6:08
So when you bring the animals of the dogs two knee Occid E and you leave them with diame, that's the end of your responsibility. You're no longer than tracking them in the new foster
spk_1: 6:19
homes. Well, the beauty of this, the jumps, your question, Yes, that's that's kind of work stops. But no, not really. Because what I've learned now is I've grown to know so many people. So many of the volunteers, amazing volunteers, she as their that helper, and they'll they now private, message me or text me and say, Hey, Louisa, what can you tell me about this dog? Was this one of your dogs, June Foster, One of these dogs And you, Would you You know her story? Oh, yes, when I went to the shelter that Mom and she had just delivered babies the night before and they didn't know what to do with her. So I picked her up. And these are her siblings. And these air that the dogs And this is her story. And it seems like every dog there has a story. Whether it's been an owner, surrender or, uh, of course, if their loss and they have chips, they're returned to their owners. But we go ahead and we actually hold them there so that we ensure the dogs we have are able to be adopted or set up to Foster once for New York. Once I get back home, then she'll ask me, You know, can you go back to the shelter? Can you call dogs? And if I see I have, I have a weak heart for a dog that possibly has mains and has no hair or a dog that has a broken leg or down this blind right off this death. Those air the dogs to me that I reach out and I want to take care of personally only because all the other rescues they're gonna want the pretty dogs or the the dogs are adoptable. And so the ones that are left behind are the ones I have a soft heart for. And Diana is amazing because all I have to do is cholera. Say, Oh my gosh, Diane, there's a dog here with a broken leg. Issues like grab it, take it to the vet, get get what it needs. She's really good about that. So that's my responsibilities are different in New York when they are down here.
spk_0: 8:03
How has Corona affected your work?
spk_1: 8:06
In all honesty, it hasn't not at all. I know everybody is saying state home. Stay inside indoors. Now people that have Children, people that have spouses, people that are maybe caring for other people in their home. I live by myself. So whatever I go and contract out there, if I do, I bring it home here. I'm always worried. My mask. I'm always wearing gloves and constantly changing that. When I go to the ranch, there's workers there, but we all stay away from each other, constantly washing my hands. So I take is money. Precautions is I think I can. I'm also up to date on vitamins and supplements, trying to keep my body healthy. I do have a little bit of a Nazem a problem, but I have heard that people that have compromised more are the people that have health issue, maybe diabetic, high blood pressure, asthma, something they said That might be a tip for you if you're probably contracting. The virus is if you're not able to hold your breath for 10 seconds because they say shortness of breath is one of the symptoms. So every morning and every night I'll sit there, and I think I'm up to 22 seconds now where I can hold my breath on my okay. Okay. I'm good. I'm good. So I'm taking all the precautions I can. I try not to interact with anyone that go to the gas pump. I pay outside, I use the glove and the way that club get in my vehicle. I've done so. The less contact I have with people, the better. And that's what I'm trying to do right now. In fact, it sometimes I guess it infuriates me when I see people that arts walking around with a mask or gloves on. But that's them.
spk_0: 9:39
What happens to the dogs that don't get adopted?
spk_1: 9:42
Every single dog that I've taken up to New York has gotten adopted. Every single one. The people there are amazing. They have a love for their animal. They actually treated like their family. The more what I have found is the more of a personal story I can associate with the dog. The more the people are up to want to adopt or foster, I do know they have what we call a foster fail where you say, OK, I'm just going to take care of the dog until it's adopted. But they wanted up adopting the dog because force the heart of the dog that was part of their heart, part of the family, part of their home, so they don't want to let it go. But there are no dogs that don't get adopted. None. And that's what I'm so so grateful for. I know that every dog that I take to Diane I know between her and all her amazing volunteers, the dog is going to be either in a great foster home or is going to get adopted.
spk_0: 10:32
So what is this agency called
spk_1: 10:34
Rough? And that's our U F F roughhouse rescue. And they're on Island Park.
spk_0: 10:39
And do they have a website?
spk_1: 10:41
Yes, they do. It's a roughhouse rescue dot org's, and they've got places where you can donate places. Word. If you want to drop off, can food anything like that? It's blankets when it gets cold toys. That's my dog. I don't know if you can hear him.
