PET RESCUE CENTER MOVES TO SANTA CLARITA NONPROFIT GROUP WORKS TO PREPARE SITE FOR GRAND OPENING IN SUMMER.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

NEWHALL - Bobby Dorafshar was driving home one day when he got a 911 call about two dogs dumped on the Antelope Valley Freeway.

Arriving on the scene, the animal behaviorist found law enforcement officers attempting to capture an Australian shepherd mix that was trying to stay near a fellow canine killed by a passing motorist. Dorafshar offered to help but was thanked and dismissed.

Nine months later, he saw the dog again, this time covered in ticks and sporting large patches of mange and wandering in a canyon.

That mutt is now named Mowgli and he lives a lot more comfortably now, not far from where he'd been abandoned, at the New Leash on Life Education, Rehabilitation and Adoption Center.

Thanks to the center volunteers, Mowgli's coat is regaining its luster and his eyes their twinkle. Three people have submitted applications to bring him into their families.

Dorafshar and his wife, Kelly, bought the Newhall-area house and its 14-acre parcel a year ago with the dream of making it into a no-kill pet adoption center. Both of them have learned how to operate heavy equipment and install pipes and fencing as they work with volunteers, through hot weather and wet, to get the property ready.

A three-story geodesic dome contains the center's offices, seminar rooms and socialization areas where the animals can meet potential new owners. Grounds have been cleared for the kennels scheduled to arrive soon, and a short row of wire mesh pens hold back a number of tail-waggers happy to hear Dorafshar's voice.

``Hello, my little monsters,'' he says affectionately, scratching a muzzle extended from a nearby cage.

Dorafshar has had a way with animals since 1990, when he began his career as an animal trainer. In 1994, he founded the mobile pet adoption services run by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, which he still coordinates. After he started that program, the number of animals euthanized dropped by 9 percent.

He founded New Leash on Life in 1997 as a nonprofit animal rescue organization dedicated to the welfare of pets and the community. Its office was in Woodland Hills. Upon completion of the kennels, the Dorafshars will center all their operations in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Believing an educated pet owner is a good pet owner - and one less likely to abandon an animal should things go wrong - Dorafshar started offering seminars at animal shelters in the city. He recently expanded the program to include local classrooms.

``We go out to school and do animal awareness programs as well as generally provide people with information,'' he said, ushering visitors into a large room equipped with a video screen and projection system. Two young pit bull puppies peeked in at them through a picture window.

Dorafshar pointed to a large array of videos. ``If they are interested in Jack Russell terriers, we can pull out the video, show it to them and ask them if this is really what they are looking for,'' he said. ``We teach them about body language and communicating with their pets.''

``There are 187,000 companion animals that go through the shelter systems and are euthanized each year,'' he said. ``Education is the only way to solve the problem.''

New Leash on Life is not a pet sanctuary, but many unwanteds are enjoying an extended visit. Dorafshar is confident there is a special person for every special animal. Having the canyon facility buys him time to arrange a perfect match.

``We go to the shelters and look for the dogs that might be on a limited time, or need some help socializing or have medical problems,'' he said.

``Those dogs are brought to the facility, where they get the attention they need, get housebroken and learn obedience, maybe a few tricks. That gives us the upper hand in placing the animal. People will wait for a dog that's housebroken and trained.''

The group's educational programs aren't just for the temporary residents. Dorafshar believes that educated people make excellent pet owners and is convinced a little training can head off the threat of pet abandonment when an owner gets frustrated.

Free weekend seminars will be offered at the center to anyone who wants to learn about a pet animal's behavior - an outreach effort Dorafshar is happy to make.

During a tour of the grounds, he pointed out various amenities for both animals and their human friends. A rose garden blooms where weeds once flourished and fields of green grass have replaced desert scrub.

An agility course lined with honeysuckle and morning glory is slowing coming into bloom. Palm trees line the path to Shadowland Memorial Park, an area awash in poppies and lupine, where pet owners can scatter ashes of pets that have passed on or simply visit the place for quiet reflection among the rustic canyons.

New Leash on Life also sponsors ``Nuts for Mutts,'' an annual dog show featuring categories like Best Physically Challenged, Best Dancer, Worst Breath and Fastest Eater as well as Best in Show. This year's event attracted 4,000 dog lovers and resulted in application submissions for every dog on their adoption list.

Adopting an dog or cat from the group involves filing a form with detailed questions about the applicant's home atmosphere, work hours, proposed feeding schedule, care, contingency plans and emotional environment offered to a new household pet.

Volunteer adoption counselors visit the applicant's home and, if the animal's needs can be met, adopters complete a contract to guarantee proper care of the new pet. Dorafshar takes pride in the group's record of less than 3 percent return of the more than 3,000 animals placed in the last five years.

Dorafshar anticipates a grand opening in summer for the center. For more information or to make a donation, call [phone] or visit www.newleash.org.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Bobby Dorafshar is shown with Mowgli, a shepherd mix rescued by his nonprofit group, New Leash on Life, which has moved from Woodland Hills to 14 acres in Santa Clarita.

(2 -- 3) Above, a rose garden is on the site of the New Leash on Life center, a no-kill pet adoption group recently moved to the Newhall area that will open soon. At left, Kelly Dorafshar, executive director of New Leash on Life, plays with a mother dog and her pups Friday. The center has recorded less than 3 percent return of some 3,000 animals placed in five years.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer