For me, no month summons up more memories and emotions than December. It’s such a resonant season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, or Winter Solstice. December is the time when many of us look back on the past 12 months and forward to what’s next. So in that spirit, I’m taking a look at 2023 to share just a few of the moments that will stay in my memory forever.
As seasons change and temperatures drop we can all get a little run down, and before you know it the first signs of an upper respiratory illness start to appear. The same is true for our pets. Know how to recognize the signs that your furry friend might be a little under the weather and how you can avoid these health risks in the future.
She looked like she’d swallowed a bowling ball. From other angles, she looked like a kangaroo. No matter how she sat, lay, or stood, she could not get comfortable. She didn’t walk, she waddled. And she ate like she was feeding a football team. Then, after days of watching and waiting, her seven sweet nuggets arrived…and I finally got some sleep.
Veterans Day is a time to salute the dedication and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes. North Shore Animal League America’s Shelter Pet Outreach Team (SPOT) honors their service not just on this special day but throughout the year. For over a decade, our SPOT volunteers have been making regular visits to the New York State Veterans Home at St. Albans, bringing joy, comfort and companionship in the form of puppies to brighten the days of the residents.
North Shore Animal League America completed another collaborative rescue mission this October with partner National Mill Dog Rescue, saving 47 dogs and puppies from commercial breeding facilities in the Midwest. Encompassing a variety of primarily small breeds from poodles to corgis, the canines arrived at our Port Washington campus in dire need of extensive care after lives spent in cramped cages, devoid of nurturing.
Year after year, our rescue efforts have a transformative impact on the lives of homeless animals and the people who love them. On a special mission this spring – one of several conducted through our ongoing partnership with National Mill Dog Rescue – we saved the lives of 50 dogs and puppies, including a beautiful 7-year-old Golden Retriever named Darla, whose trauma encapsulates both the cruelty of commercial breeding facilities and the power of nurturing to provide hope.
I’ll never forget Fig and Dumpling, two of the most challenging kittens ever enrolled in my socialization program. When they arrived in my guest bathroom in 2016, they were beautiful but emaciated…and they were manic! They scaled the walls, peed and pooped everywhere, and ripped the curtains off the windows.
Duff’s Bar in Brooklyn, NY is the kind of place where patrons become family. After renowned musician Peter Steele passed away in 2010 it only made sense that his friends congregated at Duff’s to remember him. Over the years proprietor Jimmy Duff wanted to give the remembrance even more meaning.
Furry-Side Chats. Heartwarming Adoption Tails. Our adoption events are all about bringing new families together, whether on our Long Island campus, or any of our 2,000 shelter partners across the country!
North Shore Animal League America collaborated with rescue partner Lucky Paws Animal Foundation to save cats and kittens impacted by the devastating fires in Maui. On September 10, 17 felines arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a long journey from Hawaii, on their way to the safety of our Port Washington campus.