For most of us, the meal of the year is quickly fading from memory. While families, friends and neighbors gathered together last Thursday for Thanksgiving, others were slowly picking up the pieces of their lives after Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic storm on record. Pummeling the East Coast beginning on October 29th, the death toll of the 1,000-mile-wide superstorm is estimated to be 113 human lives. Not tallied, and possibly unknowable, are the numbers of companion animals lost in the wake of this devastating weather event.
Even as America watched live reports and montages of unimaginable devastation, our foundation’s Board of Directors began thinking of the lives that weren’t featured in the earliest breaking news stories … those of homeless dogs and cats. To assist in rescue and recovery efforts, an emergency session was convened to determine how the non-profit wing of Life’s Abundance might best provide assistance to our neighbors to the north.
After reviewing several options, the Dr. Jane’s HealthyPetNet Foundation approved emergency funding for two rescue organizations, both of which oversee and coordinate efforts of dozens of other animal rescue groups. Knowing that time was of the essence, two checks – each for $3,000 – were overnighted to New York’s Adopt NY and New Jersey’s Coalition for Animals.
In what follows, we’ll review some of the highlights of what your donations helped to make possible.