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Becoming a Neighborhood Cat Champion: Rebecca Bourgeois on TNR
Episode 15 • Bonus Episode • 9th May 2025 • Animal Posse • Unwanted Feline Organization
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Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Thank you Rebecca for joining me today.

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Rebecca: You're welcome.

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I'm so excited to be here with you.

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Dixie: You do TNR

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Rebecca: I do.

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Dixie: And what group do you do that for?

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Rebecca: I do it with the Jefferson SPCA.

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Dixie: Can you tell us a little

bit about your background and

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how you became involved in TNR?

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Rebecca: Yes.

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So I've always been an animal lover

since day one, since I was little.

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My mom had probably 15, 20 cats in

and around our house growing up.

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Huge animal family.

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I started working with Jefferson Parish

Parks and Recreation in 2014, and so

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after 10 years at the same job, it's

like, what can I do to make coming

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to work something that I love to do?

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So how can I incorporate

animals into my job?

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So I've always wanted to volunteer,

but volunteering with different

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organizations is so stressful because

there's so many requirements and.

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Applications you have to fill out and

you have to schedule appointments.

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So I never really did that

'cause that freaked me out.

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But I was like, okay, with my platform I

can do this, and then I'll open it up to

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volunteers and people will come to me to

volunteer and I'll do all the scheduling.

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So now I'm not alone going to volunteer,

and that makes it easier for me.

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I found Rachel because my mother she has

community cats and she had reached out to

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Rachel and Rachel did some TNR for her.

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So my mom was like, you should

reach out to Rachel with the

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Jefferson SPCA and maybe y'all can

volunteer there with your new group.

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So the group is called JP Helping

Paws, and this is probably

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our second or third ish year.

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So I met Rachel doing all that.

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And if Rachel, she's very.

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Loud and outgoing and to

the point, and I love that.

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So just volunteering there.

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I started hearing about trapping

cats and something about it always

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freaked me out a little bit.

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Just the unknown of it, my fiance works

at Game On Social Hub and the owners,

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there are big cat people, which we

love, but she had some cats in the

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back that she wanted help trapping.

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So Rachel was like, I'm gonna go, I'll

bring the van, come with me and learn.

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I was like, okay.

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So we got the big van,

loaded it up with traps.

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Rachel's showing me how to do it,

setting 'em, and then you just hear

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'em, clicking and setting off and

she's like, oh, go see what we got.

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And I'm like okay.

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And then it's like, oh

look, it's a little one.

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And so it was just like the

thrill of like, what did we get?

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That kind of like pulled me in.

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Once I saw how easy it was, I was

like, okay like this takes no effort.

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You literally set a metal box and they

walk into it and then you're done.

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So I was like, I can do this.

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I can totally do this.

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So I still hadn't had like a neighborhood

to trap in or anything like that.

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But where I work, I drive through

airline park neighborhood to get to

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my job sometimes, and I saw a little

black kitten crossing the street.

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So immediately, my first instinct

is let me try and grab him.

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And I saw him run into their backyard.

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So I tell Rachel and she's

like, come get a door hanger.

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The door hanger says, we notice there's

community cats in the neighborhood.

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We wanna trap them, do t and r.

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Here's my name and number.

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Contact me.

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So I put them out on some doors and

then the next day I got a text message.

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Hey we saw your door hanger and we

would love for you to come trap our cat.

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And I was like, this is it.

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Like this is it.

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I've been trapping there

for over a year now.

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At the same houses, the people who live

there are like my best friends now.

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They're probably fifties

and up, but they're the

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sweetest people ever, but they are

your typical feeders, not fixers.

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So it's easy for me because it's

right around the corner from my job,

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so I can drop traps in the morning.

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They'll keep an eye on 'em.

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I can pick 'em up after work

and go drop 'em off at the J.

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It was just so exciting, once you

start setting those traps and grabbing

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things and then you really feel

it like, I am making a difference.

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Like I literally took maybe an hour out

of my day and I truly made a difference.

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I can see that I made a difference.

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Like these cats will

never get pregnant again.

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They will never impregnate anyone.

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I just put a dent even in, this

house, this block community, I

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myself have put a dent in it.

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So I, once I saw that, I

was like, this is so cool.

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I love this.

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It's so easy and like.

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Being an animal lover does not save lives.

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Unfortunately.

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Just being an animal lover does nothing.

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How many people do we all know?

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Like I'm an animal lover.

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It's like, but what do you do?

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Like, what are you doing for that?

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So it's like I just love the

fact that like, no, like I

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actually am making a difference.

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I am.

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Dixie: Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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And you're right about all the animal

lovers, like especially on social media.

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Rebecca: Oh my God.

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Yeah.

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Dixie: That is like my

biggest pet peeve ever.

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When they're like, oh, I need

somebody to come help this kitten.

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I love animals, but somebody else

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come do the work.

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Rebecca: That's one of my pet peeves

too, because once you and your community

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know that you're a doer, anytime

there's a social media post, you get

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tagged by everyone and it's like, wait.

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You're just as capable as I am.

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Like, are you scared?

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You have a vehicle, you have free time.

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Why are you tagging me

to come save the day?

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Like.

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I think it's amazing that y'all are,

and I love that y'all think of me like

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that, but like you are capable too.

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I love being the person that

people go to solve the problems

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and I love being able to help.

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But we all need to be helping.

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Like the problem is big enough.

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We all need to be helping Stop

tagging me, tag me to say, Hey

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Rebecca, I did this myself.

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Aren't you proud of me?

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Yes.

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Absolutely.

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Dixie: Now you said your group,

JP Helping Paws is different.

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So can you explain how it is

different from the other groups?

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Rebecca: So we're a volunteer group.

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I set everything up and I

basically just let people know.

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We meet up once a month at a different

organization, wherever, and I'll

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let them know like, Hey, this month

we're going to help A Tail in Need,

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do their adoption day at PetSmart.

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I need you to be here at

this time, this place.

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This is how long it's gonna be lasting.

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This is what you're gonna be doing.

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You let me know if you're coming.

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And then I'll reach out to that

rescue and I tell them, I've

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got five volunteers coming.

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Whatever the case may be.

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But there is no legwork for

the people in the group.

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They literally read the email

and tell me I'll be there or

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I won't, and then that's it.

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It's so low commitment.

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It's no work on their part,

and that's what I love, like.

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It's trouble for me 'cause I'm the

one planning all of it the whole year.

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But I signed up for it and it's my job.

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I do that now.

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But it's just so easy for them.

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There's just no commitment,

with everything going on.

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Everyone is so busy.

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And to just see an email and

be like, yeah, that's cool.

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I'll be there.

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Or I'll catch you next month.

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Like, that's it.

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They just show up.

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When we get to the different

organizations and everything, I am

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the one advocating for our group

saying, Hey, we're JP Helping Paws.

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What can, what do y'all need today?

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Are we walking dogs?

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Are we cleaning cat cages?

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Do you need your bathrooms cleaned?

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Are their laundry, do

you need anything folded?

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What you need?

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And I'll, I introduce all

the volunteers together.

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Like I make sure that everyone feels

like safe and included and no one feels

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shy or uncomfortable with anything.

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'cause like I know how that

is and I don't like that.

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I don't like awkwardness, so I try to

make sure that everyone feels included.

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If someone doesn't want a

big dog, like I'll take it.

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What do you want?

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What would you feel comfortable doing?

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If they need the bathrooms cleaned

and no one's interested, I'll clean

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your bathrooms, we, and then I'm

like, okay, we got, 10 minutes left.

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Do y'all need anything else?

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We're gonna wrap up.

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Like, it's really just easy.

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It makes it so easy for these

people to volunteer with us.

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And I encourage everyone while we're

there, take all the photos and videos.

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You can send them to me and then I'll

post them and tag the organization so that

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they can reshare it or just so that more

people can get eyes on their adoptables.

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'cause that's the name of the game, I

feel like it's so important for us to.

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Relieve the volunteers or the workers

of these organizations who literally

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dedicate their lives to this.

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If they can sit down for an hour

while we're cleaning their bathrooms

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and sweeping their floors and walking

their dogs, that's all that matters.

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It's just so important to just

help with that kind of stuff.

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We've been told we got a

bunch of trash in the back.

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If y'all could help

bring it to the dumpster.

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It's been back there a while, and I'm

like, yeah, like we can throw trash away.

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Absolutely.

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Like, what do you need?

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Come on, tell me, what do you need?

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I love that.

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I don't know.

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To my knowledge, I don't know of any

other volunteer groups like that.

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And to me it's very special.

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I love our little group.

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And I hope that it grows and flourishes.

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Dixie: And how many

people are in your group?

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Rebecca: So it varies.

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The first year we did it, we

probably had about 50 people in it.

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'cause it was new and people

didn't know what to expect of it.

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Right now I probably have

around 20 out of those 20 I.

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Definitely have about five diehards that

are there next to me every single time.

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Some of our volunteers have children

and because of their children's

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obligations, they might not be able

to come out as often as they'd like.

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And then some of them ask for their kids

being able to volunteer, which is another

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threshold challenge in volunteer work.

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Because you need to be 18

and older for everywhere.

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There's liability with

animals and all of that.

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So there's not a lot of opportunity for

children, but there absolutely are at

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least two rescues that I know of that do

allow children to come help and interact

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with the animals, which is important

for them to learn at an early age.

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They grow up to be, beautiful,

intelligent cat women like the rest of us.

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It's important.

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Dixie: It's very important.

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I agree with that.

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Definitely.

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I did wanna have you on the show

today because you teach TNR classes.

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So how long have you been

teaching TNR classes and what

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inspired you to start that?

