Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Davis and Keli Omalley.
Jessica and Keli, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My friend Keli Omalley and I met a few years ago while volunteering for various rescue organizations. We would often go to the shelters to pick up dogs to rescue. While doing this, Keli and I noticed so many animals that were in need of medical care that sat at the shelter. These animals were passed by often due to their need for serious medical workups which could be very costly. We then bounced the idea off of one another about starting our own nonprofit, specifically helping animals that needed medical attention. We figured with Keli’s veterinary tech background and my business background and both our passions for helping animals, we could create something really special! A few weeks later, Rock and Roll Rescue was formed! Fast forward to three years later, we have saved over 200 severe medical cases from the LA animal shelters and or from calls from the public about injured animals found.
Although our focus is primarily on animals that we are able to take on ourselves as a rescue, we often help the public when they are faced with the inability to pay for life-saving services for their companion pets. Keli Omalley tends to focus on senior and hospice dogs while I have gravitated towards the rescue of neonatal kittens due to our explosive kitten season that California has every year. We often bring our saved animals to elementary and middle schools to speak to the children about the importance of caring for your animals and adopting from local shelters or rescue groups. We have received emails from parents saying how we have impacted their child, so its working! Our future goals are to of course expand our operations and help more animals, maybe one day have an adoption facility!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am not sure if there is a smooth road to animal rescuing! There have been a lot of ups and downs, learning curves, and adjustments along the way. I think some of our continuous struggles is the fundraising aspect of the rescuing we do. We solely rely on our donations from the public to fund our operations. Because we focus on animals with medical needs, our veterinary bills are always high and we are constantly needing to fundraise. Both Keli and I work full time in our professions and the rescue is a full-time endeavor in itself. Something I have learned along the way is to trust. So often, we want to do everything ourselves because we think it will only get done best if we do it, but along the way, we are learning that there are so many amazing humans that want to help.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Rock and Roll Rescue – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Our mission statement is as follows: We are a non-profit 501c3 rescue in Los Angeles CA that is committed to taking on difficult cases such as abused, medical, trauma and dogs/cats needing long or short term hospice care.
We were founded in 2017 after many visits to the shelters left us hopeless for the dogs and cats that needed rescuing the most. Although the shelters do an amazing job at helping the animals that come through, the high volume of intake leaves them with no choice but to constantly make room for the influx.
We commit our resources and time to finding homes for animals that are truly vulnerable and otherwise may not get their second chance at a fur-ever life.
We have bridged our passion for music and animals by finding artists that share the same desire to educate and spread the awareness of our adopt don’t shop message!
We are most proud of our dedication to each of the animals that we rescue. To the vet care and then eventually finding them the perfect home. We are extremely protective of our animals and take the time to find the most perfect home for them and their personalities. It can be timely to find the perfect fit, however, we strive to give the animals the best opportunity to thrive in a loving home.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have some exciting ideas! We were working on a cool project right before Covid-19 hit. The goal of This project is to bring more awareness to the animals in the shelter, especially the larger dogs that have been there for a while. Stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rockandrollrescues.com
- Phone: 321-262-7726
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rockandrollrescue
- Facebook: @rockandrollrescues
Image Credit:
Jessica Davis / Keli Omalley
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
