It’s here! BFF! Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center is officially open! Thank you to all of our wonderful supporters who made this happen. We couldn’t have accomplished this without you! The ribbon-cutting ceremony for BFF was a magical evening for me. BFF is more than a building to me; it represents a leap forward in feline wellness and adoption. The felines we rescue will be much calmer and confident in these beautiful, sunny, spacious cage-free surroundings.
I had a sad month! My beloved feral cat, Muffin, recently passed away. I was heartbroken and truly devastated. It’s amazing how a bond can form between a human and an animal that doesn’t even want to be touched. I fed her every day, 2x/ day for 11 years and bought her heated kitty houses that were placed all over our property. Every day she hissed at me but I knew she loved me, and in a strange way I equated that hiss to a “thank you!” On the day she came very close to me and didn’t hiss, I knew something was terribly wrong.
North Shore Animal League America partnered, for the first time, with K9 Global Rescue to bring four dogs, rescued from a South Korean dog meat farm, to a new life in the United States where they will now become treasured pets. After more than 20 hours traveling by land and air, the dogs arrived at the airport and were met by our Rescue Team who then shepherded them through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and brought them safely to our Port Washington, NY campus.
North Shore Animal League America welcomed 36 dogs and puppies on a rescue transport from our shelter partner, Hub City Humane Society in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Among the weary travelers was Star, a new mama who was found as a stray in a field with her 11 newborn puppies.
“I believe that I’ve talked about the organization at least once a week—for the past 40 years.” When Virginia Desocio adopted her dog, Pumpkin, there was one building on the campus. She returned for a visit three years ago. “I was so impressed with the whole organization. The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum had just been completed. I wished it had been around when I was still teaching special education in New Jersey.”
This summer, a group of high school students from Nassau BOCES and their instructor, Paul Eidle, came up with a great way to benefit both the dogs and the dog walkers on North Shore Animal League America’s Port Washington, N.Y. campus. As a project for their class, they built three large, sturdy wooden benches that could be put in two of the dog parks.
An urgent call came in about a young kitten found in a backyard in the Adirondacks that couldn’t walk at all. The staff at the Adirondack Cat Rescue and Adoption Center, part of our North Country Initiative in Glens Falls, N.Y. went immediately to pick her up.
On September 25, 2019, North Shore Animal League America was proud to host the Prime Minister of Japan's wife, Akie Abe, at our Port Washington, N.Y. campus. Mrs. Abe is interested in animal rescue and education, and wished to learn more about this and come for a visit while she was in New York City for the United Nations Assembly.
Our Rescue Team arrived back at our Port Washington, NY, campus with more than 50 dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens that were saved from the path of Hurricane Dorian and possible euthanasia. Staff and volunteers waited to comfort them and offer food, water, bedding and quiet places where they could rest after their long journey.
The animals who have spent their lives with Karen Eckhoff are lucky. As Karen talked about her passion for animals, she voiced a sentiment, which many of us relate to, about how “helping animals feels good.”