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Dogged determination . . . Victor Neal ’92

Victor Neil ’92 started Love Our Local Animals to raise money for homeless, neglected and abandoned pets in the Fort Worth area.

Dogged determination . . . Victor Neal ’92

Victor Neil ’92 (with his dog Cole) helped found Love Our Local Animals in 2011 to raise money for homeless, neglected and abandoned pets in the Fort Worth area. (Photo by Carolyn Cruz)

Dogged determination . . . Victor Neal ’92

Victor Neil ’92 started Love Our Local Animals to raise money for homeless, neglected and abandoned pets in the Fort Worth area.

Victor Neil ’92 has always been an animal lover. Now he’s an animal saver.

Victor helped found Love Our Local Animals (LOLA) last year to raise money for homeless, neglected and abandoned pets in the Fort Worth area. The group provides a vital link between those providing hands-on care of abandoned animals and those who want to provide financial support.

“You have a lot of animals who need help, and you have a lot of organizations that are trying to help them but they don’t have the money,” Neil says. “We didn’t think there was a need for another rescue group, but there was a need for a group that could raise funds to help these groups pay their bills, the vet bills and the medications that help make these animals adoptable.”

Neil, who is TCU’s director of website management, shares his Fort Worth home with wife Cara Jacocks and two rescued dogs — Clare and Cole. He remembers getting the call four years ago from Cara that a pit bull mix had been abandoned in a Dallas apartment. They drove over to meet her.

“When I got there, she crawled up in my lap, licked my beard and fell asleep,” he says. “So after that, I couldn’t walk away.”

Cole came last year. Cara saw a photo of a litter of Australian shepherd-boxer mixes that needed a home and they couldn’t resist the one with a small white patch on his chest.

Neil says many animals that end up in local shelters have medical conditions that are easily treatable, but rescue groups lack the funds to pay the vet bills. Without help, the dogs continue to suffer, and in some cases, are put down.

LOLA holds fundraisers targeting area animal lovers such as a Dog Jog, held in October at the Fort Woof Dog Park, and also solicits donations via social media. On LOLA’s Facebook page, donors can chip in to help fund a particular animal’s treatment.

“It’s hard to run into someone who doesn’t love animals,” he says. “When people find out about it, they are always willing to help.”

On the Web:
lolafoundation.org

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