Pupper West Side: Champions of Fostering and Volunteerism

By A. Campbell

Hello, I’m Hannah and this is my rescue sibling, Lexi, who we welcomed to our home about two months ago. Lexi and I are both about 12 years old, give or take. Lexi is still a bit shy and introverted, but I think her tongue gives her a lot of character, don’t you agree?

Actually, we’re the two smallest members of a large family that includes Georgie the cat, Target and Manhattan Man (Manny for short), our equine siblings, and of course, our lovely parents. Target is a 25-year-old bay (reddish brown color) horse and Manny is a 12-year-old chestnut horse with whom Mom practices her hunter-jumper riding skills. One of my favorite weekend activities is to accompany Mom up to the barn in Chestnut Ridge and run around while she exercises and cares for Target and Manny.

Back in the city, you might spot us at one of our favorite local vegan eateries. We love to grab a bite at Blossom or Peacefood. After hearing great reviews, we’re also excited to try out the neighborhood’s popular dog-friendly joint – Black Lab Cafe – for coffee and a croissant. As passionate animal advocates, it comes as no surprise that our parents have developed a reputation as a devoted foster family for senior pets. In fact, they even co-authored a children’s book about their first special needs poodle-mix rescue, Coco.

We began fostering around the beginning of the pandemic, when we were still living in Chicago. All told, we’ve fostered more than 30 animals for organizations like the ASPCA, PAWS Chicago, and One Tail At A Time. Fostering is such a tremendous opportunity to volunteer and interact with animals in need. Due to capacity constraints, many rescue organizations in NYC and elsewhere can only save as many dogs as they can reliably have fostered in safe, loving homes, so the impact you can have as a volunteer foster parent is very meaningful. Over time, our family became known as experts for fostering seniors and special needs animals who might be blind or deaf or missing a limb or eye. My parents say it’s been a wonderful experience because, through this work, they’ve established a community of empathetic people who are committed to helping senior dogs – no matter what their circumstance – live life to the fullest surrounded by a caring and compassionate family.

Read all of our Pupper West Side interviews here!

If you think your pup deserves a shot at neighborhood fame, we encourage you to reach out to Audrey at pupperwestsideuws@gmail.com to be considered for a future profile on West Side Rag and follow your fellow Pupper West Sider’s adventures on Instagram at @pupper_west_side_uws

If readers are interested in becoming pet owners, we encourage you to consider adopting or volunteering to be a foster parent with one of the many shelters and nonprofits based in and around New York City. These include but aren’t limited to Muddy Paws Rescue; Animal Lighthouse Rescue; Animal Care Centers of NYC; NYC ASPCA; Humane Society of New York; Bideawee; Social Tees; Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue and Animal Haven.