Community Corner
North Shore Animal League Honors Animal Lovers
Several people, and one dog, were honored by the animal advocacy organization during Wednesday's luncheon at the Garden City Hotel.
On Wednesday, North Shore Animal League America, the world's largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, honored several individuals, organizations, and even one pet, for their continued work and dedication to the league's overall mission — to rescue, nurture and adopt orphaned, and often abused, animals into loving homes — during its ninth annual Lewyt Humane Awards Luncheon.
The event was hosted by Emmy Award-winning writer and stand-up comedian Carol Leifer.
"It's amazing, absolutely amazing," Leifer said. "I'm so happy to be a part of it."
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Leifer, a native of East Williston, was an easy choice to host the event given her history with the North Shore Animal League.
"I have adopted seven dogs myself, so this is just fantastic," Leifer said. "Everything looks great. I'm really excited about it."
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Beth Ostrosky Stern, wife of radio personality Howard Stern, started the awards ceremony by sharing the stories of Elijah, a malnourished and neglected puppy, and Pounce, a kitten who was blind in one eye and had to be treated with surgery. Both Elijah and Pounce were adopted through the North Shore Animal League and are currently in great shape with their new families.
North Shore Animal League America, which has saved nearly 1 million cats and dogs since its establishment in 1944, also held a silent auction to raise money for its programs. Items in the auction ranged from ARF dog spa gifts sets to a lunch with Leifer.
Among the award winners were Dr. Jennifer Jablow, who received the Heart of Hope Award, John Bartlett who received the Friend of the Animal League Award, and Oliver, NBC News Anchor Chuck Scarborough's dog, who received the Scarlett Award for Heroism.
The Scarlett Award was established in 2000 to honor the globally recognized young mother cat, Scarlett, who bravely saved the lives of her six kittens from a burning building, retuning to the inferno to retrieve them one by one, in spite of her own horrendous pain and injury.
Oliver earned the honor by saving the Scarborough's cat, Stanley, from a coyote attack and then challenged the coyote until it retreated away from Oliver's family.
"What an honor it is for our little boy Oliver to receive the Scarlett Award for Heroism," Scarborough said as he accepted the award on behalf of Oliver. "It is such a thrill. We are most grateful."
But the day's biggest honoree was Ilusion Millan, who was presented the Award for Humanitarian Excellence. Millan, along with the North Shore Animal League and her husband Cesar, also known as the Dog Whisperer, has helped further the growth of the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum. The curriculum is "an innovative school program initiative that will help teach children critical social and emotional skills," Millan explained.
"I feel very honored and privileged, also very blessed," said Millan of her award. "This is such a big deal for me because receiving the Humanitarian Excellence Award allows me to see what my contributions to social responsibility and working with North Shore Animal League America on the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum have really done."
A teary-eyed and appreciative Millan accepted her award with the type of gratitude one would expect from someone who gives so much.
"Today is so exciting, it's all so surreal," Millan said before the ceremony. "I'm really here. I'm really in New York, I live in L.A., and here they are giving me something that I so wasn't expecting. I'm just so grateful."
From its annual "Adopt-a-thon," which has saved over 300,000 lives in its 16-year existence, to the previously mentioned Mutt-i-grees program, the North Shore Animal League continues to distinguish itself as one of the top animal shelters in the world.
"People love pets, people love animals," said Animal League president John Stevenson. "We want to maximize adoptions in the Tri-State area. … We want to make it continue to be the greatest organization in terms of saving animals' lives."
Wednesday's luncheon just proves what an impact North Shore Animal League America has made on not just the cats and dogs that have been saved, but on the humans beings who are doing the saving.