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Rebecca: So we started in January.

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It is Jefferson Parish is 200th year.

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So Jefferson Parish has had a huge

push for bicentennial advertisement,

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branding and all that jazz.

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Of course, helping animals

is always first on my mind.

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How can I wrap my job into

helping animals somehow some way.

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So being someone who does TNRI

know the challenges of it,

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and I know the need for it.

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So if it's like, let me make

this a initiative and try to

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teach 200 people to TNR, even if.

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Five people end up actually doing it.

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That's a success.

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If one person ends up actually

doing it, that's a success.

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Just people sitting and listening

to the class and hearing about it.

236

00:10:44,090 --> 00:10:46,790

Is a success in my book because

now they know a little bit

237

00:10:46,790 --> 00:10:48,860

more than when they walked in.

238

00:10:49,170 --> 00:10:52,380

Not everyone's a cat person and

that's fine, but just knowing the

239

00:10:52,380 --> 00:10:55,020

facts about community cats is huge.

240

00:10:55,020 --> 00:10:58,230

Like you don't have to

like cats to do TNR.

241

00:10:58,230 --> 00:10:58,710

You don't.

242

00:10:58,710 --> 00:10:59,340

You have to.

243

00:10:59,690 --> 00:11:01,460

Be compassionate and

wanna make a difference.

244

00:11:01,460 --> 00:11:03,350

So I teach that in the class.

245

00:11:03,380 --> 00:11:05,660

We started, January was our first class.

246

00:11:05,660 --> 00:11:08,480

We do one every single

month for this year.

247

00:11:08,780 --> 00:11:11,780

And I think I'm gonna

continue it after 2025.

248

00:11:12,110 --> 00:11:16,420

Maybe I'll do two a year or maybe

just a handful of them a year.

249

00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,200

Right now we started, I wanted to

do a balance between the East Bank

250

00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:22,120

and West Bank of Jefferson Parish.

251

00:11:22,630 --> 00:11:24,490

'cause there's a need on

both sides of the river.

252

00:11:24,490 --> 00:11:26,080

It doesn't matter where

you are, there's a need.

253

00:11:26,410 --> 00:11:28,240

So we do back to back.

254

00:11:29,855 --> 00:11:33,395

Each month we do one in the East

Bank for two months and then

255

00:11:33,395 --> 00:11:34,505

the West Bank for two months.

256

00:11:34,685 --> 00:11:36,245

So I've been bouncing back and forth.

257

00:11:36,695 --> 00:11:40,085

We haven't reached my goal of

200 yet, but I'm not discouraged.

258

00:11:40,085 --> 00:11:42,755

I'm still gonna keep trying

until December of 2025.

259

00:11:43,355 --> 00:11:46,505

But a lot of the people who

have been attending, they all

260

00:11:46,505 --> 00:11:49,265

obviously have seen community

cats, which is why they signed up.

261

00:11:49,265 --> 00:11:50,945

They wanna make a

difference, they wanna help.

262

00:11:51,095 --> 00:11:52,865

And they have a lot of

good questions in class.

263

00:11:52,865 --> 00:11:56,015

Like they're not just sitting

there like they are interested.

264

00:11:56,540 --> 00:12:01,160

I don't know if some of them are going

to do TNR, but I feel confident that

265

00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,170

if they wanted to, they would know how.

266

00:12:03,530 --> 00:12:07,500

I had one woman who I think she lived

on the West Bank, but she attended

267

00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:11,610

an East Bank class and her husband

is in the military, so she's gonna be

268

00:12:11,610 --> 00:12:15,330

moving outta state, and she was like,

I'm really excited to find a rescue

269

00:12:15,330 --> 00:12:17,880

where we move to and do TNR with them.

270

00:12:17,980 --> 00:12:19,840

I was likes Amazing.

271

00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,070

Dixie: That is awesome.

272

00:12:21,070 --> 00:12:21,790

Rebecca: I know.

273

00:12:21,790 --> 00:12:23,950

I was like, I love that for you.

274

00:12:24,130 --> 00:12:26,380

She was like, I hope they

have a program like y'all do.

275

00:12:26,380 --> 00:12:27,520

I was like, Ugh, me too.

276

00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,090

But I told her, no matter where

you go, you're gonna find cats.

277

00:12:31,330 --> 00:12:33,250

So it's a good skill to have.

278

00:12:33,430 --> 00:12:34,090

Dixie: Definitely.

279

00:12:34,550 --> 00:12:36,950

What topics do you cover in the TNR class?

280

00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:41,270

Rebecca: I feel like I really

cover the beginning to end what to

281

00:12:41,270 --> 00:12:43,790

do when you see a community cat.

282

00:12:44,150 --> 00:12:45,710

How to rent the trap.

283

00:12:45,770 --> 00:12:48,440

Once you have the trap,

how do you prep the trap?

284

00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:49,340

What do you do with it?

285

00:12:49,340 --> 00:12:52,910

What do you do with the cat

before and after surgery?

286

00:12:52,910 --> 00:12:54,080

How do you make the appointments?

287

00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:55,490

Where do you make the appointments?

288

00:12:56,090 --> 00:13:01,160

All of the things After the cat is

released, what do you do with the trap?

289

00:13:01,210 --> 00:13:05,020

There is so many steps to TNR.

290

00:13:05,470 --> 00:13:11,050

As easy as it is, the prep

and the after is so much work.

291

00:13:11,590 --> 00:13:13,540

It's rewarding and it's easy work.

292

00:13:13,700 --> 00:13:18,020

Like loading and unloading the dishwasher,

like my God, who wants to do that?

293

00:13:18,050 --> 00:13:20,390

But it has to be done and it's not hard.

294

00:13:20,390 --> 00:13:21,470

It's just annoying.

295

00:13:21,570 --> 00:13:23,820

So all of that's in there.

296

00:13:24,270 --> 00:13:26,250

I go over all of the things.

297

00:13:26,250 --> 00:13:31,220

If there's, babies, what to do

if you get two cats in one trap,

298

00:13:31,220 --> 00:13:35,950

if it's pregnant you know how to

look for an ear tip, all of that.

299

00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,710

I've only been trapping for a little

over a year, so I've learned a lot

300

00:13:40,710 --> 00:13:43,710

in a short amount of time, and I

know I have so much more to learn.

301

00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,470

But every trap trapper traps differently.

302

00:13:46,905 --> 00:13:48,885

That's not a good thing or a bad thing.

303

00:13:48,885 --> 00:13:52,755

We all have our own little nuances,

our own little things that we do.

304

00:13:53,055 --> 00:13:57,445

A couple classes I'll have

another TNR Trapper come to the

305

00:13:57,445 --> 00:13:59,245

class to share their experience.

306

00:13:59,575 --> 00:14:01,585

If I don't have anyone

coming, no big deal.

307

00:14:01,585 --> 00:14:02,485

I can do it myself.

308

00:14:02,485 --> 00:14:05,965

I can answer almost all the questions

myself, but if someone wants to

309

00:14:05,965 --> 00:14:09,445

come and help me with the class,

they're more than welcome to.

310

00:14:10,075 --> 00:14:14,235

It's just, everyone's got their, some

trappers mix up all their food beforehand

311

00:14:14,235 --> 00:14:15,765

and bring it prepared in a Tupperware.

312

00:14:15,765 --> 00:14:19,185

I'm cracking cans in the street

with a spoon in a bag for my trash.

313

00:14:19,235 --> 00:14:22,085

It's just, everyone's got their own

little things, and I don't think

314

00:14:22,085 --> 00:14:23,525

anyone's are better and worse.

315

00:14:23,525 --> 00:14:25,445

It's all, we are all

learning from each other,

316

00:14:25,445 --> 00:14:28,145

Dixie: The target audience,

would that be anybody?

317

00:14:28,565 --> 00:14:31,805

Rebecca: Literally anybody,

I say 18 and up just because.

318

00:14:33,410 --> 00:14:35,840

I'm not gonna say I've put

myself in dangerous situations.

319

00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,310

I'm gonna say interesting situations,

so I wouldn't open it to children.

320

00:14:40,370 --> 00:14:45,440

Now, if a parent wants to come with their

child and teach them, come on, it's free.

321

00:14:45,860 --> 00:14:47,420

I would love for them to learn.

322

00:14:47,780 --> 00:14:51,650

I just want them to be at least

18 to start trapping on their own.

323

00:14:52,250 --> 00:14:55,400

I was in a very interesting

situation yesterday.

324

00:14:55,850 --> 00:14:56,870

I ended up leaving

325

00:14:56,870 --> 00:14:57,570

cat less

326

00:14:57,590 --> 00:14:59,000

but I had the cats and traps.

327

00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,920

But that might be a story for another day.

328

00:15:01,950 --> 00:15:02,670

Dixie: Maybe we'll get to

329

00:15:02,670 --> 00:15:03,960

that one afterwards.

330

00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:04,200

Rebecca: Yeah.

331

00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:04,980

Yeah.

332

00:15:05,355 --> 00:15:06,585

Dixie: We'll go through the class first.

333

00:15:06,585 --> 00:15:06,675

Yes.

334

00:15:06,675 --> 00:15:08,115

And then you can tell us the story.

335

00:15:08,685 --> 00:15:08,775

Rebecca: Yes.

336

00:15:10,045 --> 00:15:10,405

Dixie: Does

337

00:15:10,405 --> 00:15:12,745

the class include hands-on training?

