Best Friends helping Pets Alive April 5, 2007 : 1:49 PM ETRELATED STORIES:Best Friends at Pets Alive HOW YOU CAN HELP: Dear Members & Friends,The Best Friends' team is in action again! This time it’s at a sanctuary outsideof New York City.Pets Alive was founded by Sara Whalen more than 20 years ago. She was one of akind: a one-woman band with a heart of gold, a will of iron, more than 500homeless pets and other animals, a small local staff – and no succession plan! Shepassed away a few weeks ago after a bout with cancer, leaving the animals in anemergency situation.The sanctuary sits on 80 acres and cares for dogs and cats, plus retired carriagehorses from the city, and a small assortment of farm animals and exotics. In theearly days, Pets Alive flourished, but over the last couple of years, as Sara’sillness progressed, things had gone downhill. And at the end of February, membersof her board called Best Friends and asked if we could come to the rescue.The Best Friends team – animal care staff, veterinary support, and sanctuarymaintenance – have been working round the clock. Some of the animals neededemergency medical care, and we’re working our way through complete health checksand routine vaccinations, spay/neuter and the like.We also loaded up our trucks with the fencing that we used during HurricaneKatrina, the Great Bunny Rescue, and the Middle East Rescue, and our staff arereassembling it at Pets Alive. So the dogs all have lots more room to run and playand enjoy themselves.Local volunteers have also come to the rescue and are being a great help. Humanegroups have been very supportive, and veterinarians in the area have really gonethe extra mile, too. And we’ve already been able to start placing some of thehealthy dogs and cats in good new homes.In an agreement with the Pets Alive board, Best Friends will be running thesanctuary for the next three months. This includes all the urgent work that needsto be done right now. And we’ll also be coming up with a series of options for thefuture of Pets Alive, which we’ll present to the board at the end of June.In terms of the future, the sanctuary itself has enormous potential to do good.And that was always Sara’s vision for it. In the last few weeks, we’ve heard frommany people who are closely in touch with the New York region and who can see themany roles that a sanctuary like Pets Alive could fulfill for the community as awhole. So we’ll be building all of that into our assessment.But, first things first. Right now there’s an urgent situation on the ground, andthe animals need all the help we can give them.

We’ve set up a special page on the Best Friends Network with news, blogs, andinformation about volunteering, adopting, and donations.Donations are critical. The animals need all the help they can get. Your donation,large or small, will make all the difference. When our first team arrived, theywere greeted like the proverbial cavalry to the rescue! It was so encouraging.And with their new spacious play areas, the animals are all perking up. “It’salready beginning to feel like Best Friends here!” said one of the volunteers.Pets Alive means so much to the animals who live there, the people who have workedthere, and the whole region that it has supported. Together, we can make it allworthwhile … and maybe even give it a whole new future, too. Please join us withyour support.And thank you as always for caring,Michael MountainBest FriendsLog in to Post a CommentNewest << 1 2 3 4 >> Oldest-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 24, 2007 : 3:08 PM ETposted by: annwoodsI just hope at the end of all this when everything is in order, that there will besome recognition at Pets Alive for the years of wonderful work that Sara put in atthe Sanctuary. I volunteer for a Shelter in similar circumstances, but not indistress. Owned by an old lady with a deep love of animals. She started her "no-kill" shelter long before it was "fashionable" to do so.She has been robbed, suedand maligned in the press, bny staff not good enough to lick her boots, but Godbless her she carries on. It certainly is hard to get good help when you can payvery little or nothing at all. She is lucky, she now has a wonderful Director anddevoted Kennel Manager, a handfull of good honest volunteers. We have a spay andnueter clinic on site and no animals "in the back", we pass every inspection andhome many hundreds of dogs and cats every year.. Over the years she has evenhelped a few unfortunate people get back on their feet. At our last fundraiser weunveiled a monument plaque dedicated to her and her hard work over the last 27years. Her Shelter however will be a living monument to her. I hope those that canwill do at least that for Sara.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------April 12, 2007 : 8:42 PM ETposted by: ruthy92All of us, right now, need to be taking a closer look at sanctuaries and shelterswe have any contact with.If we have given animals to one, if we have donated, if we are on boards, if welive in the community- we need to get right in there and evaluate conditions and

the animals.One issue here seems to be that people sent animals without personally evaluatingthe facility (including some of the Katrina rescuers.)I am reminded of the EDNAH horror as Katrina rescuers shipped dogs to a terriblesituation, relying only on recommendations and references that were faulty andinaccurate.One issue that I have seen volunteers mention with regard to the NY situation isthat they were not allowed to see animals "in the back." They had very restrictedaccess.We need to get "in the back" and make sure that care in sanctuaries, shelters, andrescuers' establishments is humane and proper.And we need to do it before things deteriorate to the point of suffering.Too many animals? Let's work on adoption campaigns or reach out to the rescuecommunity to reduce numbers.If we donate to a sanctuary, let's do it to those that have open-door policies andwelcome public inspection (as Best Friends does.) We must not send donationsunless we are absolutely sure that money will go to good use. It is not goodenough to simply respond to someone's pleas for money on a board or forum, or anemail. We must do due diligence before we fund things.Boards need to assure their donors that there is financial responsiblity, andsafety for the animals. They need to take a hands-on approach.And if those in charge of these facilities refuse to improve dangerous or inhumaneconditions, we must have the strength to be whistleblowers.I am very concerned about situations right now where animals are in distress. Weneed to help them.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------April 12, 2007 : 8:15 AM ETposted by: buckarooI'm done. But thanks for the compliment, I DO protest too much and too hard, it'smy job. I have shared only a fraction of the enthusiasm and devotion I have fromthe animals to defend a friend who I felt was injured. Is that wrong? My agenda isthe protection of abused animals, the education of the ignorant, and theprosecution of the guilty. I expect no reward for the work I do, and if I share myexperience it is to inspire those who have the desire to do something, but arefearful of failing or being typcast as a nut. You can not fail in trying, andshouldn't fear unfair comment on your attempt, those around you who sit idley andwatch, without helping, are the failures. I'm sure Best Friends is a worthyorganization, I have no "beef" with them, I hope they are able to continue to helpand protect, and I...well I'll continue the struggle on a smaller scale. to helpone abused animal, one ignorant human, and one careless society, at a time. "VioCon Dios"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------