Hitting the Trails with Frosted Faces
The Frosted Faces Foundation is a rescue that focuses on dogs eight years or older who have lost their homes for various reasons. They have occasionally rescued younger dogs with serious medical needs.
Frosted Faces Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization started in June 2014 by Andrew and Kelly Smisek. According to Smisek, their mission is to deliver the promise of family and quality veterinary care to senior animals whose love and lives are in jeopardy. There is a pet overpopulation crisis in Southern California and many other parts of the country. Too many dogs and cats are being bred and end up in the public shelter system. Most shelters are overcrowded to the point that they regularly euthanize healthy and adoptable pets because they don’t have the space and capacity for care. Senior pets are more likely to be euthanized because they are considered less adoptable. So, the Smiseks rescue as many senior pets as possible and have established programs to help keep them in their homes and out of the shelter system.
Volunteers are such an essential part of this foundation. Thousands of wonderful people have registered to volunteer throughout the years. Some volunteer only on occasion, while others volunteer nearly every day. They try to have at least two to three volunteers on site to help the staff during their hours of operation from 7 am to 5:30 pm. “We are always looking for more volunteers to engage with our frosted faces and improve the dogs’ quality of life while they wait at our facility for a family,” says Smisek.
Frosted Faces welcomes volunteers to join them on their weekly hikes with the dogs. On Sunday morning, everyone meets at the designated trail at 8:00 am, where Frosted Faces arrive with their van full of all the dogs. Each volunteer gets to hike with a dog for about 1.5 hours before the dogs are loaded up and taken back to the facility. “We always choose a hiking trail around Ramona for our Sunday hikes,” says Smisek. “We are so lucky to live in a beautiful area with lots of access to nature. We often hike local trails like the Ramona Grasslands Preserve, Barnett Ranch, the Ramona Oaks Shade Trail, Stone Mountain Trail, and Simon County Preserve.”
The hikes are a great way to give these dogs some exercise and enrichment, as well as engage with our community. Plus, some volunteers fall in love with the dogs they hike with and choose to foster or adopt them. “We’ve been doing these hikes every Sunday for almost five years, and we are very grateful to have had consistent attendance of 50+ volunteers each week.” Many volunteers attend every week and have even become good friends with each other as a result. The community of compassionate people that has formed around Frosted Faces Foundation is a core part of their success. If you are interested in volunteering at the facility or on the hikes, you can fill out the Volunteer Registration Form on their website.
Now that summer is here, Frosted Faces will be conducting Sunday hikes regularly at the Ramona Oaks Shade Trail, where they can find the most shade on warm mornings. They host an Open House every Saturday and Sunday at the facility from 10 am to 1 pm, where the public can tour the facility and meet all the dogs. They also host a volunteer orientation every Sunday from 11 am to 1 pm, where new volunteers can get trained on the basics of volunteering onsite and see how the operation runs on a daily basis.
Frosted Faces always has about 50 dogs onsite. Whenever someone takes a dog home through foster or adoption, it opens space to save another dog from a shelter. According to Smisek, dozens of families living in the San Diego Country Estates have adopted or fostered animals from the Frosted Faces Foundation and volunteer at the facility. “We are so grateful to have so much support from the Ramona community and beyond,” says Smisek.
One of the fun events they have lined up in the fall is their Trick or Treat Trail around Halloween time. The event is held on their property, and the public is invited to attend with their dogs. They set up doggy stations around their walking trails, each with a game or activity for the dogs to win a treat. They also have music, a food truck, beverages, and a costume contest judged by Ramona community leaders. Everyone is encouraged to dress up in costume with their dogs for a chance to win.
The facility is located at 1448 Pine Street, and they hope to see you on the trail!
