Actor starts animal sanctuary and houses 1500 discarded pets
Famous Actor Leo Grillo's Delta Rescue Houses 1,500 Abandoned Pets In Southern California.
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35 years ago, Leo Grillo, an actor, was naive enough to think he could get people to stop dumping dogs and cats in the forests and deserts of Southern California. He soon discovered how wrong he was. There has been no end to the number of discarded animals he finds along the road.
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Because of this Grillo promised that every unwanted animal that crossed his path that he would keep it safe and do all he could to keep it happy and healthy for life. He started DELTA (Dedication & Everlasting Love to Animals) in 1979 and today, with 1,500 dogs, cats and horses, it is the largest no-kill, care-for-life sanctuary in the nation for abandoned pets.
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The sanctuary sits on 115 hilltop acres in western Los Angeles County and has an annual budget of $8 million and about 50 employees. It includes a state-of-the-art hospital, a full-time veterinarian and its own fire department. DELTA Rescue was one of the first no-kill sanctuaries in the country.
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To make the houses for the dogs to live in, so Grillo came up with straw-baled dog houses. The houses have wood on the inside and stucco on the outside to make them last longer. A pool completes each dog's quarters. "The sanctuary is my line in the sand. With the animals, it is fire," Grillo said.
