This week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills sees Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd visit their new dog-rescue center in LA, which is set to open on March 2.
It’s part of a long history the couple have as advocates of animal welfare, with the pair having helped hundreds of dogs and raised huge sums of money through The Vanderpump Dog Foundation.
The charitable foundation was founded by Lisa and Ken, who own a number of successful restaurants in LA and London, with the aim of improving the welfare of dogs in the US and internationally.
It was inspired by the couple’s passion for their own dogs.
Vanderpump Dogs campaigns domestically and internationally for better dog welfare, treatment education and legislation.
Locally in Southern California, the foundation has been helping open the new dog shelter in an area struggling with the overpopulation of ‘companion dogs’, and is also campaigning for the spaying and neutering of dogs to reduce unwanted animals.
Internationally, Vanderpump Dogs are fervently campaigning against the dog meat trade in China and the foundation hopes to open a rescue center in the Shenzhen province rescuing dogs used for meat.
In China, there are 29 banned breeds of dog that cannot be re-homed inside the country, so the foundation is also working with Black Dog Rescue and Shenzhen Dog Protection Association to help rescue and transport dogs back to the US for re-homing.
Lisa Vanderpump has also in the past supported animal rights legislation and helped to present House Resolution 752 in front of the United States congress putting pressure on the government to condemn the dog meat trade.
Vanderpump Dogs stages lots of events to raise awareness of dog welfare as well as to raise money for its various projects.
The foundation staged a march in L.A. to protest the China meat trade and celebrated world dog day staging events for L.A. dog lovers.
They also hold an annual Gala every November. The 2016 gala was hosted by Mario Lopez and NSYNC singer Lance Bass receive a ‘Hero Dog’ award.
The Vanderpump Dog Foundation aims to continue to increase awareness of dog welfare in China and to become a go-to conduit for dog re-homing in the US.
You can get the latest updates on their Facebook and Twitter.
Lisa and her husband also own a popular pet supplies line called Vanderpump Pets.