The story below mentions an outdated statistic; this is clarified within the text with the most updated research provided by the World Animal Foundation, as of June 1, 2024.
On any given day, Jasmine List has a multitude of Pomeranians running around her home in Southern California. The fluffy toy pups are best known for being photographed nuzzling in the arms of Paris Hilton or Gwen Stefani as they shop on luxurious plazas, such as Rodeo Drive. But these dogs don’t have that celebrity life—yet.
List has been running the OC Pom Rescue for three years out of Orange County. The organization boasts 100 volunteers and
places 150-200 Pomeranians in homes every year. It’s been featured on Hallmark twice, Thrillist, as well as many other publications. They have also partnered with Gay for Good, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes LGBTQ+ and allies to establish strong ties with a broader community.
Growing up, List loved animals and wanted to help them out. After List posted a photo of her own Pomeranian on Instagram, the Instagram account called “pommy mommy” liked the photo, so she clicked on the account and it sent her into a rabbit hole of rescuing information. After doing research and becoming involved with other rescues, List had a mission for her rescue.
“We wanted to get more dogs, do a lot more vetting and really get the word out, more of education than just rescuing,” says List.
When List, president of OC Pom, founded the organization in February 2020, it was just List and her two daughters, but within the past three years it has grown to over 100 volunteers, which includes donors and fosters working to rescue Pomeranians from about 20 to 25 shelters from Las Vegas to San Diego to Santa Barbara. The number of Pomeranians rescued from shelters per year ranges from 50 to 75, depending on if shelters have a lot of dogs or not.
Social media played a huge role in the growth of OC Pom as well. They would post dogs that were in shelters and ask if there was anyone willing to foster. Word of mouth also played a part because the Instagram page started with three followers right before COVID-19 and events weren’t able to be held.
“Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year,” according to the ASPCA. Three million of those animals are dogs. (*This statistic has since changed as of June 1, 2024. According to the World Animal Foundation, this number has grown to 6.5 million dogs, cats and other household pets.)
List’s rescue started by taking in any dogs, from pitbulls to chihuahuas. List eventually stuck with Pomeranians so she could focus on their unique needs. Learning their attributes and health issues helped her get them care and place them in the right home.
To promote the rescue, the team hosts events every month at breweries, wine marts, and other local businesses with raffles, contests, and all the cute little Pomeranians. From the events, OC Pom usually raises $1,500 to $2,000. This is due to merch being sold, baked goods and raffle baskets. There are some venues that actually give a percentage of profits from food or beer that is sold that day as well. Their total revenue for the year 2020 was $91,011, and most of that goes to veterinary costs. Veterinary fees vary per group of Pomeranians and how much work each one needs done, but in 2020 the rescue paid $68,453 towards vet costs.
List once had to rescue 57 Pomeranians from a hoarding situation, which led to huge vet fees. List received an email from a person saying there was someone in the community that needed to offload dogs from Northern California.
“They were really messed up, they had a lot of problems,” says List. The vet bill for this group of Pomeranians was $70,000, which List had to put down herself. They count on donations and adoption fees to help pay for vet visits and any medical procedures.
List always wants the best for the Pomeranians, so one thing that is unique from other rescues is that if someone no longer wants a Pomeranian that was adopted from List, the Pomeranian has to be returned to the OC Pom Rescue.
“They can’t euthanize the dog, they can’t give the dog away and they can’t put it in the shelter. It has to come back to us, it’s written in the contract,” says List.
The love List has for the Pomeranians shows with all she does for them. List spends anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week on OC Pom Rescue, depending on how many intakes the rescue has at the time. She and the rest of the board members are all volunteers, putting in the time for without pay. They’re paying it forward for the pups.
“Some of our dogs have started out with the worst history but end up living in Beverly Hills dripping in diamonds,” says List. “It’s amazing.”