spk_0: 10:56
Louisa, how does the day look like to you? Typically,
spk_1: 11:00
a typical day I used to set my alarm. I don't anymore you sort night shift or Abbott Laboratories. I was with them there in Austin, Texas, for about 25 years. The last 12 years I was there, I worked the night shift. So it's not unusual for me to stay up till two or three in the morning. I usually wanted getting up around eight o'clock. It takes me depending on how many animals I have just recently had 22 puppies I was taking care of. And when their individual puppies, it takes a while to clean all the great speed water, medicate check on them, make sure they're all doing well. That usually takes up a good part of my morning. Then I usually have Ah, Toastmasters meeting that I attend. There's a couple of meetings. I haven't noon on Monday and Wednesday. I do that. Then after that, we usually go out to eat crops and teed. And then from there, I probably will run to the ranch to take them supplies, or I'll go to the shelter and pick up dogs, Then head up to the Rams, dropped them off, get emo vaccinated, set them all up to where they're good, that I'll come home. I'll probably jump in the shower, grab something to eat, grab something for my mother, t eat or I'll cook something. I run over to my mom's house about eight or nine in the evening. We spend some hours together, and then she usually likes to fall asleep about midnight. So she'll fall asleep. I'll leave her house, and the good thing about that is she's two blocks away from me. So then I drive home. I let all my dogs out again make sure everybody's okay. Watch maybe an hour of TV, and I usually follow Stick with the remote in my hair.
spk_0: 12:33
Interesting. So do you take away cations?
spk_1: 12:36
I used to vacation a lot. I haven't in a long time, but then every time I go up to New York, I consider that a vacation because to me, vacation means getting away from your daily responsibilities. And so if I get away from my deadly responsibilities, that could be 30 minutes from my house. Or it could be 30 hours from my house. It's a vacation. Just recently, I was honored to have placed at the World championship speaking contest with Toastmasters, and so I did a little bit of traveling before Covic, 19 came along. But I love to travel. It's it's one. Whether I get on the plane or whether I'm driving there. I love trap.
spk_0: 13:20
That's interesting. Now that you're the world champion, the runner up you know your story is very famous. Are you also doing something extra to spread awareness about the plight of dogs and foster dogs and how people can rescue them?
spk_1: 13:34
Usually, whether it's Toastmasters or an interview such as this one, I try to end with stay in new to your dogs because that's the only way we're going to change this tragedy that we have here in South Texas. And it's not just in South Texas. It's all over the U. S. And in some of the parts of the world, it's worse than it is here. I want to start a campaign here. I have some friends of mine working on helping me with that. I just purchased a a bus that I'll be able to transport, possibly pick up some of the stray dogs here, get him to the vet getting spayed and neutered. And I've given myself 10 years to try to take South Texas off the map of being the worst place for a dog or a cat to be. So that's kind of my long term goal would be the 10 year goal. So hopefully in 2030 we won't have this situation here. Any time I talked to anyone, I tried to educate them, and I think that's the problem I'm having here in South Texas. People don't want to spay and neuter like, Well, I've got a pit bull and I can breeder and I can make money And it's very hard to try to convince people that instead of breeding more dogs that we're killing over 100 dogs a day here, and that's because they don't have a place to go. They're not sick. They're not vicious. They're not anything. They just don't have anywhere to go. We don't have the space.
spk_0: 14:56
And it's much better in New York for dogs, right?
spk_1: 14:58
Absolutely, Absolutely. The I guess you could go anywhere and find good people and bad people. For some reason, New York City seems to be one of the cities or New York. The state seems to be one of the states that really does care about the animals, and they don't just speak it. They don't just talk the talk they've off the wall. I've seen some. I've seen so many of my Boston dogs and their new owners will message means, say, here. Here's a picture of us. You know, we just This picture here's like crystals, picture or years. Here's what happened or here's what we did. And these these people, they're they're in New York are just amazing. And I am so, so grateful for them. You will find people that will do things to help themselves. But when you find amazing people, that will do things to help others, those air specialty. I'm so grateful for you, all of the people of New York and help us. I can't say thank you enough. Thank you
spk_0: 15:56
very much. Thank you. Lose. I feel very touched because you speak for the voiceless and that's really important. I mean, we're in a crisis, but we need to shed some light on on our four legged friends. Our furry friends, who can't speak for themselves on their lives matter too.
