Archive for the ‘thanks for giving’ Category

Each day, as we approach Thanksgiving, we will spotlight an animal rescuer who works tirelessly to improve the lives of animals in need. Please join us in giving thanks to these generous, kind, and oh so pawesome folks.

I’m choosing to feature my mom, Hana Marritz, for our Thanks for Giving feature. She’s been rescuing animals off the streets of New York for her whole life, and is my inspiration for all the rescue work I’ve done in my life. My mom doesn’t just see a homeless animal, feel bad, and move on. She scoops it up, feeds and cares for it, and finds it a new home. Here’s more about her and how she’s done it.

Did you always love animals?
Always. When I came to the U.S. from the Czech Republic, I had just been through a very traumatic experience, although I didn’t realize that I had because I didn’t remember it well [Note from Leda: my mother and her family escaped from the Czech Republic in 1948]. The first thing my parents got when we arrived was a kitten from our next door neighbors. Her name was Minka. She was influential in bringing me out out of my shell and making me feel safe.

I don’t know whether they got Minka for me or for themselves. Some kids have a fuzzy toy; I had a real one. My father had a turtle in the Czech Republic; it used to come sit under his chair when he played the violin. Read the rest of this entry »

Each day, as we approach Thanksgiving, we will spotlight an animal rescuer who works tirelessly to improve the lives of animals in need. Please join us in giving thanks to these generous, kind, and oh so pawesome folks.

I met Amelia in the summer of 2008 after she replied to a Craigslist ad I put up looking for fosters. I had just completed my second Trap-Neuter-Return project, which resulted in a few friendlies in need of homes. Tom and Huck were two kittens Amelia very kindly agreed to bring home while I looked for their furever home. “Little did I know that they would be the start of my new life,” she says.

Read the rest of this entry »