338

00:15:13,285 --> 00:15:17,965

Rebecca: So I tell everyone if they're

interested in doing what I call a ride

339

00:15:17,965 --> 00:15:23,685

along, they're welcome to send me an email

and if I'm not trapping on that day,

340

00:15:23,685 --> 00:15:27,525

we'll find you a trapper that you can

meet up with and you can see it hands on.

341

00:15:27,825 --> 00:15:31,635

I do bring my trap bag with

me and all of the things that

342

00:15:31,665 --> 00:15:33,705

come with it, I bring traps.

343

00:15:33,805 --> 00:15:34,585

Regular traps.

344

00:15:34,585 --> 00:15:37,645

I brought a fat cap trap and I

brought a kitten trap just to

345

00:15:37,645 --> 00:15:39,505

show them this is what it is.

346

00:15:39,505 --> 00:15:41,935

I show them how it works, how

it's triggered, how you set

347

00:15:41,935 --> 00:15:45,835

it, how you clean it, how you

cover it, line it, all of that.

348

00:15:46,045 --> 00:15:48,925

So I bring all of the things and

I show them I have a trap fork.

349

00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:50,845

I show 'em how all of that's done.

350

00:15:51,145 --> 00:15:55,555

But if they wanna go like in the

field and learn on the job experience,

351

00:15:55,795 --> 00:15:56,935

they just need to send us an email.

352

00:15:56,935 --> 00:15:58,675

Say, Hey, I'm interested in coming out.

353

00:15:59,095 --> 00:16:02,485

I've had one person come

out with me and he learned.

354

00:16:02,885 --> 00:16:05,105

It's so much to absorb your first time.

355

00:16:05,105 --> 00:16:09,695

It's almost overwhelming,

but I promise you it's really

356

00:16:09,755 --> 00:16:11,345

not that, it's not that hard.

357

00:16:11,345 --> 00:16:14,165

Once you come out a couple times,

you're like, oh, okay, this, the

358

00:16:14,165 --> 00:16:17,615

main thing is setting the trap

and get in the cat, and that's it,

359

00:16:17,745 --> 00:16:20,145

Dixie: I find a lot of people

are actually scared of the traps.

360

00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:20,280

Rebecca: Really

361

00:16:20,670 --> 00:16:23,350

, Dixie: and they don't know

how to operate the trap.

362

00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:23,830

Rebecca: Yeah.

363

00:16:24,010 --> 00:16:28,660

Dixie: And once you show them how

easy it is to just set the trap

364

00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:28,990

Rebecca: so easy.

365

00:16:29,020 --> 00:16:29,890

Dixie: It's super easy.

366

00:16:29,890 --> 00:16:32,710

And pretty much there's a couple

of different traps out there,

367

00:16:32,710 --> 00:16:32,830

Rebecca: yeah

368

00:16:32,830 --> 00:16:33,175

there are,

369

00:16:33,445 --> 00:16:35,485

Dixie: people use the

like the brown traps.

370

00:16:35,485 --> 00:16:36,945

I like the brown traps.

371

00:16:36,950 --> 00:16:40,785

But then there's the typical,

humane trap that they have, right?

372

00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:42,800

With the kind of slide up doors?

373

00:16:42,860 --> 00:16:43,640

Yeah, with the hinge.

374

00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:43,820

Rebecca: Yeah.

375

00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:44,420

No, not

376

00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:44,690

a fan.

377

00:16:44,690 --> 00:16:45,170

Not a fan.

378

00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:45,530

Dixie: Yeah.

379

00:16:45,530 --> 00:16:48,860

I'm not either, but all of them,

they all operate on the same premise.

380

00:16:48,940 --> 00:16:50,080

So if you learn on one

381

00:16:50,260 --> 00:16:51,215

Rebecca: Yeah, you can figure it out.

382

00:16:51,215 --> 00:16:52,745

Dixie: You can figure it out on all of

383

00:16:52,745 --> 00:16:52,895

' em.

384

00:16:52,925 --> 00:16:53,525

Rebecca: Absolutely.

385

00:16:53,525 --> 00:16:57,430

That's how the kitten traps are with

the strange littlemouth pinching

386

00:16:57,430 --> 00:17:01,020

front door the first time I saw

that I was like, what is this?

387

00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:02,520

It's like, it's gotta open some way.

388

00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,339

There's only a couple ways it

can do it, you figure it out.

389

00:17:05,430 --> 00:17:07,500

But they're so easy

390

00:17:07,650 --> 00:17:08,069

Dixie: Uhhuh.

391

00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:09,089

Rebecca: I know.

392

00:17:09,089 --> 00:17:12,930

I think Rachel keeps a nail file with

her so that like, if her trapped doors

393

00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:16,230

close into sensitively or something,

she'll just grind that little piece.

394

00:17:16,380 --> 00:17:17,700

Rough, rough it up a little bit.

395

00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,970

So there's tips and trick you learn

along the way from everyone you know.

396

00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:21,555

It's like a little hobby.

397

00:17:22,890 --> 00:17:25,500

Dixie: What about misconceptions with TNR?

398

00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:26,670

How do you address those?

399

00:17:27,390 --> 00:17:32,260

Rebecca: So I really try when I am

going out to a house for the first time

400

00:17:32,620 --> 00:17:35,230

let's say there are several cats there.

401

00:17:35,410 --> 00:17:37,960

So I'm going to meet

the feeder essentially.

402

00:17:38,050 --> 00:17:41,770

I try my hardest to make

them feel so comfortable.

403

00:17:41,770 --> 00:17:42,940

They cannot tell me no.

404

00:17:43,705 --> 00:17:47,395

Because I know that it's scary to

have someone you don't know come

405

00:17:47,395 --> 00:17:51,415

onto your property and say, I wanna

take your babies and fix them.

406

00:17:51,945 --> 00:17:57,135

I dealt with this yesterday, just the

word trapper in itself sounds aggressive.

407

00:17:57,405 --> 00:18:01,305

It doesn't sound helpful,

it doesn't sound good.

408

00:18:01,335 --> 00:18:03,765

So I do think there's

a huge stigma with it.

409

00:18:03,765 --> 00:18:10,560

I think people think of the shelter from

years ago, and it's like, absolutely not.

410

00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,000

I want nothing to do with y'all.

411

00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,350

And it's like, no, we're here to help.

412

00:18:13,350 --> 00:18:15,900

Like we are all crazy cat women.

413

00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:17,010

We are here to help.

414

00:18:17,490 --> 00:18:20,250

So there's a huge stigma

and how do we break that?

415

00:18:20,250 --> 00:18:22,960

Is it not referring to

ourselves as trappers?

416

00:18:22,980 --> 00:18:25,530

Is there another way that we

could address it to where it

417

00:18:25,530 --> 00:18:27,360

isn't as scary and aggressive?

418

00:18:28,860 --> 00:18:33,150

That's something I'm navigating through

because my situation yesterday, all of

419

00:18:33,150 --> 00:18:34,800

that came up and I was like, you're right.

420

00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:35,190

Like.

421

00:18:35,670 --> 00:18:39,570

I do understand that there is a huge

stigma, but we are just here to help.

422

00:18:39,690 --> 00:18:44,490

Truly, it has nothing to do with you where

you live, what you don't care about you.

423

00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:45,720

I just wanna help the cats.

424

00:18:47,650 --> 00:18:50,550

Dixie: What advice would you

give somebody who is fearful

425

00:18:50,550 --> 00:18:52,020

of feral cats during trapping?

426

00:18:52,375 --> 00:18:55,465

, Rebecca: it's interesting because

I know a couple people who really

427

00:18:55,465 --> 00:18:57,505

aren't cat people who do trap and.

428

00:18:57,940 --> 00:19:01,315

If you're around cats long enough,

they're gonna turn you, but once

429

00:19:01,315 --> 00:19:03,235

they're covered, you're fine.

430

00:19:03,235 --> 00:19:03,895

They calm down.

431

00:19:03,895 --> 00:19:04,255

That's it.

432

00:19:04,285 --> 00:19:06,355

You're never handling the cat.

433

00:19:06,655 --> 00:19:08,695

You never have to pick the cat up.

434

00:19:10,105 --> 00:19:11,725

The cats pretty much run from you.

435

00:19:11,725 --> 00:19:14,575

When you go to trap, you set your trap,

you walk away, you come back, they're

436

00:19:14,575 --> 00:19:15,925

in it, you cover it, and that's it.

437

00:19:16,225 --> 00:19:17,545

They don't get out of the traps.

438

00:19:17,545 --> 00:19:18,475

They're good in there.

439

00:19:18,475 --> 00:19:19,975

Once you cover 'em, they're quiet.

440

00:19:20,365 --> 00:19:20,815

There.

441

00:19:20,935 --> 00:19:23,305

I don't think there's anything

to be scared of, honestly.

442

00:19:23,335 --> 00:19:27,565

Now I've learned my lesson from

kitten snatching, as I call it.

443

00:19:27,595 --> 00:19:31,105

I don't suggest anyone snatch kittens

by their hand from the garden, but

444

00:19:31,105 --> 00:19:36,535

listen, we all have to learn on our own

sometimes, and that's what's happened.

445

00:19:36,595 --> 00:19:40,905

And I, lessons we're learned but

if you don't have a tendency to

446

00:19:40,905 --> 00:19:43,395

grab cats, barehanded, you're fine.

447

00:19:44,355 --> 00:19:44,715

Dixie: Yeah.

448

00:19:44,895 --> 00:19:45,405

Rebecca: Yeah.

449

00:19:47,215 --> 00:19:51,265

Dixie: What are the biggest challenges

people face when starting TNR and how do

450

00:19:51,265 --> 00:19:53,095

you help them overcome those challenges?

