I wanted to make sure that I have a page devoted to something I care greatly about - the rescue of dogs here in NYC.
From the Mayor's Alliance for New York City Animals:
"The euthanasia rate of New York City's homeless animals is at its lowest in history. In collaboration with our participating rescue groups and shelters, we have succeeded in reducing euthanasia from 74% of the approximately 43,000 cats and dogs entering Animal Care & Control in 2002 (the first year of the Mayor's Alliance) to 43% in 2007 (below 50% for the first time in NYC history)."
While this is good news, it takes all of us to make the situation better for animals in need.
I've rescued many dogs since I began doing rescue work in 2007. Since then I have rescued and fostered about a dozen dogs. I work with Waggytail Rescue, and Holly DeRito and volunteers like Amy, Sarah, and many many others do all this as unpaid volunteers. Several times a year there are overflow moments of many animals at the kill shelters. The timing of them show human indifference and the view that animals are accessories or playthings instead of living feeling beings in their own right.
While I am not a vegetarian, I do believe that buying a pet and then abandoning it to a kill shelter instead of working to find a rescue is one of the laziest things imaginable, especially with over 140 to choose from in the metro NYC area. Christmas, (unliked gifts of animals), end of summer (no more fun time for an animal) and near holidays in general, including after valentine's day, are all key moments when there are a kind of rush of animals to shelters that create an overflow situation at the Animal kill shelter here in NYC. This means at those moments in particular, there are many perfectly fine animals that are killed to make room for others, even after years of being someone's perfect and loyal pet.
If anyone who likes my work, also is interested in rescue or possibly fostering (which can be even better - because it saves many more animals) please get in touch with your local animal rescue and offer your home to a little lost dog or cat in need - even temporarily if you can't adopt. It takes some patience, as the shelter environment wreaks havoc on an animal's sense of safety, but after sleeping for two days, they generally bounce back pretty quickly and are very grateful.
Elize
Here is a gallery of dogs I've rescued! And one who was a rescue that I am a big fan of - Roo.*
Petey
Honey Love
Punky
Officer Jim
Pablo
Charlotte
Precious
Stripper
And two more without pictures:
A pug I can't remember her name (only an overnight stay)
Stoli/Lucky
And of course, the epic - Macaroni, aka Maca, aka Moo. Who I couldn't give up. So I adopted him.
Roo*
*Roo - has nubs as front paws, hence the name Roo - as in a kangaroo, she balances on her back legs. She was rescued and adopted by Sarah. Roo is the sweetest creature on earth. Most likely she was abandoned by a breeder - mishaps of this kind happen often when dogs are inbred to create smaller dogs from within a small breeding pool - there are genetic problems with the animals, from disabilities like Roo's to behavior issues or other kinds of preconditions. Remember if you are going to buy from a breeder - never do it without knowing who you are buying your dog from! Most animals tossed into the shelter are usually dogs bought but then sicknesses emerge or other problems that people don't like to deal with - and they just get rid of the dog and get a new one - encouraging the breeder to make more animals who will eventually have issues - continuing the cycle of dog buying and abandonment.
