The Sheltering Oak Sanctuary has been what its name implies for neglected and abused pit bulls since its creation in 2010. The organization’s ultimate purpose is to rehabilitate dogs mentally and physically and make them fit for adoption.
However, sanctuary staffers are still waiting to find out if they will be able to keep their 100-acre ranch where the dogs can recover.
A fundraiser called the Pittie Party will take place on April 15 at the Wicked Shamrock in Lompoc from 3 to 7 p.m. to raise funds to save the sanctuary.
About a year and a half ago, the property owners came to Jill Anderson, co-founder of the Sheltering Oak Sanctuary, and asked if she wanted to lease the land. Now, due to uncertain circumstances, the owners are asking the sanctuary founders to purchase the land or be evicted.
“We didn’t have any intention of buying it in one year. We thought we would have several years to lease and be able to slowly raise the money to buy it,” Anderson said. “At that point we already invested in the property, we put in a lot of infrastructure for the animals, and we had to do everything we could to try to salvage it.”
The land had already been equipped with horse corrals, at least 45 acres of fencing, and a dog housing facility.
The sanctuary created the dog facility in a barn, and converted its stalls into large rooms that acted as kennels with backdoors that led out into a small yard. Anderson also described a dog room with a couch and TV.
“You can sit there and hang out with the dogs and have a more normal social interaction with them,” she said.
On the surface, having a room where dogs watch television might seem like too much, but it is all part of a carefully mapped out socialization process that has been quite effective, Anderson explained.
She said that every dog has its own needs and must be closely assessed so that it can be treated accordingly.
Anderson told a story about a particular pit bull that was brought to the sanctuary, named Honey, and described her process of rehabilitation. Honey showed fear toward other dogs, a reaction brought on by abuse she experienced from her previous handlers, who trained pit bulls to fight and used her as a “bait dog.” According to Anderson, this was evident by the bite scars on her body.
The first step to rehabilitation is to let the dog decompress.
“There is no agenda for the dog except to let it relax. While they figure out where they are at,” Anderson said.
Decompression involves letting the dog get used to its environment by roaming around on the spacious property.
In Honey’s case, she was introduced to puppies, which are non-threatening by nature. As Honey got more comfortable, the handlers exposed her to old docile dogs who were calm. In three months’ time, Honey was sharing a room with another pit bull, Anderson said.
Anderson explained that the aim of the sanctuary is not to “stockpile” dogs but to give the few dogs on the ranch a good life until a new home is found for them.
Intern Jason Banania compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 12-19, 2012.