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APOs Saving Lives

Every day, Mayor's Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) save lives in New York City. Sometimes their stories make headlines, like when a high-profile event brings them together to rescue animals in distress from a dire situation. More often, however, their life-saving efforts are quiet, unheralded events, but have a monumental impact on the cat or dog who benefits from their generous actions. Here are just a few of their stories:

Loving Touch

Not long ago Cathy Langevin of Loving Touch received a call at work from a woman who was looking to re-home Haley, an eight-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog. Apparently the puppy's previous owners had purchased her from a pet store and, upon discovering the exuberant nature of the puppy, kept her crated most of the time in their small apartment. They gave the puppy to the woman caller, but unfortunately she could not keep the puppy because her family objected. So Loving Touch took Haley in, and within two weeks, found a wonderful home for her.

Animals Can't Talk Rescue and Adoption

Naomi Gauntlett of Animals Can't Talk Rescue and Adoption tells of a cat named James who went missing four years ago but who, thanks to an amazing turn of events, is now back with his family. James was one of two indoor/outdoor cats who went exploring the neighborhood and didn't return. Later, James turned up with a rescue group and was adopted. When James' new owners took him to their vet to be euthanized because their other cats were beating him up, a vet tech took him in and, through friends of friends, contacted Naomi. Naomi took James in and began looking for an adopter. Miraculously, while James was being shown at an adoptathon at a pet supply store, his original owners spotted him through the window as they passed by. "They came flying in with their daughter, excited, shouting, 'That's my cat, that's my James!'" says Naomi. They were asked to complete an adoption application, and told a paper trail would have to be done to see if indeed the cat was their cat. They returned an hour later with pictures and vet bills to prove their point. All the paperwork and dates pointed to the fact that this was indeed James. So the couple and their eight-year-old daughter (who was only four when James went missing) met Naomi at the vets office and took James home — agreeing that he was now a strictly indoor member of the family.

Herding Dog Rescue

Gavin, a nine-year-old Collie, was given up by a family on Staten Island. They said they had no time for him. From his condition when he was given to Deb Miller of Herding Dog Rescue, they obviously never had time for him. Weighing only 40 pounds when a normal weight for his size should have been 75–80 pounds, and with his coat so matted you couldn't get a brush through it, Gavin's condition was distressing. Deb took Gavin in, and immediately had his matted coat shaved. It was then that she discovered he had a swollen anus. He was diagnosed as suffering from a double perianal hernia — he was packed with feces and seriously ill. The Mayor's Alliance arranged for Gavin to be operated upon at Fifth Avenue Veterinary Hospital in Manhattan. Sadly, Gavin's medical condition could have been avoided if his former owners had only had him neutered. A secondary diagnosis of giardia, an intestinal infection, also gave the weakened dog a difficult time. But fortunately, between the expert medical care Gavin received and Deb's unyielding commitment to save the magnificent dog's life, Gavin recovered. Today he is living comfortably at the Herding Dog Rescue shelter while he awaits a permanent home.

Internet Miniature Pinscher Service (IMPS)

Leah Pekarsky, an Internet Miniature Pinscher Service (IMPS) volunteer, shared a story about Sammie, one of her very special foster dogs. IMPS took Sammie out of an Animal Care & Control shelter, recognizing that his chances for adoption were slim because of his rotting teeth and "nippy" behavior. (Leah says this is one of the things she loves about IMPS — they take all dogs, not just the young and healthy ones.) Sammie's teeth were so infected that he required extensive dentistry — described by Leah's vet as more like reconstructive surgery. "Dr. Harris said Sammie's mouth was the worst mouth she had ever seen," says Leah. "She pulled 18 teeth, and since he was already missing 13, that left him with only nine." But Sammie pulled through, and his new winning smile melted the heart of an adopter who lives in Canada. She reports that Sammie loves to play with his toys and his housemate, a Doberman Pinscher named Teddy.

Do you have an animal rescue or adoption story you'd like to share with Out of the Cage!? If you do, please e-mail it to steve@AnimalAllianceNYC.org, along with a good photo or two. We'll try to include it in an upcoming issue.