12/13/2024
I’m proud to be friends with this amazing human being.
And yes, I’m jealous of your book collection and the fact you had a fox at one point of your life Kyle Murphy!
𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑲𝒚𝒍𝒆: 𝑨 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒆
In the heart of animal rescue lies a unique breed of human—one driven by compassion, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to the creatures we share this world with. Kyle is one such person, a manager at Villalobos Rescue Center (VRC) with a lifelong passion for helping animals. With over a decade of experience at VRC and a background teeming with hands-on work and professional training, Kyle’s journey is nothing short of inspiring.
𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬.
“I grew up with all sorts of animals, and I was constantly bringing animals home to help rehabilitate. I had a fox, a bunch of raccoons, squirrels, birds of all types, fish, lizards, snakes, frogs, spiders, chickens, opossums… And of course cats and dogs. Most of my dogs have been larger breeds, Malamutes, Huskies, Great Pyrenees, German Shepherds, Dobermans, but I’ve also had a few smaller dogs like Pitbulls and even poodles.”
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐑𝐂?
“I discovered VRC by accident, took a tour, volunteered for dog walks, and was offered a job. I’m one of the managers now. I’ve been the tour guide, I do behavioral work, training, go out on rescues—I work with the dogs. I’ve been here about a decade.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫?
“I’ve taken the Karen Pryor courses, the Ian Dunbar courses, some of the Victoria Stilwell classes. I attend as many conferences as I can and have a library dedicated to dogs that make most other trainers jealous.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨?
“For me, the most rewarding part of the job is when you see a dog coming out of its shell and showing you some trust and personality.”
𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐑𝐂?
“One of my favorite stories to tell is when the WWE is in town for a show. A lot of their wrestlers love dogs and would come by for a tour or to walk dogs. It is usually the ‘bad guy’ wrestlers who stop by, and it is cool to see a 6-foot-8 tall tattoo-covered bad guy absolutely melt over a puppy or an older dog.”
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭?
“I work with animals because I believe that humans owe them. We domesticated them, we breed them, we have to step up and not abandon them.”
𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
“I remember as a little kid, maybe 4 or 5 years old, going to the playground by myself and seeing a stray dog. For some reason, I got scared and called it a ‘bad dog!’ and told it to go home. I started walking home when suddenly it hit me that this dog was scared and lost and came up to me for help. I was sick with guilt and I spent hours looking for it. After that day, any stray, any hurt or sick animal I brought home and still do.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?
“When it comes to animal rescue, people should know that we pour our heart and soul into this, and sometimes we can become exhausted not only from the rescuing and seeing the abuse out there, but from the abuse people give us, both online and in real life. If you know someone who works in rescue and they seem grumpy, buy them a coffee or send them some funny memes. We cry more than you think we do, and a good chuckle at a video or cartoon or a kind word of encouragement can help us get through a tough day.”
𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?
“When it comes to adopting, if you aren’t sure if you are ready to adopt, why not foster first? It gets a dog out, you can discover if you are ready for a dog or not, and everyone wins.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?
“When it comes to rescue work, two things that I feel strongly about are rehabilitation and community outreach. Too many times people have felt that they need to surrender a dog because they didn’t have the resources or knowledge to improve their situation with their pet. Sometimes all it can take is a simple fix like repairing a fence, or even showing someone how to properly hold a leash to make a world of difference for them and their dog. Sometimes people just need a little updated education to learn how to improve their relationship with their dog. When we have empathy and help others in those situations, we can build stronger communities that are more knowledgeable in animal welfare.”
𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐬.
“I have dogs and lizards and chickens. Everyone in my neighborhood knows my dogs and will come out of their houses to say hello to them when I take them for a walk.
“Teriyaki, my Doberman, is the one most people know best. One of my dogs, Mule, met a USPS driver delivering a package one day. The driver was nervous and asked me if he was friendly, and I told him all of my dogs are, and he can pet Mule if he likes. The driver gave him a butt rub and then asked me if Teriyaki lived here. I told him yes, and he got all excited, telling me he has heard of him. The driver asked if he could give Mule a cookie and ran back to his truck. After a few moments, he came back with a chicken sandwich to split with Mule, who loved every bite of it.”
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?
“Something that dogs have taught me is better control of my emotions. When approaching a stray that you don’t know, being calmer and happy helps win a dog over. Even after you have the dog secure, if a dog is scared or unsure, being calm and respectful, and using your head can help bring that dog around much faster and build trust.”
𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞?
“If I could be any dog, I would want to be an Irish Wolfhound. Gigantic, powerful dogs with a kind heart.”
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?
“At the end of the day, I sleep in a pile of large-breed dogs in my bed, drifting off to the sounds of them snoring. Any happy ending story will always make me smile. I love seeing pics of dogs I’ve rescued or worked with living their best lives.”
Kyle’s passion, empathy, and wisdom shine through in his work at VRC and beyond. His dedication to animals and his community serves as a reminder of how one person’s efforts can ripple out to make the world a better place!
𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐑𝐂!
Instructed by Elle Williams CPDT-KA, FFCP, Reward Based (R+) training, behavior modification and AKC title evaluator.
