"Cinco de Meow:" Foster a Friend; Adopt a Family Member

When Marcy Rydd, community relations director for Pets Alive, first came to the Elmsford Animal Shelter, she was floored by the levels of abuse and neglect the hundreds of cats and dogs living there had endured.

The conditions were squalid, Rydd said. "There were animal cages stacked throughout the lobby of the building and we realized many of the animals had never known any home other than the shelter."

When Rydd met Baron—an 11-year-old, gentle-souled, large brown shepherd/ terrier mix—"I lost it," she said. "I had to sit down on the floor and cry; he had lived his entire 11 years here at the shelter. It just wasn't right."

Since 2010, when Pets Alive—a nationwide no-kill animal organization, whose mission is to "to improve the lives of companion animals everywhere by any means possible"—took over the nearly-bankrupt Elmsford shelter, much has changed. The building and animals' living spaces are cleaned regularly. A lively group of volunteers come in daily to walk, groom, train and interact with the animals. And Pets Alive's indefatigable staff work day in and day out to find safe and loving homes for their  some 200 dogs and 300 cats.

"What we're looking for above all else are foster parents to accept these animals into their homes," Rydd said. "Many foster placements lead to adoptions because people end up falling in love. The animals become part of their families."

This weekend, Pets Alive is hosting "Cinco de Meow," a special cat adoption event in which people deemed "sound parents" can adopt a cat for $15.  "Even though we're desperate to have our animals adopted, we still screen potential owners to make sure they will provide good homes," Rydd said.

Besides adoptive parents, Rydd said the shelter needs money.

"We are a nonprofit that relies 100 percent on community donations," she said. Now, what they need most are funds for a new heating system for the area that houses the dogs. Rydd added: "Eighty-eight cents for every dollar donated to us goes directly to the animals."

Besides their no-kill shelter in Elmsford, Pets Alive has an animal sanctuary in Middletown, NY, which is home to hundreds of dogs, cats, farm animals, exotic birds and many other "critters." Rydd described the process of getting animals with special needs to the sanctuary as much like an "underground railroad system. These are the animals that—in other institutions—might be killed."

Pets Alive is also launching a program in Puerto Rico to end the abuse and killing of stray dogs on the beaches in that country.  

"We are an extreme no-kill organization," Rydd said. "Unlike other 'no-kill' shelters that might euthanize a dog for bad behavior, we don't believe an animal should be killed for past abuse it has endured."

Learn more about or donate to Pets Alive Westchester on their website here. "Cinco de Meow" continues through Sunday, May 8.  The shelter is located at 100 Warehouse Lane South in Elmsford, directly behind Sams Club.