A homeless dog living in a trash pile gets rescued, and then does something amazing!

[Contrary1]

If human angels exist among us, Eldad Hagar surely is one...

[idwiyo]

1. k&r

[lillypaddle]

2. It is overwhelming

to think about how many neglected, hurting animals are out there. Gladly there are two less now.

[Contrary1]

3. Mr. Hagar has made this his life's work...

I have so much respect for him.

You can do a search at Youtube to see many other videos of animals he has rescued.

[lillypaddle]

17. Thanks, I will. n/t

kick

[1000words]

4. Paying it forward

Thanks for sharing. Rec

[ReRe]

5. I totally agree that that man is an angel

and the doggies too.

[narnian60]

22. +1000

[Rockyj]

55. Miley looks like an angel now!

[Paper Roses]

6. I cried watching this. So many poor animals need us, they have nothing else.

Thanks to this organization for their hard work and dedication.

[smirkymonkey]

89. So did I. That was just heartbreaking.

I wish all the best for those sweet doggies.

[mnhtnbb]

7. Awww...Miley looks a little like my Snowy--rescued from a kill shelter--

and happily snoozing at my feet.

[B Calm]

8. K&R

[redstatebluegirl]

9. K&R

Animals have an amazing ability to withstand terrible treatment by humans and still be loving. I hope Miley and Frankie both find warm loving homes. To those who rescued them, you are angels of God.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

49. Hopefully a home where both can be together with their new human(s). n/t

[Maraya1969]

59. Yea I really hope they stay together. I bet they will because this place sounds great.

And their work is wonderful.

[octoberlib]

10. K&R

[life long demo]

11. Yes, Eldad is an angel

I have something in my eye, I need a tissue. I've made a donation to Eldad a couple of times. He is the most amazing dog whisperer. God bless Eldad and the pups he has saved.

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. Didn't make ME cry.

Nope.

[Chiquitita]

13. That got the tears rolling.

What an expressive video.

[tblue37]

14. I watch Eldad's videos almost obsessively. nt

[tblue37]

15. I hope someone will adopt them together. nt

[llmart]

16. The word "angel" doesn't even do him justice.....

What an amazing human being Eldad is. Such a touching video.

My heart just hurts for that poor dog. I can't watch any more of the videos at that site. It's too much pain first thing in the morning. Glad I had tissues handy.

Thank you to all the Eldads in the world and those amazing animal care people in the video also.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

18. This is so wonderful to see.

As I was viewing the clip, my two dogs came up on either side of me, one nudged me, the other lick my arm. It's like they know. A tear indeed!

[UtahLib]

19. I've watched so many of these videos of Eldad

saving these sweet babies who have nearly given up hope of any kindness from humans. It breaks my heart to think of how many more are waiting for just one caring person. I hope there is a special person who will realize Miley and Frankie should always be together.

[MoonRiver]

20. Loved it!

God bless Eldad Hager! He is DEFINITELY an angel!

[99Forever]

21. Way to make me cry on a Saturday morning.

Our oldest GSD, Nakita, lived for 9 months to a year (rescues best guess) under the porch of an abandoned house. She is now 13yo and is relatively good health and has been a joy for us for have in our family. The bond rescue dogs form with you are something you have to experience to truly understand.

Bless Eldad Hagar and all that do this vital work.

[magical thyme]

23. bless Eldad a million times over...

I hope they find a loving home together.

[glinda]

72. Yes yes yes.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. *sniff*

Wish I could come get the two of them!

[polly7]

25. He sure is.

I hope for long, happy lives for Miley and Frankie.

[BainsBane]

26. I hope Miley and Frankie can be adopted together

[TheBlackAdder]

27. Perhaps the Best NICE POST of the week! n/t

[warrior1]

28. I got something in my eyes

[flvegan]

29. Bless these folks.

Nice work. Hoping a happy, loving Forever Home can be had for both dogs, together.

[sarchasm]

30. love.

[shenmue]

31. Wow. That's wow!

A happy forever home for two, please Santa bring it to them!

