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STAR Program Shines On Injured And Abused Animals
AC&C You occasionally hear about hit-and-run accidents. But they occur more often than you might suspect. The ones you don’t hear about are ones involving our best friends — our pets. What happens when a dog is run down in the streets of New York? Usual-ly nothing. But we are not living in usual times, and as we are all learning the value of life during a time of war, some are stepping up to make a life saving difference in unusual ways. Ralph witnessed a hit-and-run in the Bronx. But Ralph didn’t turn and walk away as others might do. A volunteer at Animal Care & Control (AC&C) he came to the aid of the suffering animal because he knew about its special STAR (Special Treatment And Recovery) program, designed to help injured animals, just like the one Ralph helped.
Acting quickly, Ralph got Belle Star into the care of Dr. Silverman at the Prospect Park Animal Clinic. “With-out Dr. Silverman, I couldn’t do a thing,” Ralph said, “Without him this dog would not be alive today.” Dr. Silverman is one of AC&C’s STAR partners, veterinarians who help some of the animals rescued by AC&C by providing “at cost” or free veterinary care. AC&C could never provide this kind of care without their help. But even “at cost” care is expensive. Belle Star was badly injured and needed expensive orthopedic treatment for which Ralph donated the $5,000 needed to treat the dog to the STAR program. Ralph said, “The main reason I’m doing it is let the public know about the STAR program and encourage people to support it. This could have been their dog.” The mercy Ralph showed the animal is all the more noteworthy in that this was not a special dog. And by the looks of her, according to Ralph, an abused dog used as a “puppy factory.” Mahatma Ghandi once said, “The true value of a community is revealed in how we treat our animals.” If that is true, then people like Ralph and Dr. Silverman speak volumes of the heart, compassion and values of Brooklyn. The day I wrote this article, AC&C rescued a cat that had been shot with a low-caliber gun. STAR veterinarian partner, Dr. Peter Kross of Manhattan, is treating her. Clearly, we need your help. Last week AC&C rescued Highrise, a kitten that fell from a ninth story window. The week before there was Barbie, a little kitten enmeshed in barb-wire.
If you would like to help the many STAR animals rescued by AC&C, please send your donation to 11 Park Place, Suite 805, NY, NY 10007. Thank you! Together we are making a difference!
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