Meet The Rescuers!

Welcome to our brand spankin' new series -  Meet The Rescuers! 

I'm gonna have interviews with people involved with the various animal rescues located in NYC, and beyond! Why? I think it's a good way to find out what makes these people tick, and I think it'll be fun. How long will I be doing this? As long as I'm in the mood! Can your rescue be part of it? Damn, you ask a lot of questions! But sure, just write me at stewietotherescue@gmail.com. Thanks!


Our first Q & A is with Jennifer Brooks, who runs Second Chance Rescue out of Queens, NY...


How many years have you been rescuing animals and why did you start?


I have been rescuing animals since I am 18. It started with kittens on the streets. I have always had a passion for animals. When i was 5 years old, while most kids are playing house, I used to play "animal shelter"- this is why I think I was destined to be a rescuer. I started pulling from ACC after adopting my 2nd personal dog, in 2006. I adopted her from a small rescue, and it was explained that she came from a place called "NYCACC"- I had never heard of such a place. I went on a visit to NYCACC with the rescuer who I adopted her from. I will never forget that day- it changed my life. The rescuer explained to me as she pointed to cages, that all these animals will be killed tomorrow, I cried, and vowed to do something more to help the animals in ACC.

How many years has Second Chance Rescue been around?

Second Chance Rescue was established in 2009. Before I started my own rescue, I worked closely under some of the other rescues who have been around a long time. this is how I learned what i know now, they taught me the ropes. Once I felt confident, I said I want my own thing now, its time, and SCR was born.

What do you do when you're not rescuing animals?

When I am not rescuing, I am working as a full time teacher at a JHS in Queens teaching 7-8th grade US History. I also take care of my own personal 5 pit-bulls, who are my babies. Then I eat, sleep, catch a tv show here and there, hang out with my fiance, who has a ton of patience for putting up with my insane life.

Whats your favorite TV show?

Real House Wives or anything on Bravo.

Real Housewives? Really?

Lol.  Yes, I love that show. Also I like Pit Bulls and Paroles too..

Okay, you redeemed yourself with Pit Bulls and Parolees (slightly). How would you spend all the free time you'd have if you never got into rescue?

I have no idea what I would do with so much time.

How many hours a week do you think you devote to rescue?

Hmmm... this is hard to say- lets see I would say 5 hours a day during week (5x5)=25, and one full day on weekend, plus a few hours on the other weekend day ( between computer, transporting animals, doing adoption events, going to the vet, doing adoptions, and home visits, talking dogs on the phone)  I would estimate 35-40 hours, wow that is a second full time job!!

How do you decide which dogs to pull out of the shelter? Do you look at the euth list?

Yes, sometimes euth list, sometimes it is pleas that New Hope sends to me, sometimes it is what volunteers say about a dog, or just a picture that gets to me. 

How many fosters and volunteers work with you at Second Chance?

Hmmm, we have about 6-7 fosters  and about 5 solid volunteers. We can always use more help and volunteers, and we can really use some more foster homes.

How many dogs is your org currently responsible for?

Right now we have 22 dogs, both in foster and boarding. We really need to get our numbers down so we can help more dogs, we are very full at the moment.

 

How many dogs do you personally have? Do you also have fosters?

I have 5 personal dogs. All of them are MINE. Two of them were failed fosters. Unfortunately due to the number of Pit bulls we have in the house (3 girls, 2 boys) I can't foster anymore. If I could do it over again, I would not have kept so many dogs, so I always had room for 1 or 2 fosters- advice to newbies, dont keep your foster dogs!! My first dog I rescued from North Shore when I was 23, his name is Tyson ( he is half a pit) My other 4 dogs are all former Brooklyn ACC dogs ( Jake, Bubbles, Lexus, and Lacy-Mae) all pitties.

How does your fiancé feel about all of this? 

 Humm, well, it is a constant struggle. He puts up with it. He loves our dogs, but he just doesn't understand the amount of time that I need to dedicate to rescue. He is supportive at times, and other times, not so much. It takes a lot of time away from our relationship. However, he has learned to deal with it.

What if he gave you an ultimatum... It's me or the dogs?

You mean him or our dogs? or rescue?