[lightcameron]

32. Perfect start to a Saturday. At first, I was hesitant to watch this, as animal stories

break our hearts so much. But I watched it, and...wow. What a beautiful story. Thank you for posting it.

[AgingAmerican]

33. Puppy!

nt

[Unrepentant Fenian]

34. WOW! That video really, really touched me. Thank you for sharing it...

I don't know what else to add but the world is a much better place with that guy (and those dogs) in it. Thanks again for sharing!

[Stargleamer]

42. “Heaven goes by favor. . .

If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” ― Mark Twain

[LWolf]

35. I'm going to go hug my dog now.

[rhett o rick]

36. k&r thanks for posting. nm

[joanbarnes]

37. Truly a miracle how quickly they heal...

[Jesus Malverde]

38. Thanks for sharing...nt

[nolabear]

39. The wounded who can still trust so often make the best healers. What a lesson!

Thank you!

[Faygo Kid]

40. Donating.

And more than the $5 they ask for.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

41. Human decency is far too uncommon. Thank you for giving us an example of some.

[Stargleamer]

43. "If there are no dogs in heaven. . .

then I want to go where they went." -- Will Rogers

[hvn_nbr_2]

44. That was wonderful. nt

[NJCher]

45. I try not to watch these things

because I am over-emotional about animals. Something like this will make me cry all morning and afternoon if I think about it.

But I'm glad I watched because Miley is a "pay-it-forward" type of dog.

And also it gave me the opportunity to donate, so another reason I'm glad I watched. Hugs to the OP for posting it.


Cher

[lumberjack_jeff]

46. Hope For Paws reviews

http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/hope-for-paws/#r_id-177657--user_id-234226
http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/hope-for-paws/page:3/#r_id-146567--user_id-193503
http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/26-2869386/hope-paws.aspx
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=262869386#.UqyXBPRDu_Y
http://goo.gl/maps/PlRhH


It's difficult to know how to best direct charity dollars, but I'm highly sensitized against being emotionally manipulated. Studies have shown that people will donate more money for a single sympathetic individual than 100 or 10,000, and it's apparent that Mr and Mrs Hagar have learned this lesson. It is also interesting to note that they haven't submitted a 2012 form 990.

Show me a video of the Beverly Hills rescue operation, the number of animals in your care and your adoption process and I'll lighten up.

There's no replacement for personal experience with the charity you're donating to, which for me means donate locally.

[Stuart G]

51. Very thoughtful, lumberjack_jeff, presents a different viewpoint, Shows time and effort.

Last edited Sat Dec 14, 2013, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)

This video made me cry, but that doesn't mean that the people that made the video are great.

It means they make great videos.

This was posted on You Tube on December 13..right around Christmas. ...a giving season... I love this video and it is a tear jerker, but the above post does ask honest questions. How many pets do they save a year? How to adopt. I have a moment of suspicion about this.

This sentence from the above post makes the most sense..

"There's no replacement for personal experience with the charity you're donating to, which for me means donate locally. "

You will know if the people are great pet care takers, and do not take advantage of donations. You can see it and get info on it, and go beyond a terrific video or videos..................

I might also add this, in my opinion, the music is such, that it tries to make you cry. Listen to the music carefully..It is a tearjerker on purpose. This video has over 500,000 views on You Tube. If one fifth gave five bucks, that is $500,000. Kinda sad to think that someone would make a video just to bring in that kind of money to save a helpless animal. Would someone do that?

[Contrary1]

66. The group I am involved with does not adopt out pets either...

We deal with rescue, and trying to reunite found pets with their owners.

What we do have is a network of vets, foster homes, other rescue groups, and no-kill shelters to call upon as needed. It is from these groups that new homes are found.

Maybe this is how the Hagars do it also, which would explain why there are no details regarding adoption of specific dogs on his site.

[NCarolinawoman]

68. Thanks for clarifying this.

Loved the video, but became concerned after reading some of the comments at the charity sites. Wished we knew someone here at DU who had firsthand knowledge.

Having said that, we CAN conclude that that sweet dog is so much better off NOW!

