Meet Mark McKibben, L.A. Animal Rescue’s Volunteer Extraordinaire!

June 13, 2012 - PRLog -- L.A. Animal Rescue thrives on volunteer support. Many of the volunteers, in addition to donating money and assisting at adoption events, also foster animals for the organization. Mark McKibben is one such volunteer who spends much of his free time fostering rescue dogs.

Mark is not a full time rescuer; he has made his career as a communications executive. Mark is also a father, grandfather, and husband to his wife of 38 years, Carol. He nevertheless is indispensable to LAAR. He is a self-proclaimed “dog enthusiast,” meaning he enjoys training his foster dogs as a hobby.

He uses the help of his own dog, Neo, an enormous labra-doodle who is a registered therapy dog. Neo is “employed” at Northridge Hospital, where he gives emotional healing to patients, including children. This gentle canine giant is a therapeutic presence to other dogs with emotional trauma, and he assists Mark in socializing them.

The latest contribution from the McKibben family is the fostering of Winston, a blond boxer-pit/mastiff mix. He now weighs about 70 pounds, but was an emaciated wretch over a year ago when he was pulled from a L.A. County animal shelter. He had been held at North Central Animal Shelter for about three months before a network of animal rescuers was able to gather enough funds to extricate him. His extrication was of the utmost importance, as many shelters euthanize frequently and routinely to alleviate overcrowding.

When LAAR finally took possession of Winston, he had been in vet boarding for about a year, and was prescribed canine Prozac because of perceived behavioral problems. At some point before LAAR appropriated him, surgery had been performed on the ACLs of his hind legs. These unfortunate incidents caused considerable anxiety for Winston, and therefore he was behaving abnormally around other animals. Su Roos, LAAR’s founder, believed his behavioral problems were a manifestation of his stress level and his traumatic experience thus far. She observed he was a wonderful companion to kids, and decided to discontinue the Prozac. Fortunately for Su, Mark had just finished fostering and adopting out another dog, and he agreed to take on Winston.

Currently, Winston’s behavior has improved considerably. He is now calm and happy, albeit playful and energetic. The cessation in his hostility with other dogs can be credited to Neo, the labra-doodle, who has been a soothing influence. Most of the progress is due to Winston’s own good-naturedness, but he would not have advanced without Mark’s patient and unwavering tutelage. Winston is currently available for adoption through http://laar.org. Any questions or concerns can be addressed by calling Su Roos at 818-335-1658.