Either way, dogs win.

Tell us something about you that most people don't know...

I am a great skier and figure skater.

Awesome! Thanks for your time!

You can reach Second Chance Rescue by emailing them at rescue@nycsecondchancerescue.com

You can "friend" Second Chance Rescue on Facebook here.

You can also support Second Chance Rescue at our joint comedy fundraiser at Gotham Comedy Club on May 2nd - DETAILS HERE...

Harris Bloom

Founder/President

www.stewietotherescue.org

My Review of the NYC Animal Care and (Mostly) Control Board Meeting - January 31, 2012

Yesterday, I attended my second NYC Animal Care and Mostly Control (AC&C) BOD meeting. I made a bit of a splash at the last one, making over 700 new Facebook friends (97% women...my wife loves it!).

How did this one go? Read on...

First of all, the Powers That Be at the AC&C gave us about a week's notice. Of course they knew when they were to meet before that, but they wanted to ensure as weak a turnout as possible. And even then, it was posted in a section of their website that a forensic scientist couldn't find. Well played AC&C!

I got there at 8:30 AM for the 10:00 AM meeting for two reasons -

1. The last meeting was a bit of a clusterfcuk as many who did not get there early were unable to get in. Now, while I knew this meeting was in a larger room, I was still worried that the animal rescue community would should up in droves in spite of the AC&C's best efforts, and

2. Since they were allowing public comments on a first come-first served basis, and the amount of time allocated to public comments was shorter than usual, I wanted to make sure that I had my say...

To my shock, I was the first person there. Friend and Shelter Reform Action Committee Executive Esther Koslow soon joined me. It soon became obvious to me that for whatever reason, turnout amongst the animal rescue community would be down from the previous year. Some blamed the time, but as I recall, last years' was also in the middle of a workday, no?

The unfortunate thing is that some people on Facebook spend a lot of time wondering how to create a buzz about our mission, and here we were, with media in the room (I saw someone from The Daily News), a perfect opportunity to be heard, and few showed up. Then again, I can't blame people who need to work to survive (I took a half of a vacation day from my job - some vacation day!)

The BOD agreed to amend it's by-laws, as required by new law, to admit two new Board members. They didn't announce who these people will be but I'm sure these two two members will be completely independent animal lovers and vote according to their heart. Ahem...

Then we were treated to Julie Bank telling us about the state of the shelter. One fascinating aspect was how she explained that intakes were dramatically down over the past year or two, and euthanasia was down (btw - her speech will be on YouTube soon). She neglected to mention that in the middle of 2010, the AC&C stopped rescuing cats and cut its field operations in general. I'm no genius, but I'm guessing this would result in fewer intakes, and therefore, fewer animals to be euthanized. I wouldn't expect her to mention that, nor would I expect the Board to question her about. I wasn't disappointed.

Then again, the BOD had zero questions for ANYONE who spoke, including Julie, their internal accountant and external auditor. I'd like to think it's because they are always questioning Julie and her cohorts, but I know better.

One bright spot of the poor community support was the amount of respect given to the various speakers. Last time, there were a lot of interruptions, and quite frankly, even though I understand our frustrations, it was a little embarrassing and unproductive.

Another bright spot was the quality of speakers when we reached the public comment part. My speech (rant?) will be on YouTube shortly, but there were several extremely eloquent and heartfelt speakers, including a woman from (I think) Second Chance Rescue (who brought the ashes of a dog she rescued from the AC&C that was healthy when going in, but had parvo upon exiting), a mom and dog owner from the Upper East Side (that's how she described herself), and someone who simply wanted to adopt a dog from the AC&C, and got such a runaround, you'd think the staff there gets paid according to how many people they can anger.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that although the BOD sat in stone-faced silence the entire meeting, no matter who was speaking, that Patrick Nolan and Bruce Doniger came into the audience after the meeting was over, and actually seemed to listen to people who wanted a minute of their time. It's kind of bizarre that I would feel the need to mention that (It's kinda like when we're shocked when a professional athlete or famous actor does something "nice"), but I guess it's something.

Rock On,

Harris Bloom
President/Founder
www.stewietotherescue.org