Meet Dana Stangel of Sunland

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Stangel

Hi Dana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The Los Angeles Catio Tour began last year (2023). Our goal is to introduce people to the idea of a cat patio, or a “catio”. Catios protect cats from cars, wildlife and disease while they also protect wildlife from cats. Cats can experience most of the pleasures of being outside- the smells, the fresh air and even a view of the birds- while being protected inside. Catios also seem to have a positive effect on cat behavior in general because they are so enriching. Wildlife, especially birds, can flourish in the community when cats are safely indoors.
This self-guided tour offers a look at a variety of catios, from very simple to quite elaborate. Our goal is to present the tour in various parts of the city as our database grows. This year we are in the Pasadena area, next year we will be near LAX.
We kickoff at Pasadena Humane in the morning, people tour the catios from the late morning into the afternoon, and there is a VIP event in the evening at the Gottlieb Native Garden in Beverly Hills.
This tour is a group effort. While I am the co-chair of the Steering Committee and Teranga Ranch Wildlife is the primary sponsor, our Partners include: Pasadena Humane, Pasadena Audubon, Gottlieb Native Garden, Kitten Rescue, FixNation, Stray Cat Alliance, Tail Town, Humane Society of the United States, San Fernando Valley Audubon, Pomona Valley Audubon, Friends of La Tuna Canyon, Poison Free Malibu, Gingham Cat Dashboard Design, and Kitty Bungalow- Charm School for Wayward Cats.
We are excited to watch the event grow and spread the word about taking accountability for our pets and keeping them safe.
If anyone reading this has a catio or would like to volunteer for this awesome annual event, we’d love to involve you.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the things that’s difficult about this task is pulling together various organizations with various missions. We decided to agree that the only thing we for sure agree upon, is that catios are beneficial to cats and to wildlife. It’s exciting to come together once a year for this fun, creative event that reminds us what we have in common.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Los Angeles Catio Tour is a project of Teranga Ranch Wildlife, a local native wildlife education organization that I founded in 2006. We are known for doing wildlife talks, taking people on field trips to see native wildlife, presenting workshops, training docents at nature centers, and helping people with wildlife situations in their backyards and communities. We learned a long time ago that we can’t talk about native wildlife without talking about how to keep our pets safe, so it’s always part of our presentations. While we have presentations on virtually all the members of our local wildlife community, coyotes are our passion and the number one request for our presentations.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We are always looking for volunteers!! We are also always happy to take a donation, as this helps us get the word out further.

Pricing:

• Virtual/Online Ticket: $20
• Regular Ticket: $25
• Kids Ticket: $15
• VIP Ticket: $80

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.losangelescatiotour.com
• Instagram: @losangelescatiotour
• Facebook: @losangelescatiotour
• Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-los-angeles-catio-tour-2024-tickets-885924813967?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Image Credits
@catioguy