Kaley Cuoco Solicits Aid For Prison Program That’s Rescuing Animals From California Wildfires
Given the magnitude of the crisis Californians are facing as the deadliest wildfires on record rage through the state, Kaley Cuoco is spreading the love she has for living things beyond her long-favored Paw Works animal rescue shelter.
In an effort to garner support for other initiatives that have been actively saving the lives of animals affected by the disasters, the Big Bang Theory star took to Instagram to begin recommending agencies that she’d love for her followers to direct donations towards, making her message plain on Tuesday, November 13.
At the top of Cuoco’s list was the Paws For Life prison dog training program, which Cuoco acknowledged for taking in scores of displaced pooches that have been passed on from shelters that are already filled to capacity. The 32-year-old actress encouraged the public to foster — or adopt — if at all possible. But for those who simply cannot make such a commitment, she provided Paws For Life’s contact information, in hopes that the organization might see a surge of funds to help sustain their work.
As was noted in a piece published by the Los Angeles Times last year, Cuoco has been a resourceful animal rescue advocate for over a decade now. She actually obtained custody of both of her mixed pit bull terriers (Norman and Ruby) by way of adoption from shelters, and owns seven professional show horses to boot. Cuoco has, in the past, explained that the way pit bulls have long been perceived, profiled, and treated in society inspired her activism. And given the stellar track record that Paws For Life has represented since it started overseeing the rehabilitation of abandoned canines — under the care of inmates at Lancaster County Prison and Mule Creek State Prison, in 2014 — it appears that Cuoco has warmed up to the idea of giving convicts a second chance as well.
The role that prison inmates have thus far played in helping to fight the Woolsey, Hill, and Camp fires has been an invaluable one. The Inquisitr was one of the publications to report that county fire departments had become so overwhelmed by the task of putting out the fast approaching flames that they collaborated with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The outcome was an effort to relieve firefighters via the assistance of inmates being paid as little as $2 per hour. The move wasn’t received well by everybody, with many accusing the state of sanctioning modern day slave labor through such an endeavor.
Paws for Life, on the other hand, is driven by different dynamic entirely, one which can be equally rewarding to inmates who get to bond with — and groom — a pet companion. And considering the death and destruction that has resulted, it would be hard to contest that such a program is deeply needed. NBC cited deputy director of operations for Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control, Allison Cardona, as projecting that at least 10,000 pets have been displaced as a result of the Ventura County and Butte County infernos.
