Who we are
A group of dog loving volunteers who have a special place in our hearts for Cocker Spaniels. Many of our volunteers are also Camp Cocker adopters so don't be shy about asking how you can get involved! Camp Cocker founder, Cathy Stanley, has dedicated herself to running the rescue full time. She looks forward to building up enough volunteers to be able to one day take Camp Cocker from a small little rescue to a more moderate sized rescue that can thrive and expand to help more dogs.
Camp Cocker Rescue is a non-profit organization that operates under the Katrina Dog Rescue 501c3 (Tax ID# 20-8687566)
Check out the compelling stories of cocker rescue in the Camp Cocker Video Library.
What we do
Our primary mission is to rescue dogs from high kill shelters in the Los Angeles region. There are more than thirty high kill shelters that are within a 125 mile radius of Los Angeles County. The amount of dogs in shelters are overwhelming. On any given day there can be between two and seven cockers PER shelter! We have a "worry list" that can have up to sixty cockers on it. These are the dogs in immediate danger of being put to sleep.
We can't save them all, we can't even save ten percent of them. But instead of giving up, we are determined to save whom we can, one dog at a time. Because the shelter dogs are at most risk, we rarely accept owner relinquishments.
If you have a cocker spaniel that you are trying to relinquish, we may only be able to consider taking in your dog if you can make a donation towards their boarding and medical expenses. Please know that by accepting your dog, it will mean that the life of a shelter dog is not going to be saved.
Our rehoming process is rather selective as our aim is not just to adopt the dogs out as quickly as possible, but rather to adopt the dogs out to the home that is most right for that specific dog. A home that is most likely to be able to make a life long commitment to that dog (that could be up to a fifteen year commitment). Our adoption process is quite lengthy, however it helps to screen out the adopters whom perhaps may be looking for a dog on an impulse and have not quite planned to make such a long term commitment. Those adopters whom are ready, are committed and have thought it all through carefully, those are the ones that end up filling out an adoption application and moving forward with adopting a dog from Camp Cocker.
We are a "For Life" rescue organization
We do not call ourselves a No Kill rescue organization because we will not attempt to adopt out dogs who have aggression. We feel that we are responsible for the dogs that we place in new homes and that if we knowingly have an aggressive dog on our hands, it is irresponsible to adopt that dog out.
Generally an aggressive dog has very few humane options for how to live out its life. There are other rescue groups who will send aggressive dogs to sanctuaries where the dog will live out its life in an outdoor kennel, with very little to no human interaction, very little to no time outside of a dog kennel. To keep a dog alive, in conditions where it is like living in a prison cell, is not what we want for any dog. We feel this is an inhumane thing to do to a dog. The dog may be alive, but it is not "living" a quality life, rather existing in a confined space.
We care about every dog that comes into our rescue group and when faced with the prospect of having to put a dog to sleep for aggression, it is only after consulting a professional animal behaviorist that we make our decision on how to proceed. We take this very seriously and it is a very heart wrenching decision to have to make. This is one of the most devastating things that we have had to do and it is with heavy heart and much sadness that at times, we have had to let a dog go in order to protect the future people that dog might pose a danger to.
To clarify, there are variations on aggression. Cockers with "handling" issues who will bite in a predictable manner (if the paws are handled or the butt is touched), or cockers who will bite when feeling trapped or fearful - these are dogs that can be worked with. When biting is predictable, a dog can still be adopted to a dog savvy, responsible, adult only home. We only put dogs to sleep for extreme and unpredictable aggression, such as resource guarding. It has been resource guarding cockers that have posed the most danger, to anyone whom interacts with them. Resource guarding is generally learned in the first eight to twelve weeks of a puppy's life and the perfect training ground for this is when an inexperienced or unethical breeder is not socializing the litter right from day one. It is perpetuated then by the inexperienced adopter whom does not know enough about puppy socializing that the behavior then becomes further molded. What happens in the first eight to sixteen weeks of a puppy's life, is shaping the adult dog that he/she will one day become.
The History of Camp Cocker Rescue and how it all began