[magical thyme]

78. they work with other rescue organizations, who foster and adopt out the dogs

apparently the other organizations go to the Hagars for assistance with particularly difficult to get at dogs, due to their fear or accessibility.

If you watch the videos, at the beginning you will see which rescue they are working with and at the end you will see which rescue has custody of the dog to contact for adoption.

[flvegan]

70. Hold up.

What's the issue with this rescue? Personal opinion and internet posts aside, that is.

While I should be the first one to chime in on donating locally, folks should donate as they see fit. I find it almost comedic that someone suggests that people should donate to charity based non-emotionally. I guess the definition of "benevolence" escapes some. Go figure.

[lumberjack_jeff]

80. Dude. I didn't shoot Santa. n/t

[magical thyme]

83. I suspect an anti-animal rescue agenda

Since the poster in question, after suggesting that people donate to local groups that they can assess personally, saw fit to recommend an national human charity that he has personally blessed.

Either that, or a dog rescuer envious of the Hagar's success at attracting attention to their cause.

[lumberjack_jeff]

85. Impolite response.

"Human Charity"? My local chapter of PAWS?

Here's the deal. Given the level of poverty and disadvantage I experience daily in my professional life I won't send local money to a Beverly Hills charity, regardless how manipulative effective their videos are, and regardless of how well they obscure their current finances. There's plenty of donations to be collected from LA County to support their operation. There are plenty of stray dogs here at home.

How much do they spend per rescued dog? That would be interesting to know, wouldn't it? Or is that an inappropriate question to ask someone who has been nominated for sainthood?

"The poster in question" might suggest that anyone who questions his charity/nonprofit bonafides is invited to kiss the unsanitary part of his own shepherd-mix rescue dog.

This goes to show that there are some DU'ers who can't resist any opportunity to personally attack other DU'ers, even in a thread such as this.

My advice is correct.:
1) If possible donate locally. If you don't know the local charity landscape, you could do worse than to donate to your local United Way.
2) If you insist on donating because of a cool video, do your due diligence via Guidestar or Charity Navigator, sign up to access the organizations tax returns. If they haven't filed returns recently, it's a red flag.
3) If community feedback raises concerns about the organization, and one-third of the positive posts in the last 6 months are all on the same day?...

The same bullshit detectors we apply to business and politicians should apply to charities.

[magical thyme]

86. You didn't recommend your local Paws. But its funny you should bring up the United Way again.

I remember why I decided to never donate to them again. Since you object to a Beverly Hills-based dog rescue, this may be especially interesting for you to know.

A couple decades ago, we were annually "strongly encouraged" to donate to the United Way. They even provided us with a list of the local nonprofits they contributed to.

The list was pretty surprising. Especially the Groton Massachusetts Boy Scouts. Since you live on the opposite coast, I'll fill you in. You average working stiff couldn't afford to rent a closet in Groton, Mass, if there were a closet for rent, which there is not since it was mainly multimillion dollar farms for the wealthy.

Yes, those of us who could barely scrape by were encouraged to donate our dollars to maintain the Boy Scouts for the 1%ers of Massachusetts, who apparently couldn't be bothered to pay for their own fucking Boys Scouts.

The list featured other ridiculous nonprofits that were hardly in need of our hard-earned dollars. United Way is just another way for the 1%ers to steal from the working class.

You see, there's more than one way for nonprofits to scam the naive. What difference does it make if 99.9 cents of every dollar goes to charity and they file all their tax forms on time, when the "charity" is a 1% enclave?

[lumberjack_jeff]

87. The hell I didn't - in my very first post in this thread.

I can't speak for all United Way chapters. The local one does a good job in my area providing oversight and accountability to nonprofits like mine. The amount of money my organization gets from them is about what Hope For Paws spends on advertising and a website, but their guidance and advice keeps us accountable to the results we promised.

With a median home value of $1m, Beverly Hills looks a lot like a 1% enclave from my vantagepoint.

[magical thyme]

88. you mentioned donating locally after you edited your above response

and you didn't specify local rescue operations such as Paws. Just little blue links.