451

00:19:53,515 --> 00:19:58,505

Rebecca: I think a huge challenge

is talking to the feeders, honestly.

452

00:19:58,505 --> 00:20:00,635

Like that can be a scary part, even still.

453

00:20:00,665 --> 00:20:03,065

'cause you don't know who's

front door you're knocking on.

454

00:20:03,425 --> 00:20:07,245

You don't know if it's, an

80-year-old grandma who really wants

455

00:20:07,245 --> 00:20:08,865

the help and loves these kitties.

456

00:20:09,525 --> 00:20:12,975

It's someone who's just ignorant to

the whole idea of fixing animals and

457

00:20:12,975 --> 00:20:14,205

who's gonna be aggressive with you.

458

00:20:14,415 --> 00:20:17,195

So that right there can be scary.

459

00:20:17,195 --> 00:20:18,665

And I go over that in the class.

460

00:20:18,665 --> 00:20:23,075

I say, if you feel uncomfortable

in a neighborhood, have someone

461

00:20:23,075 --> 00:20:24,485

go with you or don't go.

462

00:20:24,515 --> 00:20:29,675

I don't want anyone to be putting

themselves in an unsafe situation to help

463

00:20:29,675 --> 00:20:32,375

cats get a group of us to go with you.

464

00:20:32,435 --> 00:20:36,245

And I always tell people, if you

ever feel unsafe, call the police.

465

00:20:36,530 --> 00:20:37,370

Just call the police.

466

00:20:37,430 --> 00:20:39,560

I don't know why people are

so afraid to call the police.

467

00:20:39,890 --> 00:20:42,470

I'm like, girl, I'll call the police

at least once a month on somebody.

468

00:20:43,010 --> 00:20:43,700

Call the police.

469

00:20:43,730 --> 00:20:44,990

That's what they're there for.

470

00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,320

You know the people who threaten you,

I'll call the police if you take my

471

00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,450

cats, first of all, they're not your cats.

472

00:20:50,570 --> 00:20:52,940

They might be on your property,

but they're community cats.

473

00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:56,450

They're not collared, they're

not chipped, they're not tipped.

474

00:20:56,510 --> 00:20:57,470

So they're fair game.

475

00:20:57,830 --> 00:21:00,590

You can call the police first if

you're trapping on the sidewalk.

476

00:21:00,620 --> 00:21:02,150

They can't come after you.

477

00:21:02,390 --> 00:21:04,940

But again, if you feel

uncomfortable, I wouldn't want

478

00:21:04,940 --> 00:21:06,470

to put anyone in that situation.

479

00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:11,290

I would just say leave, communicate with

whatever rescue you're communicating

480

00:21:11,290 --> 00:21:14,410

with and let 'em know, like, I truly

don't feel safe trapping at that house.

481

00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,460

Maybe there's another trapper who does,

or maybe we can go out as a group.

482

00:21:18,910 --> 00:21:25,180

A lot of the rescues are friends with

a lot of Kenner police and j Jefferson

483

00:21:25,180 --> 00:21:28,840

Parish police officers, and we can give

'em a heads up, Hey, we're trapping here.

484

00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,630

If y'all could do some

drive-bys, check on us.

485

00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,710

I'm sure they would be

more than happy to do that.

486

00:21:36,790 --> 00:21:41,380

It's just, to me that is like the

scariest part of it is the unknown

487

00:21:41,380 --> 00:21:43,180

of the people, not the cats.

488

00:21:43,230 --> 00:21:43,735

Not the cats.

489

00:21:44,820 --> 00:21:46,620

Dixie: Have you ever had

the police called on you?

490

00:21:46,950 --> 00:21:47,550

Rebecca: Not yet.

491

00:21:47,940 --> 00:21:51,600

I haven't, and I haven't had to call

the police while I was trapping either.

492

00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,960

But again, I wouldn't hesitate

to if I felt like I needed to.

493

00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:59,950

I think trapping cats falls under the see

something, say something kind of thing.

494

00:22:00,230 --> 00:22:04,190

Cats that need help, say something

or help them yourself, be

495

00:22:04,190 --> 00:22:05,780

equipped and help them yourself.

496

00:22:06,485 --> 00:22:11,195

If I see something that's not right while

I'm trapping, I'm gonna say something.

497

00:22:11,225 --> 00:22:12,785

I just don't want that to sit with me.

498

00:22:12,835 --> 00:22:15,175

I need to pass that on to

whomever can handle it.

499

00:22:15,625 --> 00:22:21,430

Dixie: How do you address concerns

about catching wildlife in the traps.

500

00:22:21,670 --> 00:22:24,850

Rebecca: So I haven't caught wildlife yet.

501

00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:25,390

Dixie: Really?

502

00:22:26,235 --> 00:22:26,325

Rebecca: I know.

503

00:22:26,325 --> 00:22:27,045

I know.

504

00:22:27,765 --> 00:22:30,405

I envy those who have

My day will come though.

505

00:22:30,945 --> 00:22:34,635

I think because where I

trap it's so heavily catted.

506

00:22:35,745 --> 00:22:38,205

There is no room for any wildlife.

507

00:22:38,775 --> 00:22:45,675

But again, you can easily open a trap

without the creature inside getting you,

508

00:22:46,015 --> 00:22:49,435

unless it's like a raccoon, they do have

tiny hands that can fit through the holes.

509

00:22:49,885 --> 00:22:52,795

So in my trap bag, I carry thick, like.

510

00:22:53,485 --> 00:22:56,485

Bird gloves that go into like my elbows,

511

00:22:56,605 --> 00:22:56,635

Dixie: uhhuh,

512

00:22:56,725 --> 00:23:00,835

Rebecca: so I could absolutely

successfully open my trap and

513

00:23:00,835 --> 00:23:03,355

release whatever it is if needed.

514

00:23:03,445 --> 00:23:04,945

Never been in that situation.

515

00:23:05,215 --> 00:23:08,845

But again, you just open the trap

and you can, lean the door forward

516

00:23:08,845 --> 00:23:10,525

so that you can back up enough.

517

00:23:11,545 --> 00:23:15,625

I haven't heard of a trapper being

reard by a raccoon or possum upon

518

00:23:15,625 --> 00:23:17,115

release, but maybe that's me.

519

00:23:19,245 --> 00:23:22,095

Dixie: I'm jealous though, 'cause

it seems like every time I'm trying

520

00:23:22,095 --> 00:23:23,685

to catch a cat, I get a possum.

521

00:23:23,745 --> 00:23:24,045

Rebecca: Oh

522

00:23:24,165 --> 00:23:24,855

man.

523

00:23:24,915 --> 00:23:27,675

Dixie: And so I have to go let the

possum go and then sometimes the same

524

00:23:27,675 --> 00:23:29,175

possum will go back in the trap again.

525

00:23:29,265 --> 00:23:30,075

Rebecca: Bless his heart yeah.

526

00:23:30,330 --> 00:23:30,780

Dixie: So yeah.

527

00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:31,530

That's pretty good.

528

00:23:31,530 --> 00:23:31,740

You've

529

00:23:31,740 --> 00:23:32,880

never caught wildlife.

530

00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:33,330

Rebecca: I don't know.

531

00:23:33,380 --> 00:23:36,560

I feel like maybe that's what

makes you like an official trapper.

532

00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,110

Like you have to be

christened with a possum.

533

00:23:39,980 --> 00:23:44,330

Dixie: I know one time I got a raccoon

and he wasn't in the trap for long.

534

00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:47,860

But that sucker started

like dismantling the trap.

535

00:23:47,860 --> 00:23:48,610

Rebecca: That's what I've heard.

536

00:23:48,610 --> 00:23:49,071

That's what Rachel says.

537

00:23:49,071 --> 00:23:50,871

Dixie: He's just started working at it.

538

00:23:50,871 --> 00:23:50,931

Rebecca: Yeah.

539

00:23:50,961 --> 00:23:52,491

She said they'll burn through 'em.

540

00:23:52,551 --> 00:23:53,751

Uhhuh, he was big.

541

00:23:53,911 --> 00:23:56,506

Dixie: Yeah, he was a big

boy, so how do you measure the

542

00:23:56,506 --> 00:23:58,936

success of your TNR classes?

543

00:24:00,031 --> 00:24:03,691

Rebecca: If one person comes, it's

successful because even one person

544

00:24:03,691 --> 00:24:07,451

just learning about it, I don't

need everyone to go back and trap.

545

00:24:07,451 --> 00:24:11,021

And so my goal is to teach 200 people.

546

00:24:11,321 --> 00:24:15,461

I don't need 200 people trapping,

but if 200 people just come and

547

00:24:15,461 --> 00:24:18,401

sit in this class and listen to me,

it's about an hour and a half, give

548

00:24:18,401 --> 00:24:19,981

or take, depending on questions.

549

00:24:20,821 --> 00:24:24,631

Just to leave with the knowledge

that I can share with them about it.

550

00:24:24,631 --> 00:24:28,801

And now they know like if you

have community cats that are tnr

551

00:24:28,801 --> 00:24:32,401

in your neighborhood, they're

going to protect your neighborhood

552

00:24:32,401 --> 00:24:34,111

from other cats coming in.

553

00:24:34,291 --> 00:24:39,031

They're gonna be territorial and

they're going to prevent other groups

554

00:24:39,031 --> 00:24:40,591

from coming into your neighborhood.

555

00:24:41,641 --> 00:24:45,451

I'm such a cat person, I just

don't see the negative in it, but.

556

00:24:47,131 --> 00:24:51,081

It's just so much knowledge,

I know people who that cat has

557

00:24:51,081 --> 00:24:52,731

three legs, it should be put down.

