Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals Rescue

In 1979 while driving to Bakersfield, California, Grillo rescued a black doberman which had been abandoned in the Angeles National Forest. He named the dog Delta, the first of thousands of animals Grillo made it his mission to save. A few months after rescuing his organization's namesake, Grillo discovered a few dozen more castaways during another outing to the forest. He brought them to his family home, which drew the ire of neighbors. Grillo purchased and renovated a condemned kennel for the animals and moved it to his present site in Acton.

In 1989, Grillo set the first traps in a campaign to remove feral cats that for decades had lived on the beachfront rocks along the promenade outside Holiday Inn in Ventura. He received an endorsement of the move from the state Parks and Recreation Department, which controls San Buenaventura State Beach. Grillo said the two dozen cats he rescued were remnants of a sick and dying colony that at one time numbered about 100.[6]

D.E.L.T.A. Rescue is the only organization in America that rescues animals abandoned in the wilderness. It carries a care-for-life policy and does not put its animals up for adoption to assure their safety and longevity.

Lores is one of 600 previously unwanted cats Grillo and his staff care for on a daily basis.

The dogs are paired off in hundreds of yards with stucco dwellings, wading pools and shade coverings. Hundreds of feral or previously abused and abandoned felines live in more than 40 indoor/outdoor catteries.[2]

In association with a physician at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center, D.E.L.T.A. Rescue established the world's first kidney dialysis center for dogs and cats. D.E.L.T.A. Rescue has a total of two state-of-the-art hospitals that include dog and cat intensive care units, physical therapy and rehabilitation, deep-tissue ultrasound, electrostimulation, treadmill and hydrotherapy. "There are no restrictions on practicing medicine. We treat each animal like a person," said Grillo. "[We keep] them comfortable at all times. Heart disease, geriatrics, cancer, kidney disease and other chronic illness are treated here." D.E.L.T.A. Rescue chief veterinarian Dr. Gaylord Brown says he has no idea how much the medical care costs. "The nice thing about it is, I honestly don't have to worry about that," Brown said. "Leo says, 'You tell me what needs to be done and I'll get out there and see that it happens.'"[2]

Grillo with Willy at Horse Rescue of America, a care-for-life refuge. Willy was age 5 when he was rescued.

Clear morning skies favored a preemptive air assault, prompting Grillo's call for a federal probe. Hours after this image was recorded, two firefighters were overtaken by a wall of burning mass. Courtesy: Leo Grillo

The D.E.L.T.A. Rescue sanctuary is home to Horse Rescue of America, which houses more than 30 previously forsaken horses. It was established in 1988 for the purpose of saving the lives of wild horses and burros slated for wholesale slaughter in North America. In 2007, a bill was introduced to the 110th Congress aimed at restoring prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild, free-roaming horses and burros. This bill has not become law.[9][10]

On August 30, 2009, the safety of the D.E.L.T.A. Rescue sanctuary was threatened when a nearby wildfire became treacherous. The arson fire started in La Cañada-Flintridge. Two firefighters were killed after the blaze moved in three directions. During a broadcast on KNX radio, Leo Grillo pleaded for an air assault. On September 28, 2009, Grillo distributed a nationwide press release, calling for a federal probe into circumstances that led up to the blaze. Grillo blamed a lack of air support for the wildfire, which became the largest blaze in the modern-day history of Los Angeles County.[11] "[The United States Forest Service] had the golden opportunity to put it out and they didn't," Grillo said.

On 30 September 2009, U.S. Forest Service officials announced a review of the initial multi-agency response to the 160,000-acre (650 km²) Station Fire amid complaints from Grillo and other residents that the early firefighting effort was poor. In a signed statement on this same day, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, applauded the probe.[12] The United States Forest Service administers the nation's 155 national forests. The Station fire blackened more than 250 square miles (650 km²) of the Angeles National Forest.[13]

At DELTA Rescue helipad, filling up from the water tanks

Leo Grillo watching as USFS uses helipad and utilizing water source

Video shows staff and USFS during this sand fire of 2016

In 2009, Grillo brought the idea of a pet tax exemption to the attention of fellow actor Robert Davi. Davi took Grillo's proposal to Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican who represents Michigan's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. McCotter introduced HR 3501, the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years Act, or HAPPY Act, to Congress in July 2009. HR 3501 is a bill that will allow taxpayers to deduct pet-related expenses from their income taxes.[14]

• Spano, John (May 17, 2006). "A Place to Live, Let Live; Leo Grillo rescues hundreds of animals and keeps them at his no-kill shelter for life. But he has run afoul of animal control officials and prosecutors". Los Angeles Times. pp. B.1. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
• Chakins, Steve (August 27, 1989). "Beach Cats to Swap Rocky Life Style for High Desert Shelter". Los Angeles Times.
• Cardoso, Bill (May 13, 1984). "Dog's Best Friend Combs Wilds for Abandoned Pets". Los Angeles Times.