Likewise, you've edited your response below. You're really not doing dog rescue in general any favors by your sustained attack on this operation. You do realize that, don't you?

[magical thyme]

75. I don't see anything at the links you provided

that demonstrate that the IRS information has even been collected by them for 2012. Can you provide a link on their site to a charity they've listed that has 2012 tax info available? Possibly those monitoring sites do not yet have 2012 data. Because it does make clear the Hagars provided that tax information for 2009, 2010 and 2011. It seems unlikely that the Hagars would suddenly stop complying with IRS regulations.

I do see that you were able to provide direct links to the 2 complaints about them. It was nice to see how many 5 star reviews they had from people stating that the Hagars paid all the dogs' medical bills.

I have no problem if they draw a salary from the work that they do. Frankly, I wondered how Mr. Hagar made a living while spending countless hours...and sometimes days...working to humanely and safely rescue some of the stray dogs in several his videos.

[lumberjack_jeff]

76. All of the nonprofits with which I'm personally familiar...

Last edited Sun Dec 15, 2013, 01:44 PM - Edit history (2)

...including the one which I serve as exec. dir. have 2012 990 information available.

Here's an example.

The nonprofit world is awash with inefficient and wasteful organizations, dedicated only to fundraising.

I downloaded and reviewed their 2011 990 return and didn't find anything of concern. They spent about half of their $84,024 donations on animal care. The charity had $17,202 in the bank at the end of 2011 and they didn't take salaries. Given the polish, popularity and feedback that his videos get, I'd be surprised if his charity hasn't brought in far more money in 2012 and 2013 than it did previously. I hope they file their 2012 and 2013 returns soon.

If I weren't familiar with the local nonprofit landscape, I would send my donations to the United Way, they have a reasonably good process of validating the performance of organizations, channeling resources to the worthwhile programs and monitoring the outcomes.

In any event, living in the poor county that I do, I'll be damned if I'll send my donations to Beverly Hills - angels or not.

[magical thyme]

77. How does Guidestar collect their data?

Directly from the IRS? Because now you are suggesting that they haven't yet filed their 2012 tax return. That's a pretty serious allegation.

And can you prove they are taking the money for themselves? I'll bet those polished videos don't come free. Their website isn't free either. Half of their 2011 donations leaves about 42,000. Minus the $17,000 left in the bank, and you've got $25,000.

I don't donate to United Way because many years ago, back when I could actually see a list of the organizations they donated to, I found too many that I had issues with.

[lumberjack_jeff]

79. I assume from the IRS.

I know that there is nothing I have to do to get our tax return posted on guidestar... it just shows up there not long after it's filed.
I suppose it's possible that guidestar is simply dilatory in posting the results, but I searched for all of the small nonprofits in my local area that I could think of, and I couldn't find one, no matter how small, that didn't have a 2012 form 990 posted on both sites.

We have accounts at these rating organizations to promote transparency, but neither of them request tax documents.

I have seen organizations that appear to be several years behind on their 990 filings based on guidestar and CN entries. There don't appear to be any ramifications for failing to file so long as you haven't done it three years in a row.

I think you misread what I said. I said that in 2011, the last year for which data is available, they didn't take a salary.

They also had year-end reserves from 2010 - $6000 IIRC so 2010 reserves 2011 new reserves = 17,000.

[magical thyme]

82. At least one of the two complaints you linked to claims they live off the donations

Which makes the complaint bogus, imo.

"6 people found this review helpful

I have worked with this organization, and very disappointed with them. They do rescue dogs, HOWEVER only to highly publicize the rescue in order to get more money donations, of which they spend about 1/3 on the dogs, the rest goes to them to live off of."

And on review, the 2nd complaint you linked to also makes false claims. Their videos state at the end which rescue organization to contact in order to adopt. There are at least 2 or 3 different organizations (The Bill Foundation comes to mind) that they work with. And it claims that they don't have a website, only facebook, which also is false. I don't do facebook and have been on their website to view videos and read around on it.

