Our List: Send Some $ to Kabul and Delhi (New York) For Animals in Need
In 1968, some kind hearted souls found a terrier mom with hungry newborns under an old barn in Delhi, New York. The local animal shelter told them there was no room at the inn, and suggested they start a shelter themselves. More than 50 years later, Heart of the Catskills Humane Society is still going strong.
We've happily sent them a check for saving Winkie Winkerton. Read about Winkie here.
It’s that time of year, folks, to support animals and the humans who care for them. Here’s our list:
Pets of the Homeless supports two constituencies in need. There are between 175,000 and 350,000 cats and dogs in the US living with homeless owners. Help them out at petsofthehomeless.org. Very few shelters allow animal companions. We need to change that.
Animal rights are evolving fast all over the world and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is at the frontlines. Make a monthly donationto PETA before the end of the year and an anonymous foundation will kick in another $75 for the cause.
Animal Recovery Mission has an uncompromising statement of purpose: to eliminate extreme animal cruelty operations worldwide. The group has saved so many animals they had to build their own sanctuary to accommodate rescues.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has two missions, to heal humans with minimal drug intervention and to get animals out of animal research. Donors of $20 or more receive a yearly subscription to the group’s quarterly publication, Good Medicine.
Along those lines, the National Anti-Vivisection Society, “dedicated to ending the exploitation of animals used in science,” raises public awareness on animal experimentation and promotes alternatives to the cruel and often wasteful practice.
Then there are the animals who die horrible deaths, diced and sliced and boiled alive, before they land on your plate. The aims of Farm Sanctuary, of Watkins Glen, New York (and Los Angeles, CA) include fighting “the disastrous effects of animal agriculture on animals, the environment, social justice, and public health through rescue, education, and advocacy.”
Animals’ Angels focus on livestock trucks on highways, animal markets and auctions, collecting stations, and slaughterhouses. They report atrocities to applicable law enforcement and government agencies, but when possible work with management to improve the short life of farm animals.
The Humane League of Rockville, Maryland started out in 2005, a tiny grassroots group protesting foie gras on the menus of Philadelphia restaurants. Today they boast a global reach in spreading the gospel of cruelty-free conditions for the animals we call food.
The Long Island-based Guardians of Rescue are unpaid volunteers – ex-military personnel, retired police detectives, carpenters, electricians (and even ex-convicts) – with a singular mission: helping abused animals.
Founded in 1869, Women's Animal Center is truly “America's First Animal Shelter” (a phrase they like so much they trademarked it). They help lower-income pet owners get high-quality, low-cost veterinary services including wellness exams, vaccinations, spaying and neutering, dentistry – the works.
Smiling Dog Farms specializes in unwanted doggos – the neglected or severely injured dogs and puppies, some needing extensive medical care, rescued from the street or from local shelters. Smiling Dog finds loving homes for these erstwhile undesirables.
Senior citizens who love their pets may need a hand to keep their furry companions healthy and happy. The all-volunteer Hospets helps out with food and vet costs, emergency needs, and other services tailored for older pet owners.
Don’t let the name Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue fool you – they also rescue regular- and plus-sized asses. Located on 100 acres of southern Pennsylvania farmland, the rescue is heaven-on-Earth for these once neglected beasts.
Groups dedicated to saving a wildlife species need our support. Friends of the Florida Panther is focused on protecting the native flora and fauna in southwestern Florida to restore panther populations in their historic range.
The Mara Elephant Project within Kenya’s Masai Mara nature reserve cares for its large charges by involving the local population in tracking, touring, and sensible solutions to crowding.
Even massive animals with weaponized snouts need protection, which is why groups like Baby Rhino Rescue exist. They work to secure safe spaces for rhinos so that “they can wander, graze, have mud baths, wade in rivers and live real rhino lives.”
Reservation Animal Rescue works in Native American communities with basic supplies (food!), mobile spay neuter clinics and foster care programs to improve the lives of abandoned animals.
While eating dogs is decreasingly cool in Korea, the taste for beagle-back barbecue persists in some quarters. Save Korean Dogs is on the case, operating out of Gimpo, a city northwest of Seoul. The group rescues pups intended for the meat market.
Even very good dogs need support in their twilight years. Paws of Honor is there “to provide veterinary care and products at no charge for retired military and law enforcement K9s that have served our country, locally or globally.”
So what happens to racing greyhounds past their betting days? A starting point for regional programs might be the Greyhound Project, Inc., a volunteer, non-profit that helps place these former professional athletes in forever homes.
Sometimes we need a hero pilot like Michael Schneider to swoop in and save an animal in the aftermath of a natural disaster or human-made catastrophe. Pilots to the Rescue has earned its wings on its rescue missions of domestic and endangered animals –and occasionally people.
When our whimsical president abandoned Kabul, Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, the American administrator of Kabul Small Animal Rescue, stayed put to help the city’s thousands of strays. She runs several shelters with her (male) helpers and is on call 24/7. Read our article about Maxwell-Jones here.
Finally, if you’d like to help “create a world where animals are cherished, respected, and free from unnecessary suffering,” now would be a good time to check out NYC Second Chance Rescue. Adopt, foster, donate, and get involved.
Photo credit: OlgaOvcharenko / Shutterstock
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