spk_1: 16:10
And that this thing is this dozen stock doesn't stop on during the pandemic. They still get euthanize. They still get picked up. They're still get abandoned. They still get left on my porch. They still get thrown away in boxes, they get abandoned. And whether it's Christmas, Easter, it doesn't matter. It happens every single day and it doesn't stop. It doesn't solve
spk_0: 16:32
angry. Do you have any memorable experiences from your trips?
spk_1: 16:36
It seems like every transport that I have has something memorable, and I guess the best part about it is is getting them to New York City. And then you get in Thailand part. You see all these people that are standing in line waiting to pick these dogs up. You know, that s that's and verte. That's just amazing. So every every transport trip I have as a as a special story to it.
spk_0: 16:57
So, Louisa, when you're not taking care of dogs and when you have some time on your hands, what are you on? The passions asleep, you need wreck.
spk_1: 17:10
It is very, very few times that I'm not doing something, but when I dio, I try to sleep because my body needs to catch up. One thing I absolutely loved to do that's become a really cool little ritual is go to my mom's house and she's in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and I remember one time I had gone to New York and I was I stayed there an extra two or three days. So I had been away maybe six days, maybe almost seven days, and I walked into the house and I said, Hey, Mom, then she looked at me and she said, Who are you? And that hurt my heart so much. And she looked at my brother and she said, is I said, Mom, Mom, your daughter and she looked at my brother. She said, Is that true? Is she my daughter and I played it off. I was. It just killed me. It hurt my heart so much. But I played it off and I started joking and acting the clown like I usually do around her. In about three minutes later, she looked and she is your my daughter. I said, That's right, Mom, That's right. Just Oh, OK. As she starts laughing like, How could I have for gotten? And so because of that, I tried to make it over to your house every night I asked her about when she grew up because she has a very good memory of her childhood. She just doesn't remember that it's your birthday or she doesn't know what month or year were in. And sometimes she'll forget that my father passed away. But she'll ask me where my dad my dad is and small things like that. So it is. It brings me so much joy to go over to her house every time that I can and I'll take her food and she like, Oh, I was wondering if you were gonna bring me dinner and I'm like, Yes, mom, Here you go and and we'll joke and we'll have. She's She's always been my best friend. So it's special times. I, I know that I need everybody said Cherish this time that your mom is still with you and I'm like I do I cherish it more than anything. So time with her is miss very special that I tried to do that as often. This again.
spk_0: 19:06
That's a very timely message to our listeners to during this crisis, it's becoming more important than ever to cherish each other and hold on to those precious moments because we don't know when we see each other, right? Do you have a message for our listeners? If that error would like to share.
spk_1: 19:20
There are so many things and I think people like you because without people like you, people don't know about possibly that did they could do? There's There's two or three things that I like to tell people and that is one. Don't let anybody tell you you can't do something. The only reason people will tell you you can't do something is because they don't think they can do it, and they know that you can't be better than them. And that's not true. You can do anything that you set your mind to prove them wrong. If anything prove them wrong. The second thing is you're never too old to do what you've always wanted to do. I even see in a few days I'll be 61 years old and at 60 I want I came in first place aren't on site in the first place. First runner up in that contest with 30,000 people 143 countries. I never thought I would get set points. He's my watchdog, but you're never too old to do what you want to do. The only thing you can do is be younger But other than that, you can do anything else. So age is just a number. And And I guess the the other would be to spay and neuter your animals. Because that's the only way we're gonna make a difference. That's the only way this is going to change. So thank you again for this invitation. Thank you again for being able to spend some time with me. Today is most appreciated. Thank you.
spk_0: 20:46
Thank you, Loser. It's our pleasure. It's my pleasure and the listeners pleasure to have heard you today. So thank you so much. You're an amazing speaker, and I wish you good luck. And hopefully you'll be back on the show soon.
spk_1: 20:56
Absolutely. Any time. Thanks so much. You're appreciate it.
spk_0: 20:59
Thank you. Thanks for joining us this week on Heroes of New York. Make sure to visit our website unseen and dot com where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes. If you love the show, please. We were rating on iTunes so that we can continue to bring you amazing episodes. Thanks for listening and see you in two weeks from now.