As to your requirement that they show you their rescue facility and the dogs they care for, each of their videos makes clear that after they rescue the dogs and have them vetted they place them with other rescues that foster and adopt them out.

They are often contacted for the most difficult rescues, going into situations where the dogs are trapped, or are totally loose, and/or are terrified to the point of being dangerous. They show Eldar working with the dogs until they are safe to handle and able to be treated by the vets. It's also clear from some of the comments, the Hagars pay for the veterinary care.

IOW, they do what they are best at and work with others who then do what they are best at, and they promote those organizations as well.

[lumberjack_jeff]

84. The tax return I posted was from 2011

Last edited Sun Dec 15, 2013, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)

The complaints were from the last three months.

2) How do you know they are false claims? You don't, neither do I.
3) The video I watched suggests that people get in touch with H4P for adoption and strongly infers that they handle it.
4) The donors pay for the veterinarians. Their expenses are detailed on their tax returns. Unfortunately, they haven't filed a 2012 return so we don't know how much their operational costs are for the last 24 months.

[magical thyme]

91. I explained *exactly* why the claims were false in my post above

It is a false claim to say they don't have a website. I bought my leashes from the supposedly non-existant website. For your benefit:

http://www.hopeforpaws.org/

They complain that they called to adopt one of the dogs and never got a call back. MY OWN EYES SHOW ME whether or not the dog has been adopted, and WHICH SHELTER TO CONTACT TO ADOPT any of the dogs. It is a false claim to blame them for supposedly not returning a call to adopt a dog when they make it very clear that they don't shelter and adopt out all the dogs. It explicitly states at the end of the each video to please consider giving the dog in question a forever home by contacting the specific shelter that houses that dog. Apparently they started out fostering the dogs they rescued, but most of their recent rescues (that I've seen in the last year or so) have been joint involvement with other shelters. Even if they were fostering the specific dog, sometimes you just have to make a 2nd call. Messages do get lost, even in professional call centers.

Your form above shows how much money they spend on dog care. Since they don't have a facility to shelter the dogs, and make it clear on their videos that they work with shelters that *do* shelter and adopt out the dogs, that pretty much supports my "claim" that they provide the medical care. Meaning, not out of their own pockets, but out of the donations. That's how most rescues work, isn't it? Furthermore, my "claim" is supported by the numerous positive reviews that you conveniently ignored.

You posted above that they too, in $80K+ in 2011 and had $17K in the bank. The form above shows that they spent $69K on their total operation. That doesn't leave a heck of a lot for them to be "living on" as claimed in your link.

Yes, I bought 2 leashes from them, for the same price that would have gone to a store, but I'm guessing the profits from the leashes went to medical care or office expenses or paying for their website or whatever, which works for me. I also donate to my local shelter and have adopted 2 dogs and 2 cats from my local shelter.

Your tone from your first post in this thread has been one that will turn people off to you, not them. I spent most of my career in Marketing Communications. Here's a clue: you're not going to attract donations or support for your rescue by attacking other rescues. You're not doing any dogs any favors with this prolonged attack on Hope for Paws. You clearly have a grudge against them; instead of hating them, try learning from them. They're doing a lot to advertise the plight of abused and abandoned dogs.

[NastyRiffraff]

47. OK yeah, I cried

What a beautiful human being this man is. I wish I had more to give, but I did donate.

[Grammy23]

48. Not all of us can adopt one of these animals but.....

anyone who is moved by these videos and cares one little bit about the suffering of these animals can do other things. Donations are great. And every cent matters. Donations large and small all add up. Donations can be in the form of food and other supplies to organizations that rescue these poor animals. Not all can do that. Volunteering at a shelter or with groups that do the rescues is another way to help. Report abandoned and homeless animals. Go do paperwork at the shelter. They need willing helpers to do all kinds of jobs, not just go pull the animals off of a trash heap. Not all can do that either. But there is not one of us who can't spread the word by placing the video on Facebook or an email to family and friends who are open to the cause. Find a way to help. I know I will.

