Foster parenting

Jessica Brockett, 17, couldn’t bear to see five puppies and a kitten euthanized at a pound in Los Angeles, so she took a couple of friends up north to rescue them.

The Corona del Mar High School student adopted all the pets, took them to see the veterinarian, cleaned them up and then started trying to find them homes. Along with her friends, Ian Lawson and Max Shack, she paraded them around the Balboa Peninsula and showed them off to interested passers-by.

The puppies drew a lot of excited people, but no adoptions came of it, so the group started calling friends and friends of friends. Eventually, they found owners for three of the puppies, which were picked up Thursday.

“I’m extremely passionate about animals,” Jessica said. “If I could, I would buy the whole shelter. I hate when people euthanize them, especially 2-month-old, 3-month-old puppies. They don’t deserve it.”

Although Jessica has never done anything like this before, her mother, Lisa, describes Jessica as the type of person who gets an idea in her head and follows through.

“She’s bull-headed. If she’s got a mission, she’s going to do it,” Lisa said.

When they lived in Texas, the family had pets because they had a big backyard, but now the Newport Beach apartment complex where they live doesn’t allow them. Lisa suspects this nostalgia might have also had something to do with her decision to rescue the animals.

Because the Brocketts couldn’t house the pets in the interim period between getting them from Los Angeles and sending them on their way, the friends had to share responsibility for them.

“They’re a pretty resourceful group of kids,” Lisa said. “I figured between all of them they’d figure it out.”

Two puppies and the kitten remain without homes as of Thursday afternoon. Jessica hopes to find owners for the puppies, but is dead set on keeping the kitten, which her mom says is impossible. It might need a home once the conflict is resolved.

Anyone interested in adopting one or more of the puppies should e-mail Jessica at [email protected].

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].