How LA Residents Can Help the Dogs of Skid Row

Each day, Joey Tuccio, like many Los Angeleans, works in the film industry. He is an actor and production insider (Drive, Nightcrawler, Whiplash) who co-founded Roadmap Writers, an educational platform that connects screenwriters to opportunities. But in his spare time (and we truly do wonder how he gets any sleep), Tuccio partners with local nonprofits such as the Animal Rescue Mission and Starts With One Day, to pursue his other passion project: saving dogs in and around Skid Row.

The Downtown Los Angeles neighborhood has become synonymous with the unhoused. As we’ve learned from The Street Vet, many folks living below the poverty level are also loving, sacrificing pet parents who simply need a little help to ensure their pup stays healthy. Unfortunately, as with any population — housed or otherwise — some people on Skid Row do not treat their animals humanely. And that is where Tuccio steps in.

With homelessness remaining a huge concern across the country, we honed in on Tuccio’s efforts on Skid Row to better understand the challenges that animal activists face, and how they circumvent them. In his case, he approaches his volunteer work with an equal mix of compassion and common sense. 

We caught up with the tireless Tuccio while he was in his car, en route to rescuing a dog. “I’m going to this encampment area where there were multiple Pit Bulls tied up to trees. We’re working on getting at least one out today,” he says. Tuccio follows up with us an hour later: “We just met the man. He surrendered his dog to us. And the dog is covered in wounds, covered in rashes. It’s just…always something.”

We asked Tuccio for some perspective on what abuse looks like on the streets, when to give grace to an unhoused person who’s doing the best they can, and how we, as ordinary citizens, can pitch in to help save animals in need.

Can you walk me through how you started your rescue work, specifically working with animals that belong to the unhoused?

I’ve been doing rescue for about 10 years. But it wasn’t until maybe a year-and-a-half ago that I got a call from [comedian-activist] Rebecca Corry from Stand Up for Pits about a situation on Skid Row. I’ve been to Skid Row a few times, but never on my own. So I went, and I saw multiple dogs caged in the direct sunlight, and there was just poop all over the place, pee, bite parks all over them. From there, I opened my eyes to the need in Skid Row and the surrounding area. 

How do you get tipped off to a dog needing help?

I get five to 10 messages a day through Instagram, or people give my phone number out. I get calls like, “This pit bull was abandoned” or “This dog is not doing well.” Some of our biggest allies are other unhoused people: “Look, I can't tell you who I am, and I can't be there with you, because I would get killed if I ratted out my neighbor. But this is what's happening…” So it’s a combination of other unhoused people who want to help, and just people driving down the street and seeing something questionable. It can be dangerous. Like, I’ve been in very scary situations where I’ve been trying to save a dog, and this person wanted to shoot in the head. He put his hand around my neck and explained to me how he snaps dogs’ necks. I’ve been chased down the street by people with knives. I am gay, and sometimes I amp up my gayness so they don't see me as a threat for whatever reason. I do kind of have a reputation for being the gay guy who comes and encourages people to…maybe you don’t need that many animals.

Why do some unhoused people have that many dogs?

Some were being used for dog-fighting [for money]. Sometimes they will hit the dog over the head with a bottle or throw acid on a dog to try to get a dog angry — to see if the dog can fight. If the dog doesn’t, they discard the dog. Dogs are currency, and especially so, in Skid Row. There’s definitely dog fighting, and the breeding going on is out of control. But I do want to add that there are a number of unhoused people who really do care for their dogs. We’ve had very heart-wrenching stories where a dog was stolen from a neighbor on Skid Row, and they would walk that dog past their owner, taunting the person to try to get your dog back, “We’ll kill you and your dog.”

This seems like a spay-neuter issue, too.

A lot of times we’ll say, “We would like to fix your dog for free. Well, take care of everything right here, The vetting, we’ll make sure the dog is healthy.” And sometimes they say, “No,” because they want to breed the dog.

Since these dogs are technically property, how do you legally rescue them?

A lot of times I can’t do anything because I can’t just take a dog. We have to really monitor it. And it takes a little while to get enough evidence to either tell the person, “Look, this is what’s happening. This is not okay, and this is not legal.” Sometimes I’ll take the dogs. And sometimes we do have to get Animal Control involved. So there are people who are fine having pets, but others enjoy hurting animals. They don’t see animals as living beings.

Are there laws or legislation that can help?

There are laws and legislation in place. But they’re not enforced, because nobody wants to be the bad guy. Nobody wants to be the one to take a dog away from an unhoused person. With Skid Row specifically, we did start a petition that got about 25,000 signatures to urge Mayor Karen Bass and [LA City Council member] Kevin de León to take action. Of course, nothing happened, but we were able to remove about 100 dogs on Skid Row and the surrounding areas. There are laws that if a dog is being abused, the dog needs to be removed. So civilians and rescuers like myself, who are not getting paid to do this, take time out of their work day to help.

How much does a pet parent’s addiction play into this crisis? 

