INTERVIEW: Animal ‘Guardians’ to be featured on new Animal Planet series
Guardians of Rescue, an animal-advocacy and rescue group headed by President Rob Misseri, is the subject of a new reality series on Animal Planet. The Guardians, set to premiere Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m., follows Misseri and his team as they navigate the difficult and often contentious world of animal neglect and abuse. Their mission is simple but difficult to achieve: Save animals, and give them a better life.
“I see a big void and a need in the animal-rescue community where there was a big disconnection in so many unique cases, whether it would be feral cats being poisoned, or there’s a person who may have kept dogs in a yard for protection,” Misseri said in a recent phone interview. “They were drug dealers, and [the dogs] were there to provide an alert system. So if the police would come to raid their house, this would give them a heads-up, and law enforcement can’t do much about it, especially if they have somewhat of shelter and they were being fed on a regular basis. It was that big void, and I felt there was a need to go in, and really intervene and put the necessary legal pressure on them.”
Misseri and company don’t pass judgment or take over the role of the police. They are interested in animal rescue and saving those dogs and cats who are innocent bystanders of neglect. “I care about the animals that you have out here in February that are protecting your business, so maybe it’s time you go and invest in a camera system,” he said as one example. “Or have a guy sit outside, but these dogs shouldn’t be subjected to this cold weather and on heavy chains.”
When Misseri had the idea for Guardians of Rescue, several challenges arose. He needed to find the right team members for the job — workers who had the passion and availability to help the animals in need. If Misseri called at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, he expected an answer. If Misseri called at 2 a.m. later that night, he expected an answer. “We’re going into some hard, rigid communities, so you need to have the guts to do it,” he said. “You have to realize that there’s always going to be risks.”
Guardians of Rescue works in several areas that can be quite different economically. Misseri said in high-end, wealthy communities, the team finds illegal puppy flippers, essentially people who pretend they’re selling dogs from responsible, loving breeders, but in actuality the pets come from so-called “puppy mills.”
“These people are paying big money for these dogs, and they’re getting genetically sick dogs and being fooled,” Misseri said. “It does run the spectrum. There really isn’t any bias when it comes to social status. It’s truly across the spectrum in some of the wealthiest and some of the poorest communities.”
Most cases that Guardians of Rescue intervenes on deal with people who are decent and want a better life for their pets. Sometimes they don’t have the resources or money to continue in their care, so Misseri’s organization steps in to provide support.
It turns out that too often pet owners are not trained properly on the commitment needed to successfully raise a pet. Misseri and his team provide this information and also spread the message of the value in spaying and neutering pets.
“We change their lives through our process,” he said. “We make a difference. We show them that we’re here to help. We’re not always there to look to take an animal away. We’re there to look to keep the animal in your life, but this is the way you do it. Even if we have to put them on a program where we get the food sent to their house every week through Amazon or through one of these delivery services. … We’re able to keep that animal in their life, so that it doesn’t wind up in a shelter or doesn’t wind up a dog that we can’t get adopted. It works out. It works out for everybody, and we see people coming around.”
For viewers who tune in to The Guardians, Misseri hopes they leave the reality series with an understanding of the plight of pets in the United States. He hopes that they convey the power of the individual to make a difference in the lives of these animals.
“Yes, these dogs are not in the greatest environment, and I wish they could be living in a great environment on someone’s couch,” he said. “But the reality is that’s not reality. It’s just not. … I think we touch on that, and we also touch on how to change it, how to change each process, and change people’s views and show people that you can be different.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Guardians will premiere Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet. Click here for more information.