558

00:24:52,731 --> 00:24:54,981

I'm like, he has three legs.

559

00:24:54,981 --> 00:24:56,151

He's perfectly fine.

560

00:24:56,151 --> 00:24:58,041

Like legs are a luxury.

561

00:24:58,071 --> 00:24:59,061

He's fine.

562

00:24:59,101 --> 00:25:02,006

So just sharing all of

the things about it.

563

00:25:02,096 --> 00:25:05,456

I think as eyeopening to

some people, I love to learn.

564

00:25:05,456 --> 00:25:07,106

I love to find out new things.

565

00:25:07,106 --> 00:25:10,066

And so to me, it's a lot of

information and knowledge that I

566

00:25:10,066 --> 00:25:12,946

think everyone should just know,

again, whether you have intentions

567

00:25:12,946 --> 00:25:14,626

of doing it or not, no big deal.

568

00:25:14,626 --> 00:25:18,316

But so that if someone comes up to

you and says like, that cat has no

569

00:25:18,316 --> 00:25:19,636

home, it should be put to sleep.

570

00:25:19,876 --> 00:25:21,766

You now have the knowledge to say no.

571

00:25:21,766 --> 00:25:22,996

Look, he's got an ear tip.

572

00:25:22,996 --> 00:25:25,396

He's a community cat like

he is being cared for.

573

00:25:25,396 --> 00:25:26,626

He's fine.

574

00:25:27,496 --> 00:25:27,706

Dixie: Yeah.

575

00:25:27,741 --> 00:25:31,996

Education is a big part of it and

I think it is reaching more people.

576

00:25:32,046 --> 00:25:35,636

Because people don't realize

how fast they can reproduce.

577

00:25:35,696 --> 00:25:36,296

Rebecca: I know

578

00:25:36,346 --> 00:25:40,396

Dixie: when you tell 'em four months

old that their baby's having babies.

579

00:25:40,486 --> 00:25:40,576

Yes.

580

00:25:40,576 --> 00:25:42,226

It just like blows their mind.

581

00:25:42,226 --> 00:25:42,496

Rebecca: I know.

582

00:25:42,646 --> 00:25:43,396

Teen moms.

583

00:25:43,516 --> 00:25:44,806

Yeah, absolutely.

584

00:25:44,806 --> 00:25:48,646

Dixie: Do you have any plans of trying

to maybe to reach, say, high schools

585

00:25:48,696 --> 00:25:51,876

about the effect of pet overpopulation?

586

00:25:51,966 --> 00:25:54,426

Rebecca: So my journey.

587

00:25:54,861 --> 00:25:58,821

As a human is to help animals

in any way, shape or form.

588

00:25:58,821 --> 00:26:01,731

And to me, this is just

the beginning of my path.

589

00:26:02,301 --> 00:26:06,571

I don't, like I said, I think my

TNR classes will continue past

590

00:26:06,571 --> 00:26:08,881

2025 in some way, shape or form.

591

00:26:09,181 --> 00:26:13,981

I would love to continue teaching

people and informing people, and I think

592

00:26:13,981 --> 00:26:19,081

my platform with Jefferson Parish is

amazing for me to continue to do that.

593

00:26:19,111 --> 00:26:21,001

I have a lot of ideas in the future.

594

00:26:21,631 --> 00:26:25,051

So this isn't like a one

and done type of thing.

595

00:26:25,051 --> 00:26:28,171

Like I have to incorporate

animals into my job.

596

00:26:28,171 --> 00:26:29,221

That's my purpose

597

00:26:30,121 --> 00:26:33,031

Dixie: Do you have any other

success stories from students?

598

00:26:34,561 --> 00:26:38,281

Rebecca: So one girl, she's

actually in JP Helping Paw.

599

00:26:39,001 --> 00:26:41,971

So she came to the class

to learn how to trap.

600

00:26:42,241 --> 00:26:45,391

She's one of our like day ones,

she's a really loyal volunteer.

601

00:26:45,826 --> 00:26:48,076

She came to the class, she

learned a bunch of stuff.

602

00:26:48,076 --> 00:26:51,836

She trapped a cat that had been

showing up at her house that she

603

00:26:51,836 --> 00:26:53,276

had been feeding for a little while.

604

00:26:53,546 --> 00:26:57,776

So trapped that cat that

cat got fixed, was pregnant.

605

00:26:58,226 --> 00:27:00,956

It was a, I think it

was a stoic pregnancy.

606

00:27:00,956 --> 00:27:04,526

The babies were like

hardened solidified like,

607

00:27:04,586 --> 00:27:05,006

Dixie: oh wow,

608

00:27:05,186 --> 00:27:05,996

Rebecca: weren't alive.

609

00:27:06,001 --> 00:27:08,341

Like, it would've killed her

if she hadn't have been fixed.

610

00:27:08,581 --> 00:27:10,081

100% would've killed her.

611

00:27:10,681 --> 00:27:14,161

So once she found out about

this, she was like, I cannot put

612

00:27:14,161 --> 00:27:15,511

this cat back out on the street.

613

00:27:15,961 --> 00:27:17,461

So that cat lives in her house now.

614

00:27:17,491 --> 00:27:18,181

Dixie: Oh really?

615

00:27:18,231 --> 00:27:19,191

That's amazing.

616

00:27:19,501 --> 00:27:19,591

Rebecca: I know.

617

00:27:19,741 --> 00:27:22,831

She is the one who fed it every day and

the cat's best friends with her husband.

618

00:27:22,831 --> 00:27:24,286

So that's typically how gets,

619

00:27:24,286 --> 00:27:24,901

Dixie: oh, that's Cat.

620

00:27:24,901 --> 00:27:26,206

So that's typical cats.

621

00:27:26,226 --> 00:27:28,666

Rebecca: So like that one story, I'm good.

622

00:27:28,736 --> 00:27:29,786

Like That's amazing.

623

00:27:30,056 --> 00:27:30,506

I love that.

624

00:27:30,536 --> 00:27:30,836

Dixie: Yeah,

625

00:27:30,836 --> 00:27:32,966

that definitely makes it

worthwhile right there.

626

00:27:33,026 --> 00:27:34,016

Rebecca: Absolutely.

627

00:27:34,136 --> 00:27:39,356

Where I do my TNR over a year

now, I try to teach the feeder,

628

00:27:39,356 --> 00:27:40,976

look, this is how the trap works.

629

00:27:40,976 --> 00:27:42,056

This is how you do it.

630

00:27:42,056 --> 00:27:43,016

It's real easy.

631

00:27:43,226 --> 00:27:45,386

So I'm teaching them too, like.

632

00:27:45,881 --> 00:27:48,401

To where if I leave the trap

with them, they can help.

633

00:27:48,481 --> 00:27:52,141

. So I had caught one of their cats that

had been tipped, and he goes, I open the

634

00:27:52,141 --> 00:27:53,911

trap and I let it out, and I reset it.

635

00:27:53,911 --> 00:27:55,501

And I was like, oh yeah, we're learning.

636

00:27:56,131 --> 00:27:58,681

Oh yeah, step one, right?

637

00:27:59,021 --> 00:28:04,886

Dixie: With feeders, do you ever

encounter feeders that when you tell

638

00:28:04,886 --> 00:28:07,916

them, "Hey, I am coming to trap,

the cats don't feed the cats", and

639

00:28:07,916 --> 00:28:09,656

they're putting the food out anyway.

640

00:28:10,166 --> 00:28:12,116

Do you run across that and

how do you handle that?

641

00:28:12,986 --> 00:28:18,326

Rebecca: So I think it's happened

a few times where I trap regularly.

642

00:28:19,046 --> 00:28:21,946

And I just try to reiterate

to them, cats can go, I think

643

00:28:21,946 --> 00:28:24,826

it's 72 hours without food.

644

00:28:24,826 --> 00:28:29,596

They need water every day, but they can go

a very long time without food and be okay.

645

00:28:30,001 --> 00:28:31,471

They're not going to starve.

646

00:28:32,011 --> 00:28:35,411

And that's another huge struggle

is these are their children.

647

00:28:35,411 --> 00:28:37,631

These feeders are very

attached to their cats.

648

00:28:37,631 --> 00:28:42,251

So when all their cats are looking

inside, like, mom, it's been days we're

649

00:28:42,251 --> 00:28:44,801

starving out here, they can't handle it.

650

00:28:44,801 --> 00:28:46,091

A little bit of food won't hurt.

651

00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:51,121

And I'm like, I need them to be starving

so that they'll get into the traps, as

652

00:28:51,121 --> 00:28:52,981

soon as I'm done, you can feed everybody.

653

00:28:53,281 --> 00:28:55,381

So it is a little bit of a struggle.

654

00:28:55,501 --> 00:28:56,431

I'm always like.

655

00:28:56,986 --> 00:29:00,826

Look, if I'm coming on Tuesday,

Sunday night, maybe don't put

656

00:29:00,886 --> 00:29:03,256

much of anything out Monday.

657

00:29:03,316 --> 00:29:04,096

Nothing.

658

00:29:04,786 --> 00:29:06,526

I've been trapping here so long though.

659

00:29:06,526 --> 00:29:10,696

These cats, they know me, they know the

routine, they know when she leaves, we

660

00:29:10,696 --> 00:29:13,576

get fed and that's a whole other issue.

661

00:29:14,416 --> 00:29:19,011

So here and there again, I've been

trapping at the same place for so long.

662

00:29:19,011 --> 00:29:24,081

When I go to new places or like emergency

situations, they get right in the trap.

663

00:29:25,001 --> 00:29:25,441

hit or miss,

664

00:29:25,511 --> 00:29:28,541

Dixie: so I would love to hear more

about the story from yesterday.

