LINKS
Alley Cat Allies
BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
Best Friends has become one of America’s best-known animal rescue organizations operating the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for displaced, homeless or unwanted domestic animals. It had its origin in Arizona in the 1970s with a group of animal lovers who did not accept the conventional wisdom that humane societies and shelters "had no choice" but to euthanize animals deemed "unadoptable." They began a pilot program in which they rescued soon-to-be-killed dogs and cats from shelters, rehabilitated them, and found new homes for them. Angel Canyon, home of Best Friends, has been a place of peace and healing for thousands of years. The sanctuary, located on approximately 33,000 acres in Kanab, Utah, is the perfect place to visit to help the animals, explore the natural wonders of the southwest, and find peace within oneself. Best Friends receives more than 20,000 visitors annually from all over the world who still find sanctuary here among the beauty, graceful harmony and peaceful atmosphere of Angel Canyon. But animal lovers beware… on our last visit my mother came home with two dogs from “Old Friends”, the slower part of Dogtown built especially for more mature dogs, and my friend almost added a pygmy goat to her menagerie!
COMMUNITY SHARES
Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati is a partnership of local non-profit organizations which collaborate to build social and economic equity and a healthy environment by expanding public awareness about its member organizations and by raising funds to support their programs and services throughout Cincinnati and the surrounding region.
FARM SANCTUARY
Farm Sanctuary Wikipedia Entry
Farm Sanctuary is an animal protection organization founded in 1986 as an advocate for farm animals, originally funded by sales of vegetarian hot dogs at Grateful Dead concerts! They work to end cruelty to farm animals and promote compassionate living through rescue, education and advocacy. They have campaigned relentlessly to prevent cruelty and to encourage legal and policy reforms that promote respect and compassion for farm animals. Farm Sanctuary houses over 1200 cows, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs, sheep, rabbits, goats, donkeys and llamas at their 475 acres of sanctuaries on the east and west coast. “Cincinnati’s own” self-liberated slaughterhouse cow, Freedom, now resides at their sanctuary in upstate New York.
MERCY FOR ANIMALS
Mercy for Animals (MFA) is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization founded in 1999 by 15-year old Ohio native Nathan Runkle. I have been a fan and a friend of Nathan’s for many years and have watched MFA grow under his leadership to more than 12,000 members strong with offices now in both Chicago and Columbus. Nationally acclaimed VegNews magazine named MFA “Non-Profit of the Year” in 2006 as well as one of the top “Bang for your Buck” charities. Nathan himself was honored by the same publication in 2007 on their “25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians” list, alongside Stella McCartney, Dennis Kucinich, Forrest Whitaker and Emily Deschanel. MFA is a highly active, grassroots organization that works to create a society where animals are treated with the respect and compassion they so rightly deserve. I am proud to endorse Mercy for Animals and not too proud to beg for your donation to support this worthwhile cause.
oasis sanctuary/faunavision
Founded by my friend Eddie Lama, subject of the award-winning documentary film The Witness, Oasis Sanctuary is a safe haven and place of recovery for homeless, abused and abandoned animals as well as people who are struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. Rescued animals are given everything they need: medical care, food, shelter and love until forever 
homes can be found. Unadoptable animals make Oasis their home for the rest of their lives. Men and women in recovery are given work, shelter and a weekly salary while participating in a 12-step program. Sister organization FaunaVision is dedicated to educating people and helping animals through a unique street-level advocacy program. Through a high-tech multi-media van, FaunaVision brings the reality of animal issues directly to the public. Along with this powerful, visual message, FaunaVision distributes leaflets and brochures to further aid in the educational process.
Petfinder
Looking for a new companion animal? Petfinder.com is an online database of homeless pets - dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, small furry animals and more. It is the “temporary home” of more than a quarter million adoptable pets from nearly 12,000 animal welfare organizations. The site has facilitated ten million adoptions in its first ten years. Users can search by criteria such as kind of animal, breed, gender, size and age. Most of our area’s shelters and rescue groups actively maintain postings on Petfinder. Many of them also offer adoptions directly through local PetSmart stores. Unlike some “doggies in the window” offered by pet stores, dogs and cats at PetSmart are not sourced from puppy mills but rather from local shelters and rescue groups. PetSmart offers a safe and convenient venue for these groups to showcase the animals in their care. Only agencies that have a current non-profit status, administer initial vaccinations and health checks and spay/neuter prior to adoption may participate in PetSmart’s adoption programs. To ensure a great match, PetSmart’s in-store Adoption Partners will help you consider which pet best fits your lifestyle, while making sure that you are able to fulfill the role of Pet Parent.
THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE
The Animal Rescue Site focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need — providing food for some of the 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters in the U.S. every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the U.S. alone because they are abandoned and unwanted. The Animal Rescue Site provides a feel-good way for you to help promote awareness and prevent rescued animal deaths every day — through easy and quick online activities. Clicks help provide food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. Funding for food and care is paid by site sponsors and distributed to animals in need. YOU can help in mere seconds — every day.
Tribe of Heart
A charitable organization that empowers caring people everywhere to become agents of peaceful social change. Their award-winning films awaken compassion and deepen each individual’s understanding of the interconnectedness of all life. Their first film, The Witness, chronicles Eddie Lama’s journey from a violent past to his current life of compassion and animal consciousness. This story tells of the transformation of a construction contractor from a tough Brooklyn neighborhood who feared and avoided animals for most of his life until the love of a kitten opened his heart. With humor and sincerity, Eddie tells the story of his remarkable change in consciousness. This is a “must see” masterpiece. It will change your life.
United Coalition for Animals
An epidemic is sweeping our nation. It is the leading cause of death among companion animals, striking more pets than cancer, rabies, feline leukemia and heartworm combined. But this epidemic is not an illness or disease. Its name is euthanasia, and the only way to stop it is to meet it at its source, through spaying and neutering our companion animals before they can contribute to the problem. In the Greater Cincinnati area alone, euthanasia takes the lives of more than 33,000 dogs and cats, puppies and kittens in our own backyard. The United Coalition for Animals is addressing this problem head on with its low-cost spay/neuter clinic recently opened in downtown Cincinnati. I was intimately involved with UCAN for 4 years, serving on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, and I can personally attest to this groups’ hard work and dedication to its mission, “Spaying pets. Educating people. Saving lives.” Click here to see UCAN’s moving ad on the overpopulation epidemic, photographed at Kenton County Animal Shelter by Cincinnati photographer, Greg Kuchik. Visit UCAN’s site to learn how you can help with a financial donation or a contribution of your time or talents.
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