You May Already Know Her Name, But Did You Know What She Does For Dogs?


Chances are you’ve heard the name Vanderpump at some point in your life.


British-American actor, restaurateur, author and reality television star Lisa Vanderpump has been making headlines for years, with no shortage of success. Her name has become nearly synonymous with Beverly Hills, but it’s the dog meat trade that’s driving her dedication these days.

Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, have been supporting dog rescue for years. They organized a march against the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in 2015, Today reports. The march was drawn out from L.A.’s MacArthur Park to the Chinese Consulate General, but Vanderpump took her stance in support of House Resolution 752, “condemning the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, and urging China to end the dog meat trade,” all the way to Washington D.C.

While not necessarily animal rights activists, as Vanderpump told the Daily Mail about herself and Todd, the couple loves dogs and cannot abide the torture of these animals, which so often happens when they are consigned to the meat trade.

“It doesn’t matter is you are a republican or a democrat,” a Washington Post intern heard Vanderpump say as she made her case. “Our cause should be everyone’s cause.”


Vanderpump hasn’t stopped there. The Vanderpump Dog Foundation, founded in 2016, has set forth a mission of improving animal welfare and ending the torture and sale of dogs as meat. And like its founder, the charitable foundation has also been a success, not only raising large amounts of money through extravagant galas, but facilitating the actual rescue of dogs bound for certain death in the meat trade.

As PR Newswire reported in November of 2016, the Vanderpump Dog Foundation was able to transport 5 dogs, rescued from the Chinese meat trade, to the United States, where they would be adopted into caring homes.

“We are so thankful for our donors and the opportunity to give these dogs a second chance at life,” said Dr. John Sessa, veterinarian and founding member of the Vanderpump Dog Foundation. “We hope that this adoption can form as a template for future international adoptions we can execute.”

According to the Vanderpump Dog Foundation’s website, 80 dogs have been rescued from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival and sponsored by the VDF since 2016. The foundation is helping to provide brighter futures for these animals by working with a Chinese rescue sanctuary, operated by the Shenzhen Dog Protections Association.

World Dog Day, an event created by the VDF and held May 2016, attracted a crowd of 4,000 people and almost 3,000 dogs, the foundation maintains.

The day raised awareness of animal cruelty and rescue efforts around the world. Animal activists Marc Ching from the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation and Andrea Gung from the Duo Duo Animal Welfare Organization were recognized by the VDF for work in ending the torture of dogs around the world. And it even gave a few celebrities a chance to show off their canine friends.

“I think it’s a day where we all come together and we celebrate the wonderful creatures in our lives,” Vanderpump said at the event. “It’s all about creating noise. When you create noise, you’ll be heard. We are a voice for the voiceless, but I think by making noise, we can implement change, and that’s what we’re doing.”

+ There are no comments

Add yours