For some, their dog is there for protection. But yes there is a group of unhoused people who have fallen on hard times and are dealing with addiction. We have gotten calls from people…where dogs were abandoned in [temporary housing] for weeks — literally weeks — because the person decided, “I need to go get drugs, and they would just leave their dogs there until the dogs are skeletons.” A neighbor will say, “This dog next door is howling. Can you please go in?”

What do you think of the Street Vet, who helps unhoused pet parents?

I know the Street Vet through rescue. They’ve helped a dog that we rescued. Her leg was broken, and they paid for it. But there is a bigger picture. And let’s just make it very clear: My rescue friends and I don’t wake up and rub our hands like, “Which dogs can we take from homeless people today?” We don’t want to take dogs, especially because it’s so complicated to find homes for dogs right now. So there are so many times that we will drive around Skid Row and give out food and water and supplies. Sometimes people will say…actually, the dog I’m getting today was somebody who walked up to me and said, “I want to surrender my dog.”

How do you rescue without having authorities stop you? 

Well, any dog that we get is either abandoned, where the dog is just roaming around the street, or the person surrenders the dog. This all goes back to following up and going back to these areas and saying, “Okay, this dog has been here for, like, a while, but still, nobody knows whose dog this is?” If the consensus is, “We don't know” and the dog is a starving skeleton, at that point, I’m going to take the dog and find the dog a home. Sometimes we’ll call animal control for support. It really is about following through and being like, “Okay, you’ve had this dog for a while. This dog is not doing well. This dog is overdosing on fentanyl. Would you be okay if we took this dog and tried to find this dog a better life?”

You’ve referenced Animal Control a few times, which doesn’t have a great image…

It’s never a “good” idea. But you know, for example, these dogs that were in a parking lot tied to trees that I went to on Sunday, where their ears were falling off — unfortunately, getting Animal Control to take those dogs to a place where they’re not covered in flies and are not being treated like…this one dog had a mass growing out of his stomach, and the person was treating it with motor oil. At that point, the animal going to a shelter is the best thing. It’s a controlled environment. I take pictures and videos of the dogs, and I network them. I try to get them out, so they don’t get put down. 

Basically, this buys you a little time. 

Exactly.

Clearly, this is a complicated issue, but what can so-called civilians do to help, beyond making monetary donations?

It’s really important to not rest your hat on a rescue, like, “Okay, here’s the dog. Take the dog.” The rescues out there are all full. Here’s what I can do: I can help you with networking the dog that you found. But it is kind of the public’s job to try to do things yourselves. I’ll guide people to, like, do a GoFundMe, raise money that could support the dog, by either [fostering them] at your place or in boarding.

Let’s say I’m driving or walking somewhere, and I see an unhoused person abusing their dog. What do I do?

Sometimes somebody will send me a picture of a dog that is, quote-unquote, being neglected by a homeless person. I look at the picture, and I’m like, “Look, it’s not the Ritz, and yes it’s not, like, the best life — but the dog is being taken care of. The dog does have shelter. The dog does have food and water. Just because it’s not in a house, doesn’t mean it’s being neglected. Sometimes what you think is neglect isn’t necessarily what the dog thinks.

What are signs of neglect that we should look out for?

This is where it goes back to checking in at a spot a few times. Does the dog ever have food or water? Is the dog tethered so tight that it’s indenting on the dog’s body. Or is it usually in the direct sunlight for hours and hours? Do you see the person hitting the dog? Those are the signs. Then there are times when it’s like, “Does this person have many, many dogs? What’s going on?” Follow up and monitor the situation. Sometimes it helps just going by and offering food.

How often are people suspicious of your intentions?

There have been times when I did approach an unhoused person — just to give some food — and it was very not welcome. Once someone said something when I left that kind of put things in perspective. He’s like, “How do I know you’re not giving them food that has poison in it?” I never even thought about that. Another thing that they have to deal with is, “Is this person a sociopath? Just because they’re driving a car doesn’t mean that they’re a good person.” So it is about peace offerings, about making sure that the unhoused person is okay — and not just focusing on the dog, but also opening your eyes. These people have to be on guard for survival every day. So it’s not that they’re bad people. 

What precautions should you take, just in case the pet parent is not friendly?

I would definitely suggest going with another person. Or just drive up, pull down the window, and say, “Do you need anything for your dog?” This is for two reasons. One is, I would never suggest anybody get out of their car and walk up to a dog when they have no idea who the dog is. But also just in case you have to leave [quickly]. 

What I can do at home, from a legislative standpoint, to advocate for abused dogs on the street?

That’s the million-dollar question. We did a petition. We’ve been to City Hall, and when it is time for the rescuers to talk, most of the council people leave. So there is a level of not caring. The animal rights to-do list is very low on their roster.

But homelessness is very high on their roster, because that’s what’s going to get them re-elected.

We’re loud, and my posts are very pointed. When I’m targeting people that follow me, they are already animal lovers. We need, like, celebrities to speak out. And one thing that I started to do that I think has been pretty helpful, is going to the mayor’s Instagram and commenting. There have been times when people write back. So it is also about making sure that people are aware.