Pick of the Litter

A Charitable Cause Conceived in Love

A number of La Feria animal lovers have found a charitable cause that merits more attention. The organization is officially known as Pick of the Litter Rescue, Inc. based in Donna, Texas. It is a non-profit, tax exempt entity dedicated to rescuing abandoned, abused dogs and cats, and finding them new families. According to its founder, it’s a “cause conceived in love for animals.”

The organization was established in 2009 by its director, Joseph Leitch. He also has a non-profit animal rescue facility in Alamo, Texas called Recycled Rovers. His motivation was expressed when he said, “I’ve had a life-long love of animals, and it just made me want to cry when I saw so many beautiful, loveable dogs and cats being put-down when they could bring such joy to new owners if I could get them together. We saw the need for an animal rescue business here in the Valley.“

To learn more about this fascinating group, we visited with Nancy McManus, office coordinator at the Donna main office. She began her association with the founder in 2010 when their paths crossed when he accepted a lost dog in her care. She joined Leitch and his daughter Michelle on the ground floor of the new charitable enterprise.

McManus said, “we listed our Pick of the Litter animals on the internet under the name of “Pet Finders :tab (shelters/Pick of the Litter. “The response was immediate. We got many requests from people wanting to provide foster homes and adopt our pets. We offered free fostering plans with the object of providing permanent homes.”

As a result, Pick of the Litter rescued animals have found homes coast-to-coast and even Mexico and Canada for our charges. She added that special health certificates showing the required shots are necessary for international transfers.
“I could tell you so many heart-tugging stories about placements and the happiness of the pets and the new family,” she said, then laughed, “but you wouldn’t have space.”

“There was this one beautiful show-quality dog named “Simon” I still remember vividly,” she said. “His master died, and there was no one to look after this wonderful indoor pet. So, we put out the story, and shortly the right family showed up to adopt him.”

The organization just recently had 3 adoptions to La Feria citizens. “We have the help of the La Feria Police Chief and the animal control officer in those placements,” she said. “All these animals were probably saved from euthanasia had not someone stepped forward to adopt. We handle all types of breeds, sizes and conditions of dogs, cats, and other critters–we even had a snake turned in for adoption,” she remarked. “We found a home for it.”

“Sometimes, we never see the dog or the new owners,” she said. “We do it all on the internet. We’ve placed pure bred animals this way from California to Canada. We have just issued our tag number #1200. Since I began with the organization, I have personally found loving homes for 688 of these fortunate pooches and kitties.”

“In your article,” she said, “we also would like to give special thanks to Mirella Livingston, Vice Principal of the La Feria High School, Karen Martinez, Spanish teacher at W.B. Green Middle School, and Lupita Valdez, Noemi Dominguez elementary teacher, for their valuable contributions and assistance to our animal rescue mission.

The Pick of the Littler animal rescue mission has been tremendously assisted by local veterinarians: Dr. Jack Valerius of Harlingen and Dr.Lindsey Fultz at Sendero Veterinarian Service (formerly known as Rio Rico Veterinarian Service in Mercedes).

Many have asked how they can help this charitable, non-profit group: McManus said, “We are always in need of blankets, towels, pet care products, carriers, dog and cat food,” she said, adding, “anyone wanting to donate supplies can send them directly to Sendero Vet Services, Mercedes, Texas under our account name “Pick of the Litter.”

“I’ve had many jobs in my life that I enjoyed,” she said, “but helping these defenseless, abandoned animals is such a rewarding work to know that I’ve saved an animal’s life and found a loving family to care for it makes this the most satisfying work I’ve ever done.”

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