Thrifty Way to Aid Animals - by Amy Sacks, New York Daily News - Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Inc. - Working with the City of New York to promote dog and cat adoption and spay and neuter programs to make New York a no-kill city.

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Thrifty Way to Aid Animals

Saturday, November 20, 2004

If you're looking for a bargain, The Amazing Kreskin wants you to fix your mind on the new United Action for Animals Thrift Shop on the upper East Side.

The world famous mind reader and UAA spokesman was in the E. 80th St. store recently to tout its merchandise — an eclectic array of donated items for sale to benefit abandoned and abused animals.

"There's a story behind everything here," said Kreskin, born George Kresge, as he eyed two old breadboxes.

He even claimed to pick up a "kind of mystical vibration" as he browsed in the tidy shop.

"I'm touching things that people brought here so they can help the lives of innocent creatures," said Kreskin, who shares his Essex County, N.J., home with three rescued cats.

The eight-week-old thrift shop is a veritable treasure trove of old and new goodies for New Yorkers who love a bargain.

Vintage hats, old posters and faux leopard purses are among the hundreds of collectibles donated by the local community.

Shelves of the narrow, ground-floor shop also are lined with donated items such as clothes, costume jewelry, pottery, books, CDs, toys, electronics, art and an eclectic selection of knickknacks for even the most jaded collector.

"It's like one of those wonderful old curiosity shops that have a little of everything," said UAA director of development Faith Elliott, who came up with the idea.

"We're fighting to be visible right now," she added.

United Action for Animals was formed in 1967 as an organization advocating against animal cruelty and specializing in science experiments.

Today, the small, nonprofit group — and member of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals — acts as a broker among rescuers, foster care homes, adopters and people who have to give up their animals.

UAA President Gary Kaskel, a native New Yorker, is encouraging people to clean out their closets for the sake of the critters.

All of the store's proceeds will go to fund various UAA programs. One, a medical subsidy program called Grateful Paws, provides low-cost veterinary care for people on public assistance and animal rescuers who save animals from the city's for-kill shelter.

UAA also runs a monthly low-cost spay/neuter clinic for cats and kittens, and a Humane Education program, which distributes pamphlets and videotapes to schoolteachers across the country in both English and Spanish.

"We're like matchmakers," Kaskel said. "We really look at all sides of the situation. If someone thinks they have to give up an animal, we work to help them keep them. If an animal has to be placed, we work very hard on the animal getting to a new home."

UAA successfully placed 31 kittens last year that came from a collector's home in Washington Heights.

When an Army soldier was forced to leave his dog behind last year because he was called to duty in Iraq, Kaskel found the husky mix a temporary home.

Most recently, UAA helped arrange for two dogs of a Turkish immigrant to be flown to the United States, after the woman found her dogs weren't being properly cared for.

Kaskel said, "The needs are endless."

UAA Thrift Shop, 402B E. 80th St., (east of First Ave.) is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (212) 249-9178 or visit www.ua4a.org.