2009 has been a year of tremendous growth for Animal Lifeline; timely I suppose, as our services are called upon more and more every day.  As this year draws to a close, I beg every advocate to remember that we all help to create the animal welfare umbrella, working to shelter more and more of the homeless, hungry and forgotten. 

 

An advocate is drawn to battle animal suffering for many reasons, and all of us are fighting for the immediate and lifetime happiness of each animal we save. We label ourselves as kill, no-kill, sanctuary, law enforcement, reporter, rescue, doctor, lawmaker...advocacy is as diverse as the people who fight to stop the suffering, which should make the animal welfare umbrella stronger.  But as long as we continue to disparage or fear each others' different approaches to animal rescue rather than meet on common ground, the tired old umbrella remains unable to shelter all the creatures waiting in the storm of homelessness, overpopulation and neglect.  We must learn to look past our advocacy labels and collaborate toward our shared goal of saving as many animal lives as possible.

 

Rescuers will face the same questions in 2010 that they did in 2009: Is this animal healthy? Will I be able to find a placement for this animal?  Is this animal safe to put in an adopter's home?  Could a sanctuary take this unadoptable animal?  Will a good Samaritan come through with funds to save this animal?  Not knowing what resources are available from rescue to rescue is part of the reason why 26,000 animals die in the United States every day.  But these questions could be answered more easily if ALL rescues network more effectively to strengthen the umbrella of animal welfare.

The next few weeks will be filled with activity for Animal Lifeline, and I encourage you to contribute your time, money or expertise in any way possible. So many ways to strengthen the shelter provided by our own Animal Lifeline umbrella!

 

 

 

 

As long as that list is, I will spend most of my time during the rest of 2009 collaborating with our volunteers, rescues, shelters, and law enforcement to move dogs out of commercial breeding facilities in Pennsylvania and into safe harbor here and throughout the northeast as the new 2010 Pennsylvania Kennel regulations take effect.  See the note at the end of this newsletter for more information about this immediate situation, and be especially kind to the animal rescue supporters who work in the trenches during these couple of emotional weeks.

 

The kindness and generosity of our volunteers, local and out-of-state, has allowed us to save so many animals in 2009.  I look forward to even more success in 2010!

 

Best wishes during this holiday season!