665

00:29:28,661 --> 00:29:29,051

Rebecca: Okay.

666

00:29:29,051 --> 00:29:37,751

So once I learned how to TNR, my

favorite thing is people who are on

667

00:29:37,751 --> 00:29:40,301

Facebook, like, this cat is hanging

from a fence that needs help.

668

00:29:40,306 --> 00:29:42,581

I'm like, I'm getting my trap

and I'm going to get that cat.

669

00:29:42,891 --> 00:29:46,461

I've gotten a lot of cats that end

up at the J from like emergency

670

00:29:46,461 --> 00:29:48,491

Facebook situations , but I love that.

671

00:29:48,491 --> 00:29:49,541

I love being able to help.

672

00:29:50,201 --> 00:29:53,771

So someone posts on Facebook a

picture of a cat on the sidewalk

673

00:29:53,771 --> 00:29:56,611

with two kittens, just like nursing.

674

00:29:57,001 --> 00:29:57,151

Dixie: Yep

675

00:29:57,151 --> 00:29:58,311

Rebecca: you saw it?

676

00:29:58,331 --> 00:29:59,771

Dixie: I saw that one, yes.

677

00:29:59,981 --> 00:30:03,371

Rebecca: All right, so it's got,

hundreds of comments at this point

678

00:30:03,371 --> 00:30:08,416

and I went to Jefferson Feed yesterday

and we helped take kitten pictures

679

00:30:08,416 --> 00:30:10,026

because, they have 200 kittens.

680

00:30:10,656 --> 00:30:13,086

And I was like, I'm gonna go

try and trap that cat after.

681

00:30:14,136 --> 00:30:15,516

So I go after.

682

00:30:15,886 --> 00:30:19,876

I pull up at the house and the people

are on the porch and I was like,

683

00:30:19,876 --> 00:30:23,566

Hey, I saw on Facebook , y'all have

some cats, and I see the kittens

684

00:30:23,566 --> 00:30:24,796

climbing up the side of the fence.

685

00:30:25,156 --> 00:30:25,966

And I'm like, oh.

686

00:30:25,966 --> 00:30:28,906

And she was like, we don't

need help with our cats.

687

00:30:29,746 --> 00:30:30,496

I was like, no.

688

00:30:30,676 --> 00:30:31,726

Are they fixed?

689

00:30:31,756 --> 00:30:32,776

Like, I'm just coming to help.

690

00:30:32,776 --> 00:30:34,576

She said, no, we don't need help.

691

00:30:35,081 --> 00:30:35,596

I said, okay.

692

00:30:36,166 --> 00:30:38,836

So I get back in my car and I call

Rachel, and then someone walks up

693

00:30:38,836 --> 00:30:42,576

to my window and they were like,

Hey can you come out and talk to us?

694

00:30:42,966 --> 00:30:43,776

I was like, okay.

695

00:30:43,896 --> 00:30:45,966

And I'm like, Rachel,

just stay on the phone.

696

00:30:45,971 --> 00:30:46,811

I don't know what's happening.

697

00:30:47,531 --> 00:30:51,371

And the lady comes out and she was like,

we do have cats and we do want them fixed.

698

00:30:51,371 --> 00:30:52,451

And I was like, oh, great.

699

00:30:52,481 --> 00:30:53,531

I'm gonna go grab my trap.

700

00:30:53,531 --> 00:30:57,551

So I grabbed two traps and the little

kid, she was probably like eight years

701

00:30:57,551 --> 00:31:01,061

old, just picks up the kittens and starts

walking, puts 'em right in my trap.

702

00:31:01,721 --> 00:31:04,841

Grabs a mama cat puts her in the

trap and I'm like, this is the

703

00:31:04,841 --> 00:31:06,521

easiest thing I've ever done.

704

00:31:07,061 --> 00:31:08,981

And I said, how many kittens are there?

705

00:31:09,401 --> 00:31:10,421

There's six.

706

00:31:10,511 --> 00:31:12,221

And I was like, alright,

we'll go get the other one.

707

00:31:12,221 --> 00:31:15,701

So these kittens were probably

like, I don't know, six weeks

708

00:31:15,701 --> 00:31:21,011

old and they're running around

in a very busy, dangerous area.

709

00:31:21,521 --> 00:31:26,341

So the kid like grabs the cat by the

tail and I'm like, oh, let's be gentle.

710

00:31:26,391 --> 00:31:30,091

So I've got, four kittens or something?

711

00:31:30,091 --> 00:31:30,991

I'm missing two.

712

00:31:31,421 --> 00:31:32,111

They're inside.

713

00:31:32,111 --> 00:31:32,981

We're gonna go get 'em.

714

00:31:32,981 --> 00:31:33,671

And I was like, okay.

715

00:31:34,121 --> 00:31:38,911

So they go get the kittens and then

come out, and then the woman says, mama

716

00:31:38,911 --> 00:31:41,071

said you can't take any of the cats.

717

00:31:41,581 --> 00:31:43,281

I was like I just wanna fix 'em.

718

00:31:43,281 --> 00:31:46,281

Like, can I at least take the mom and

then I'll come back for the kittens?

719

00:31:46,611 --> 00:31:48,381

Mama said, you have to

release all of them.

720

00:31:49,001 --> 00:31:50,681

And I said what if I go run to my car?

721

00:31:50,681 --> 00:31:51,521

What's mama gonna do?

722

00:31:51,521 --> 00:31:52,931

And they were like, she

gonna come after you?

723

00:31:52,931 --> 00:31:55,971

And I was like, okay,

I'm not doing that then.

724

00:31:56,441 --> 00:31:57,911

I said, I just wanna fix 'em.

725

00:31:57,911 --> 00:31:58,841

I don't want your cats.

726

00:31:58,841 --> 00:32:00,971

I promise you I do not want them.

727

00:32:00,971 --> 00:32:02,621

I'm just gonna fix 'em and bring 'em back.

728

00:32:03,461 --> 00:32:06,731

No, finally mom comes out and talks to me.

729

00:32:07,001 --> 00:32:08,501

She was very nice.

730

00:32:08,971 --> 00:32:11,401

But they're not from that neighborhood.

731

00:32:11,401 --> 00:32:13,831

They recently moved there and

apparently they brought Mama Cat

732

00:32:13,831 --> 00:32:15,601

with them, that she was a stray.

733

00:32:16,801 --> 00:32:20,341

From the neighborhood that they

previously lived in and she had

734

00:32:20,341 --> 00:32:22,591

these babies at their new address.

735

00:32:23,071 --> 00:32:24,421

They're indoor, outdoor.

736

00:32:24,631 --> 00:32:26,041

None of them are fixed.

737

00:32:26,101 --> 00:32:27,361

None of them are vaccinated.

738

00:32:27,361 --> 00:32:29,371

I don't see any food

and water bowls outside.

739

00:32:29,741 --> 00:32:33,701

We bring some of them inside at

night and I'm just pleading with this

740

00:32:33,701 --> 00:32:36,521

woman like, what is it gonna take?

741

00:32:36,581 --> 00:32:37,991

I don't want your cats.

742

00:32:37,991 --> 00:32:39,581

This is the process I will.

743

00:32:40,076 --> 00:32:41,876

Bring them to go get fixed.

744

00:32:41,876 --> 00:32:42,656

They get fixed.

745

00:32:42,656 --> 00:32:44,306

I bring them to my house for the night.

746

00:32:44,306 --> 00:32:46,376

I will come back the next

morning and release them.

747

00:32:46,406 --> 00:32:49,886

I send you pictures and text

updates the entire time so that

748

00:32:49,886 --> 00:32:52,466

you know your kitties are safe.

749

00:32:52,466 --> 00:32:54,266

Like this is how it works.

750

00:32:54,266 --> 00:32:56,006

And she's like, no I

feel attacked right now.

751

00:32:56,006 --> 00:32:58,136

I don't know who put that on Facebook.

752

00:32:58,346 --> 00:32:59,696

I don't know these people.

753

00:32:59,696 --> 00:33:03,236

Why would someone see cats and assume

that they're not being taken care of?

754

00:33:03,326 --> 00:33:04,166

They look healthy.

755

00:33:04,556 --> 00:33:05,836

And I said I'm positive.

756

00:33:05,836 --> 00:33:08,686

It was just someone doing

good who sees cats with.

757

00:33:09,271 --> 00:33:13,651

Babies on the sidewalk of a busy

street and they just want help for the

758

00:33:13,651 --> 00:33:15,121

cats 'cause they're not ear tipped.

759

00:33:15,121 --> 00:33:16,471

So that's a giveaway.

760

00:33:16,741 --> 00:33:19,231

Maybe we're lost, maybe

we're not taken care of.

761

00:33:20,221 --> 00:33:21,211

She wouldn't have it.

762

00:33:21,211 --> 00:33:23,791

So she made me release them.

763

00:33:24,556 --> 00:33:28,336

I gave her my card with my phone number

and I said, please, if you change your

764

00:33:28,336 --> 00:33:33,506

mind today, tomorrow, whenever, please

text me I'll just go get 'em fixed myself.

765

00:33:33,506 --> 00:33:34,916

I said, we will do it for free.

766

00:33:34,976 --> 00:33:36,206

For free.

767

00:33:36,236 --> 00:33:37,346

We will fix them.

768

00:33:37,836 --> 00:33:42,426

I plan on putting a letter in her

mailbox, just like reintroducing myself,

769

00:33:42,426 --> 00:33:43,836

letting her know the process of it.

