Cesar Vergara connects with canines and community.
From an early age, Redondo Beach resident Cesar Vergara loved dogs. A video
of him as a small child shows him happily cradling a young puppy.
Now Vergara channels that love via The D Team—a dog walking and training
service he runs with his wife, Elizabeth. They work with dogs that have
behavioral issues and take packs of other dogs on long hikes in the hills.
Like the famous Dog Whisperer who shares the same first name, Vergara is
very intuitive with animals. One dog he worked with was so vicious, her
owner thought she would have to give the dog up. After working with Vergara,
the dog calmed down and could finally play happily with other dogs.
Another client, Andi Hall, had this to say about Vergara: “It’s
obvious Cesar cares for animals very much and that he has a connection
with each pack member. He is a true professional, and we are fortunate
he is part of our community.”
Along with his love of animals, Vergara learned about the importance of
giving during his childhood. His father, a pastor, and mother fostered
seven children—including one they adopted.
After he graduated from high school, Vergara served as a translator for
a missionary traveling to Mexico. He was so impressed with the work of
the group that he spent the next five summers with them in Mexico, helping
build churches and entertaining children in some of the poorest villages.
Once he got married and started The D Team, Vergara stopped traveling to
Mexico in the summers, but he and Elizabeth continued to support the ministry
financially. And when, in 2017, an 8.2 earthquake struck Oaxaca, the couple
traveled with the group to provide aid.
“Buildings had crumbled and fallen on people,” he says of the
devastation. “People were living in tents.” The ministry distributed
water filters to families and installed water filtration systems for six
communities. Vergara also created a promotional video for the group, which
includes music he composed and recorded.
Cesar and Elizabeth wanted to start a family and were devastated when,
after getting pregnant, Elizabeth had a miscarriage of what would have
been twins. But the couple decided to turn their grief into another way
of helping others by supporting several organizations that work with children.
One organization runs care centers in China for abandoned children, while
another matches foster children and families in crisis with individuals
and churches that wish to help.
“We’re Christians, and we’re called to serve,”
says Cesar. “We believe every moment in life can be used to help
others.”
