Animal shelters play such an important role in helping find forever homes for pets who have been abandoned or surrendered. For today’s Helping Hands feature, we’re focusing on one of the largest no kill shelters in the country, North Shore Animal League. Their headquarters is located in Port Washington, New York which is central to New York City and the tri-state area.
What They Do
North Shore Animal League has been in existence for 71 years and has helped over one million dogs and cats, puppies and kittens find homes. They believe strongly in the power of rehabilitation over euthanasia, and they get the word out about the wonder of a mixed-breed pet.
How It’s Done
An important part of North Shore’s outreach program is to rescue animals from shelters that are more like warehouses than temporary lodging. They also make sure to rescue animals from litters that have been abandoned and also help people who can no longer care for their pets. North Shore Animal League partners with organizations across the country in grassroots campaigns to raise awareness about adoption through education and mobile programs.
Ending Animal Cruelty
Reducing and eliminating animal cruelty is at the heart of the North Shore Animal League’s mission. They work to expose puppy mills and pet stores that are exploiting animals and also uncover irresponsible breeders.
Spay/Neuter Program
One of the best ways to reduce shelter populations is to spay or neuter your pets. This is really critical when dealing with stray dogs and feral cats because they will just continue to breed.
The Animal League’s spay and neuter program isn’t just local to the New York area, it’s nationwide. In fact, because of their SpayUSA program, over 50,000 low cost spay and neuter referrals have been done in the past year.
What does that mean? It means that millions of unwanted puppies and kittens never make it to a shelter to be euthanized.
If you’re in the market to welcome a new friend into your home, consider looking at North Shore Animal League to give a cat, dog, a puppy or kitten of forever home.
Photo Credit: istockphoto.com