770

00:33:44,316 --> 00:33:47,046

The mama cat, when I released

her, she just slowly walked out.

771

00:33:47,046 --> 00:33:48,276

She let me pet her.

772

00:33:48,311 --> 00:33:49,326

They were the sweetest.

773

00:33:49,326 --> 00:33:54,786

So the positive was these

people are handling these cats.

774

00:33:54,816 --> 00:33:58,236

So if I do go back, I, it's

not a trapping situation.

775

00:33:58,236 --> 00:34:02,886

It's a picking up situation and I I

informed them just to let you know if your

776

00:34:02,886 --> 00:34:06,996

neighbors do call, I can trap on their

property and I can trap on the sidewalk.

777

00:34:06,996 --> 00:34:10,176

Even if you say no, she said

that's fine, we'll keep them in.

778

00:34:10,235 --> 00:34:11,406

It's like, we'll keep 'em in.

779

00:34:11,406 --> 00:34:11,916

That's fine.

780

00:34:12,696 --> 00:34:15,786

But they were covered in fleas and.

781

00:34:17,031 --> 00:34:20,061

The mama, you can see in the

pictures her hair was thinning.

782

00:34:20,061 --> 00:34:20,871

From the fleas.

783

00:34:21,141 --> 00:34:22,551

She's a light cat.

784

00:34:22,670 --> 00:34:25,130

She'll probably end up getting skin

cancer from being out in the sun.

785

00:34:25,210 --> 00:34:27,971

It's like, just let me fix your cats, man.

786

00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:28,811

Dixie: Yeah.

787

00:34:29,110 --> 00:34:30,701

Because we don't need any more babies.

788

00:34:30,701 --> 00:34:31,420

Rebecca: We really don't.

789

00:34:31,420 --> 00:34:31,481

No.

790

00:34:31,481 --> 00:34:34,960

And I told her that, I

said, you've got six now.

791

00:34:35,561 --> 00:34:38,321

They can all reproduce at four months old.

792

00:34:38,501 --> 00:34:39,371

Let's handle it.

793

00:34:39,371 --> 00:34:40,031

Dixie: Do the math.

794

00:34:40,391 --> 00:34:42,130

Rebecca: I told her that,

let's handle it now.

795

00:34:42,130 --> 00:34:46,781

Before I said the vet bills, the

spay and neuter bills, the food.

796

00:34:46,781 --> 00:34:48,011

She was like, I know.

797

00:34:48,011 --> 00:34:49,241

And it's like, oh my God.

798

00:34:49,241 --> 00:34:51,440

But I haven't given up hope on them yet.

799

00:34:51,681 --> 00:34:55,041

But then, you go on Facebook to update,

Hey guys, this is what happened.

800

00:34:55,371 --> 00:34:57,411

And I'm, just giving them

the highlights of it,

801

00:34:57,411 --> 00:34:57,501

Dixie: right

802

00:34:57,501 --> 00:34:59,571

Rebecca: I'm still working with

them and all these people are

803

00:34:59,571 --> 00:35:00,861

coming at me and I'm like no.

804

00:35:01,011 --> 00:35:01,341

Dixie: Yeah,

805

00:35:01,371 --> 00:35:01,461

Rebecca: we're

806

00:35:01,461 --> 00:35:02,031

not doing that.

807

00:35:02,606 --> 00:35:04,706

I understand you're frustrated, as am I.

808

00:35:04,736 --> 00:35:05,456

But guess what?

809

00:35:05,516 --> 00:35:06,206

I went out.

810

00:35:06,386 --> 00:35:08,396

If you wanna go try, go ahead.

811

00:35:08,726 --> 00:35:08,966

Dixie: Yeah.

812

00:35:08,966 --> 00:35:09,176

See

813

00:35:09,176 --> 00:35:13,826

that's what I hate when the people always

criticize the person actually helping.

814

00:35:13,876 --> 00:35:15,466

Anybody can go help too.

815

00:35:15,546 --> 00:35:16,446

And that just drives me

816

00:35:16,446 --> 00:35:16,866

nuts.

817

00:35:16,951 --> 00:35:19,471

Rebecca: It gives me strong

secondhand embarrassment for them.

818

00:35:19,471 --> 00:35:19,621

Like.

819

00:35:20,191 --> 00:35:22,141

You're welcome to go grab them.

820

00:35:22,141 --> 00:35:23,041

You saw 'em.

821

00:35:23,191 --> 00:35:26,101

When I see an animal, my first

thing is if it's a cat ear

822

00:35:26,101 --> 00:35:27,661

tip, and will you come to me?

823

00:35:27,661 --> 00:35:30,121

'cause I'll pick you up right

now and call Rachel and get an

824

00:35:30,121 --> 00:35:31,141

appointment to have you fixed.

825

00:35:31,471 --> 00:35:34,651

I'm not going on Facebook saying,

oh my god guys, I need help.

826

00:35:35,011 --> 00:35:36,361

Like, I'm a problem solver.

827

00:35:36,361 --> 00:35:37,051

Let's fix it.

828

00:35:37,091 --> 00:35:42,251

I guess I'm lucky enough to know who

my people are to solve things before

829

00:35:42,251 --> 00:35:43,811

having to go to Facebook for it.

830

00:35:44,171 --> 00:35:44,561

But.

831

00:35:45,866 --> 00:35:50,006

The person who came at me, it was like

you can go back and pick 'em up yourself.

832

00:35:50,006 --> 00:35:53,006

I said, they told me that mama

was gonna come out and chase me.

833

00:35:53,006 --> 00:35:56,606

And like that wasn't on

yesterday's agenda, that's on you.

834

00:35:56,906 --> 00:35:58,256

I did my best.

835

00:35:59,126 --> 00:36:00,146

It's a work in progress.

836

00:36:00,146 --> 00:36:04,496

Like either it will happen or it won't,

but I'm sure I'll find six more cats

837

00:36:04,676 --> 00:36:06,776

that need to be TNR someplace else.

838

00:36:06,776 --> 00:36:08,786

Like we're all doing our best.

839

00:36:09,266 --> 00:36:11,186

Dixie: Yeah, and it's educating people.

840

00:36:11,186 --> 00:36:12,686

I know a couple of weeks ago.

841

00:36:13,151 --> 00:36:16,961

I found a very friendly, intact male cat.

842

00:36:18,191 --> 00:36:21,851

And so I found the girl

immediately through the lost

843

00:36:21,851 --> 00:36:23,261

and found found pet groups.

844

00:36:23,341 --> 00:36:26,671

And it's the funniest thing too,

because she lives almost right

845

00:36:26,671 --> 00:36:29,671

around the corner from me, but I

found the cat like six blocks away.

846

00:36:29,831 --> 00:36:30,311

Rebecca: Of course you do.

847

00:36:30,311 --> 00:36:30,731

Okay.

848

00:36:30,731 --> 00:36:31,241

He was intact,

849

00:36:31,241 --> 00:36:31,631

Dixie: so Yeah.

850

00:36:31,631 --> 00:36:32,411

, he was intact.

851

00:36:32,411 --> 00:36:36,316

So I got the cat back to her and I I

said I've never seen him in the area.

852

00:36:36,316 --> 00:36:37,336

Do you keep him inside?

853

00:36:37,336 --> 00:36:38,986

And she's like, yeah he ran out.

854

00:36:39,436 --> 00:36:42,856

And I said, he's gonna keep running

out you don't have him neutered?

855

00:36:43,606 --> 00:36:46,906

And so she told me, she goes, yeah, she

had planned on getting him neutered.

856

00:36:47,866 --> 00:36:50,686

And I really don't blame her for this.

857

00:36:51,676 --> 00:36:54,436

She said she had just moved to the

neighborhood, she wasn't aware of

858

00:36:54,436 --> 00:36:56,176

the low cost programs that we have.

859

00:36:56,231 --> 00:37:00,251

But when she had tried to get him

neutered wherever she came from.

860

00:37:00,251 --> 00:37:02,861

First they told her he

needed to be six months old.

861

00:37:03,221 --> 00:37:03,731

Rebecca: Oh my God.

862

00:37:03,821 --> 00:37:04,331

Dixie: Okay.

863

00:37:04,811 --> 00:37:09,436

So then after that it

was $500 to neuter him.

864

00:37:09,776 --> 00:37:09,996

Rebecca: Wow.

865

00:37:10,511 --> 00:37:11,801

Dixie: So I told her, , look,

866

00:37:11,801 --> 00:37:13,241

I can get 'em neutered tomorrow.

867

00:37:13,301 --> 00:37:13,571

Rebecca: Yeah.

868

00:37:14,381 --> 00:37:17,341

Dixie: She gave me the cat,

I was able to go pick him up.

869

00:37:17,371 --> 00:37:17,701

Rebecca: That's amazing.

870

00:37:17,951 --> 00:37:22,021

Dixie: And I told her, look, , if

you see any stray cats in the

871

00:37:22,036 --> 00:37:22,436

the area.

872

00:37:22,546 --> 00:37:24,076

I'm like, let me know.

873

00:37:24,076 --> 00:37:26,726

And I will just come put

up a trap on your property.

874

00:37:26,756 --> 00:37:27,146

Rebecca: Yeah.

875

00:37:27,206 --> 00:37:29,096

Dixie: And so she's like,

oh yeah that's fine.

876

00:37:29,096 --> 00:37:30,296

Rebecca: So that's awesome.

877

00:37:30,386 --> 00:37:30,806

Dixie: Yeah.

878

00:37:30,806 --> 00:37:34,786

So it's a little bit of a win because

. A lot of people aren't open to that.

