Cat lovers in New York State are rejoicing today. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation (S.5532B/A.1303) that bans the declawing of cats in New York and the bill takes effect immediately. New York, the first state in the nation to ban the procedure of cat declawing, leads the way for others to follow.
Rebecca and Gisela, friends for 15 years, had both lost their beloved cats last year. Their grief had finally softened and a spot had opened up in each of their hearts again. They were ready to adopt and welcome new furry friends into their families. “It’s just too quiet in the house, it’s time for me to come to North Shore Animal League America,” said Rebecca. So Rebecca and Gisela, along with Gisela’s husband Frank, made plans to visit our campus in Port Washington, New York.
The transformed dog park, now renamed the LaRocca Dog Park, is a busy place when canine adoptions are happening on North Shore Animal League America’s Port Washington, N.Y. campus. Families looking to adopt a new dog can become better acquainted with the pet in this beautiful quiet space. The original dog park was donated 15 years ago by Karen and Don LaRocca in memory of their dog, “Rags.” For 16 years, Karen was a valued volunteer who would always be found at Animal League America’s adoption center on Saturday afternoons. She walked and socialized the adult dogs and visited with the adult cats too.
After escaping the horror of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China, Angie and Frankie arrived at our Port Washington, N.Y. campus in 2018. Still frightened and unsure, they waited in the Adoption Center for dog-loving people to give them a chance at life as beloved pets.
Nancy climbed into the playpen with the 8-week-old puppies, rescued by North Shore Animal League America and handpicked by the staff. She was looking for a pup that approached her and wanted attention from her, first and foremost, even more than he or she wanted to play with the other puppies. On this day, she found four rescued pups that just might have what it takes to become service dogs.
Tessie and Jewel are puppy mill dogs who arrived on our Port Washington, N.Y. campus with one of our steadfast Mobile Rescue teams. The two Yorkies were tired and disheveled from a long journey. They snuggled together to face whatever the future held — at least they had each other. They surely seemed to be sisters-at-heart.
Gabriel was celebrating his birthday in May on the Brooklyn Barge when, in the blink of an eye, he made a decision to spring into action to save a life.
The dog that Finley is today is so very different from the five-month-old puppy who arrived here from Thailand two years ago. She’s come such a long way, both in distance and behavior. Although still shy, she is sweet tempered and has started to learn to trust people. Now all she needs is a caring and patient family to go home with!
Kathy has a need to “nurture.” As a nurse, she’d worked in a pediatric office for many years and now she’s a technician with Northwell Health®, New York State’s largest health system. She knew she wanted to help medically needy dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens when she applied to be a volunteer at North Shore Animal League America in 2016.
David has been a volunteer at North Shore Animal League America for more than 14 years and hardly misses a week. David will do anything if it’ll help homeless dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.