Edited to note: As mentioned by someone else, please KNOW who you are donating to. NOT all who ask for your donations are reputable or honest. So make sure you're supporting someone who is doing legitimate work and not just scamming you. Or who is mentally unstable and hoarding animals. We've had one or two people in our community who are actually hoarders and they do way more harm than good. They MEAN well but are not capable of doing what they claim they are doing. So do your homework to make sure your donation is doing what you WANT it to do.

[Beringia]

50. thanks to the people who saved him

he looks so young

[Uncle Joe]

52. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Contrary.

[shenmue]

53. Rescue rules.

[calimary]

69. Absolutely!

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. awww man...........

[PatrynXX]

56. I see these sort of videos

and I think there's strange people thinking the end of the world is around and gotta get guns.. One thing that was always great about Animal cops is seeing how pissed off people of any race get when they see animals mistreated. The other side naturally says if your Black you dont care about dogs period. Total blah I could say a swear word but the above video brought out these emotions that also piss me off. There's the side that doesn't care about animals thats not racist and there's the side that does. Thats not racist. Nothing to do with race. there is bad and good. It not black in white in that line in the sand

I was gonna say just n/t but had to say something - thumbsup!

[WillyT]

57. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Curmudgeoness]

58. That dog was in such horrible shape.

It broke my heart. It must have been in such misery.

And god, what a beautiful dog he turned out to be!

[ChiciB1]

60. OMG, Can Hardly Type...

I'm such a sap for animals and just can't stop crying. I have 2 chocolate labs right now but have had many animals in the past. Every time I hear about storms, hurricanes or anything like that my thoughts instantly go to "all the poor animals" who are lost, homeless or dead.

I'm unable to watch those dog/cat rescue programs because of this very thing. I once wanted to become a Vet, but decided I couldn't deal with euthanasia and this type of thing.

To all those who do this kind of work, I have nothing but absolute praise for you. Just not enough of you, but thank you for all the good work you do to help so many helpless animals.

[MissDeeds]

62. +1000

[MissDeeds]

61. Big tears here

What a heartbreaking and beautiful story. Thank goodness for kind and gentle people in this world who reach out to creatures in need.

I think I'm going to force my two pampered bichons to watch this. They don't know how lucky they are.

K&R

[ChiciB1]

63. I Have Two Chocolate Labs...

Mine are also our "other" two children. They even have their own fou-ton in the living room! But there's a reason for it. I had a German Shepherd that got sores from laying on the tile floor and needed lots of treatment. Learned a lesson and have throw rugs on the tile.

Right now I have 2 chocolate labs, but my oldest is suffering from lupoid onchyodystrophy and we've been treating her for about 6 months. Meds aren't working, but did start her on enzymes about a month ago. BUT, next week I'm taking her to a Internal Med & Dermatology Vet. I REALLY don't have the extra money for what it may cost, but she WILL get her treatment! I hope they won't have to amputate a couple of her toes, but it may come to that. This is an immune system disease that attacks a dogs nails. Not a run of the mill thing, but I'm glad I caught the problem when I did. Anyway, I do have a CareCredit account that was used only once, but it's still active. No interest on charges if you pay within a certain time, but can't be used until you pay the first $200.00. I'm thinking THAT amount will be reached on the first visit.

And a Big right back at cha! Don't come here as much as before because I'm either furious by what I read OR get depressed by it!

[LadyHawkAZ]

67. It doesn't work.

Whenever those heartstring-tugging ASPCA commercials come on, I point my pampered kitteh Jessie at the TV and explain to her how good her life is. She just gives me a Look and goes to sleep.

She loves me, I know she does.

[840high]

64. Wonderful - my heart is full of love.

[Liberal_in_LA]

65. awwww

[cry baby]

71. donated! nt

[DeSwiss]

73. K&R

[littlemissmartypants]

74. Thank you. eom

[Lizzie Poppet]

81. Hang on a sec...got something in my eye.

<3

[Stinky The Clown]

90. Damn

[libdem4life]

92. Going to bump again...came back to me...those who haven't seen it, enjoy. Those who have, oh well

here it is again.