879

00:37:34,786 --> 00:37:37,676

When you tell 'em that, they just

look at you like you're nuts you

880

00:37:37,676 --> 00:37:37,786

know.

881

00:37:37,786 --> 00:37:37,976

Rebecca: I know.

882

00:37:38,106 --> 00:37:38,946

Absolutely.

883

00:37:39,006 --> 00:37:43,506

The amount of doors I've knocked on, like,

hi, do y'all know who feeds these cats?

884

00:37:43,626 --> 00:37:44,556

You're like, no.

885

00:37:45,096 --> 00:37:45,816

Never seen them.

886

00:37:45,966 --> 00:37:46,626

Like, okay.

887

00:37:46,926 --> 00:37:47,406

Thank you.

888

00:37:48,636 --> 00:37:49,716

That's awesome though.

889

00:37:50,226 --> 00:37:50,676

Dixie: Yeah.

890

00:37:50,726 --> 00:37:51,596

It was a win.

891

00:37:51,626 --> 00:37:52,706

Yeah, a win for sure.

892

00:37:52,756 --> 00:38:00,906

Rebecca: My 2020 year plan is that when

I retire, I would love to run for council

893

00:38:00,906 --> 00:38:05,016

and change all of those laws and make

sure everyone really knows about TNR

894

00:38:05,136 --> 00:38:10,416

because like, hello, we can't all complain

as a parish and do nothing about it.

895

00:38:11,331 --> 00:38:12,531

And that's what we're doing.

896

00:38:12,711 --> 00:38:14,391

We're complaining and we're doing nothing.

897

00:38:14,391 --> 00:38:16,701

If you have problems, come

to me with a solution.

898

00:38:16,731 --> 00:38:17,631

Y'all aren't doing that.

899

00:38:17,781 --> 00:38:20,451

Y'all are complaining and doing nothing.

900

00:38:20,941 --> 00:38:21,991

I could talk about that all day.

901

00:38:23,641 --> 00:38:26,941

Dixie: So before we end the episode, is

there anything else you would like to add?

902

00:38:27,601 --> 00:38:29,311

Rebecca: I think we covered everything.

903

00:38:29,311 --> 00:38:31,441

I just, I wish.

904

00:38:32,416 --> 00:38:36,286

Like you said, people would know

more about TNR, that it's available

905

00:38:36,286 --> 00:38:40,846

to every single Jefferson Parish

resident and that people are capable.

906

00:38:40,846 --> 00:38:43,996

It doesn't matter how old you

are, you're capable to trap.

907

00:38:44,366 --> 00:38:49,226

I know a lot of the TNR people are

older and they're gonna be retiring

908

00:38:49,256 --> 00:38:53,296

from trapping soon, we can start,

there should be a younger generation

909

00:38:53,296 --> 00:38:54,526

of people out there trapping.

910

00:38:54,576 --> 00:38:59,786

I tell people, it's like Pokemon Go in

real life like but they're all meowths.

911

00:39:00,596 --> 00:39:01,856

It's still exciting.

912

00:39:01,856 --> 00:39:05,366

We just need to like let people

know and like challenge each other.

913

00:39:05,546 --> 00:39:09,866

So my goal my first year was to

trap 20 cats and I think I trapped

914

00:39:09,866 --> 00:39:13,226

like 30, but that for me was huge.

915

00:39:13,446 --> 00:39:15,606

If you can compete with your

friends, like I bet Jack can

916

00:39:15,606 --> 00:39:17,256

trap more cats than you like.

917

00:39:17,406 --> 00:39:18,666

It's so fun.

918

00:39:18,731 --> 00:39:19,591

It really is.

919

00:39:19,716 --> 00:39:20,006

Yeah.

920

00:39:20,141 --> 00:39:23,481

And then you get to see 'em

all and it's just so much fun.

921

00:39:23,481 --> 00:39:25,911

Like there's no reason why

everyone isn't trapping at least

922

00:39:25,911 --> 00:39:28,581

one cat a year, which is nothing.

923

00:39:29,031 --> 00:39:30,051

There's just no reason.

924

00:39:30,531 --> 00:39:30,711

Dixie: Yeah.

925

00:39:30,711 --> 00:39:33,351

And it's weird too when you said

something about all the older

926

00:39:33,351 --> 00:39:35,001

people that are doing the trapping.

927

00:39:35,051 --> 00:39:38,391

And why isn't the younger

generation involved?

928

00:39:38,391 --> 00:39:40,791

Because, I remember from, my younger self.

929

00:39:41,111 --> 00:39:43,781

When I was a teenager, I was doing

this stuff, we didn't have the

930

00:39:43,781 --> 00:39:45,581

programs like we have now, if.

931

00:39:46,481 --> 00:39:49,692

I saw an animal that needed help, I

would automatically go and help it.

932

00:39:49,727 --> 00:39:53,952

I got into trapping as soon as we started

having the low cost programs available.

933

00:39:54,052 --> 00:39:54,892

And so it's weird.

934

00:39:54,892 --> 00:39:55,432

I don't know.

935

00:39:55,462 --> 00:39:59,632

Rebecca: It is weird, my mom, when she was

pregnant with me 30 something years ago.

936

00:39:59,937 --> 00:40:01,537

She was always, an animal activist.

937

00:40:01,537 --> 00:40:04,387

She was picketing, stealing

animals, knocking on doors.

938

00:40:04,387 --> 00:40:05,557

She did all of those things.

939

00:40:05,557 --> 00:40:10,117

So I know that's where I got it from, but

I didn't start until I was in my thirties.

940

00:40:10,247 --> 00:40:11,327

I don't know.

941

00:40:11,417 --> 00:40:14,177

We definitely need to get 'em

at a younger age and let them

942

00:40:14,177 --> 00:40:16,877

know just how to handle animals.

943

00:40:17,297 --> 00:40:19,637

That is a huge pet peeve of mine.

944

00:40:19,667 --> 00:40:22,737

We run day camps and my staff.

945

00:40:22,767 --> 00:40:24,357

Let's have a petting zoo come.

946

00:40:24,357 --> 00:40:25,767

And I'm like, absolutely not.

947

00:40:26,157 --> 00:40:31,377

I cannot let that poor lizard be poked

by 500 fingers in a day, not on my watch.

948

00:40:31,677 --> 00:40:35,067

So like just training children

and teaching them like this

949

00:40:35,067 --> 00:40:37,227

is how we handle animals.

950

00:40:37,227 --> 00:40:41,157

And giving them that knowledge that

they grow into being that animal person.

951

00:40:41,217 --> 00:40:43,492

And maybe they do start

trapping right when they're 18

952

00:40:43,712 --> 00:40:45,372

or ride along with their mom.

953

00:40:45,537 --> 00:40:46,707

Like I know for sure.

954

00:40:46,707 --> 00:40:48,297

One day I'll have probably like.

955

00:40:48,657 --> 00:40:52,407

An infant in my backseat

and like a tortie in a trap.

956

00:40:52,407 --> 00:40:56,712

Like it's probably gonna happen one

day and like it should, but Right.

957

00:40:56,712 --> 00:41:00,102

We need to do a better job as a parish

of just getting the information out to

958

00:41:00,102 --> 00:41:04,932

people, getting it out and maybe somehow

some way incentivizing, trapping, maybe

959

00:41:04,932 --> 00:41:09,252

if you trap a hundred cats a year in

Jefferson Parish, you receive like a

960

00:41:09,252 --> 00:41:11,952

little pin or just something you know.

961

00:41:12,627 --> 00:41:15,207

All of these trappers, we do it

from the kindness of our heart.

962

00:41:15,207 --> 00:41:16,827

We get zero back.

963

00:41:16,827 --> 00:41:21,357

We spend our time, effort, money,

and energy on this because we love it

964

00:41:21,717 --> 00:41:24,987

and we don't get anything back, and

we don't need anything back either.

965

00:41:24,987 --> 00:41:28,437

But the parish has a problem and we're

here to solve it, and they should be

966

00:41:28,437 --> 00:41:30,477

backing us up like wholeheartedly.

967

00:41:30,807 --> 00:41:35,007

You know when you call the police

because there's a dog tied up and

968

00:41:35,007 --> 00:41:36,437

they're like, oh I don't care about that.

969

00:41:36,437 --> 00:41:38,357

And it's like, no, it's against the law.

970

00:41:38,477 --> 00:41:40,877

I don't care whether you

personally care about it or not.

971

00:41:40,957 --> 00:41:42,577

Do your job, follow through with it.

972

00:41:42,607 --> 00:41:50,347

We should be backed every way, shape and

form from our government so that, 2026.

973

00:41:51,827 --> 00:41:54,947

Dixie: I'm glad you are on the front

lines there, helping all the cats,

974

00:41:54,947 --> 00:41:57,707

and thank you so much for taking

the time to speak with me today.

975

00:41:57,797 --> 00:41:58,457

Rebecca: Absolutely.

976

00:41:58,457 --> 00:41:59,597

Thank you for having me.

977

00:41:59,687 --> 00:42:00,077

Dixie: All right.

978

00:42:00,077 --> 00:42:00,647

You're welcome.

979

00:42:01,847 --> 00:42:04,727

And that's all the time we

have for today's episode.

980

00:42:04,834 --> 00:42:08,844

If you are in animal rescue, or if

you know someone that has a story that

981

00:42:08,844 --> 00:42:11,024

should be told, please contact us.

982

00:42:11,094 --> 00:42:13,914

We would love to have

you or them on the show

983

00:42:14,144 --> 00:42:17,714

. Thanks for listening, and please

join us next week as we continue to

984

00:42:17,714 --> 00:42:20,014

explore the world of animal rescue.

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