Samantha Ketelsen began volunteering at Animal League America during a time of uncertainty, and it quickly became something she couldn’t imagine giving up. “I was laid off in 2020, like a lot of people,” Samantha shared, “and I was just trying to find something meaningful to do. My mom volunteered here before and had a great experience, so I thought, why not? And I just fell in love with it and never stopped going.”
Phil’s tail is in constant motion, even throughout his intake exam at our Pet Health Centers. As veterinarians carefully assessed his injuries, he leaned in for attention, eager for connection despite everything he has endured. “That’s the thing,” said Dr. Gerard Laheney, Animal League America Supervising Veterinarian. “He’s been through a lot of horrors but still maintains this really sweet disposition.”
For Alyssa Campbell, a love for animals has always been there, it just took time for the opportunity to catch up. She wasn’t able to have pets in her childhood home, so she found other ways to be close to animals. “I was always the person watching my neighbor’s dog when they went on vacation,” she shared. “I would go to shelters just to spend time with the animals. That was the closest I could get.”
Expanding the World for Shelter Dogs For Kimberly Bayardelle, volunteering at North Shore Animal League America is rooted in a lifelong commitment to rescue. “I’ve had rescue animals since I was little,” she shared. “It started with my parents and grandparents; it’s just always been part of my life. I’ve Read More
Spring arrives this year on March 20, at exactly10:46 am EDT. For those of us in the Northeast, it can’t get here soon enough. It’s been a hard winter for many, including homeless pets and wildlife who endured days of freezing temperatures and two major storms, one a record-breaking “snowmageddon.”
When a powerful winter storm swept across Long Island overnight Sunday, February 22, into Monday, February 23, it left an unforgettable mark on the region. By morning, more than two feet of snow had blanketed the area — the most intense local blizzard in almost a decade — transforming Port Washington into a landscape of towering drifts and buried streets. While much of the community hunkered down to ride out the storm, our Snow Emergency Team geared up for what was ahead, preparing cots to stay overnight at the shelter since the roads would be impassable for anyone else trying to reach our campus.
March began at our Port Washington, NY campus as we welcomed a very special group of new arrivals — over 50 puppies, including a litter of 9 along with their extraordinary mom, Mama Mia. Their journey to safety was made possible thanks to the remarkable teamwork and compassion of our rescue partners Paws 4 Life and That Crazy Dog Lady.
February is widely recognized as American Heart Month, a national campaign to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease in people. But it’s also the perfect time to focus on the hearts beating quietly beside us every day — our dogs and cats.
Did you know that a cat’s heart is about the size of a small apricot and, depending on the individual cat, weighs no more than 20 grams? That’s less than a double AA battery! For my Florida foster, Cora Valentine, it’s even lighter because Cora was born with a hole in her heart… a minuscule imperfection that threatens her life, and all I want to do is fill that hole with love.
In the early morning hours of a bitterly cold morning, North Shore Animal League America’s Mobile Rescue Unit pulled into our Port Washington campus carrying precious cargo — 50 dogs rescued from commercial breeding operations across the Midwest. Take a look inside our first commercial breeding rescue of 2026.