Homeless & Their Pets; Pilots & Their Dogs
Giving Tuesday was a few weeks ago but c’mon, there’s no deadline on giving. Here are some of our favorite charities:
The Wild Bird Fund on Manhattan’s upper west side is the only wild-animal clinic in the city. They treat more than 7500 patients per year, mostly the hundreds of bird species that live among us. “Supporting the Wild Bird Fund not only heals injured birds, but positively affects the people who try to help them, and shows a desire to take responsibility for the impact that we have had on the environment of our precious wildlife.” Watch them at work: youtube.com/watch?v=cugRPm-D3GE. (wildbirdfund.org)
Animal Haven is located downtown but it serves NY, NJ, and CT: “We find homes for abandoned cats and dogs in New York City and throughout the Tri-State area, and provide behavior intervention when needed to improve chances of adoption.” (youtube.com/watch?v=ddVNYfvbv3M. See animalhaven.org)
Farther afield, Panthera takes care of big cats – cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, lions, pumas, snow leopards and tigers. Their mission: “Ensure a future for wild cats and the vast landscapes on which they depend.” Jeremy Irons narrates Panthera’s story here: youtube.com/watch?v=m9ZuAiGaBic. (panthera.org)
Since corporations are people (according to a creative interpretation of the 14th Amendment), we need a nonprofit like @asyousow.org
to encourage these people to be good citizens. “Our mission is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.” (asyousow.org)
Here are two groups who could use a helping hand: the unhoused and their pets. Feeding Pets of the Homeless (petsofthehomeless.org) is on it: “We believe every pet deserves not to be hungry or suffer from an illness or injury. If you are homeless, or a veteran, and need help caring for your pet, we can help.”
Sometimes abandoned pets – through natural disasters or other calamities – need to travel far to find safe haven. Thousands of volunteer airplane pilots are coordinated by Pilots N Paws to do the job. “The intent of Pilots N Paws is to provide an environment in which volunteers can come together and arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter, and all other related activities.” (Watch a rescue here: youtube.com/watch?v=GMIWam_YXus. pilotsnpaws.org)
We vetted these organizations (well, Charity Navigator did) so you don’t have to. They all operate efficiently and are transparent about how they spend donated funds.
To have the means to give is itself a gift. Enjoy it.
Photo credit: Feeding Pets of the Homeless®
