by Mickey Kramer

Doggie Pedal Parade hits New York streets in May

Time’s Up!, a nonprofit environmental group that promotes a more sustainable, less toxic city through education, direct action, and plenty of group bike rides, is having its first ever Doggie Pedal Parade on Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m.

Bikers and their canines will meet at the south side of Union Square Park (14th Street/Union Square South) and end at a doggie celebration complete with snacks and drinks at a park downtown.

“This is going to be so much fun,” says Time’s Up! volunteer Judy Ross. “Bike riders and their dogs in baskets or trailers riding around, enjoying a nice spring day, and promoting the adoption of homeless animals. We plan to stop by some animal shelters and other animal-friendly places.”

Riders without pets are welcome as well and are encouraged to dress up as their favorite animal. A face painter will be available to add to the festivities.

To prepare for the event, Time’s Up! will host a Pup Your Ride Workshop on Sunday, May 11, at 2 p.m. at 73 Morton Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Streets in the West Village).

The workshop will help transform participants’ bicycles into a doggie (or other companion-animal) transporter. Participants are encouraged to bring their bicycles along with supplies, such as an appropriately sized basket for their furry friends in order to prepare for the Doggie Pedal Parade. Time’s Up! will provide mechanics as well as offer some baskets and trailers for purchase.

For more information, visit Times-Up.org.

Spotlight on: senior pet advocate

Joan Antelman

New York resident Joan Antelman began her extensive volunteer work for cats and dogs about 12 years ago and founded Senior Pets Newsletter almost three years ago.

In addition to publishing the quarterly newsletter, she spends much of her free time walking shelter dogs, fostering cats, and helping out numerous New York City animal-rescue groups.

Tails chatted with Antelman about her love affair with pets, especially seniors, and her newsletter.

Did you grow up with pets?
I grew up in Queens and moved to Rockland County, where we always had a dog and several cats. After college, I moved to Manhattan, where I have lived for almost 30 years. My dad and I were the animal lovers in my family, and we shared that love of all animals until he passed away in December.

Tell us about your current pets.
I have four cats: Boogie, 14, who I got from Bobbi and the Strays [Glendale, Queens]; Bailey, 4, who was abandoned at a boarding kennel; Sadie, 16, from the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition [BARC]; and lastly Scooter, 11, from Anjellicle Cat Rescue [Manhattan]—I picked him out to foster him, but ended up keeping him.

When did you first decide to volunteer with a rescue group?
About 12 years ago, I began walking dogs for Stray from the Heart [Manhattan]. For me, part of doing that was to find homes for them, which I did in several cases with some of the older dogs. After that, I walked dogs for Earth Angels (Manhattan and the Bronx) and volunteered with the cats at BARC in Williamsburg. Then I started walking dogs for BARC, which I try to do every Sunday. I always walk the older dogs.

Why do you feel it’s so important to help the shelter animals?
Animals in shelters need more human contact than animals in foster homes since they are not living with people full time. Until they get adopted, they get walked, but when some bonding takes place, the dog reaps the benefits. I walked Tommy, a 10-year-old brindle Pit Bull, for at least a year, and he finally got adopted. I’m sure he benefited from his regular walks with me. A relationship is formed that helps the dog get better socialized, and [the dog] is then more likely to find a permanent home.

Have you always had a special affinity for “senior” animals? Why do you think that is?
I really started helping seniors a few years ago mostly because I spent two great years with my BARC cat, Winston, who passed away suddenly. I realized it was not the amount of time I spent with him, but the quality of that time. While he was still with me, I adopted his sister, Sadie, who is still around at age 16.

Tell us about your newsletter.
The newsletter was started to get people to adopt older dogs and cats needing homes and to show people that you can love an older animal just as easily and just as well as a puppy or kitten. In June, the newsletter begins its third year. It’s published four times a year and only by email. It is free, and to subscribe all you need to do is email seniorpetsnyc@aol.com.

What are some of the special features of
the newsletter?
Each issue lists senior dogs and cats for adoption, dog-training or cat-behavior articles, a rescue-group profile, senior pet success stories, and Boogie’s Tails, a column my 14-year-old cat, Boogie, writes! He was rescued at age 13, by the way.

Besides the newsletter, tell us about your other current volunteer work with animal rescue groups.
Right now, I post ads on Craigslist for dogs from Posh Pets Rescue (Manhattan), BARC, Yonkers Animal Shelter, and some other small rescues that need extra help. As mentioned earlier, I walk dogs almost every Sunday morning at BARC. It’s fun, and I love it. It’s quiet, and you can forget sometimes that anyone else is around but you and your shelter dog. I take photos of the dogs and try to get them homes by sending people to the shelter. I also photograph dogs for Posh Pets on occasion.

The other part of my volunteer work is to help senior animals get new homes. Far too often, I see ads on Craigslist something like, “I’m moving, my 10-year-old dog can’t come. … ” It breaks my heart reading about dogs like that, so if I can help that dog or cat get a home, I will, and have been pretty successful at it!

Glenn Close lends a hand to

promote senior pets

Movie star Glenn Close is on board with FetchDog.com, a new pet-centric website. The site not only features shopping for all your doggie needs—from food and bowls to beds, crates, and even car accessories—it also has “charitable shops,” where a percentage of purchases goes to a designated charity (for example, the Little Angel Pug Rescue, recommended by Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen).

FetchDog.com also hosts blogs that discuss dog news, books, and doggie-related cinema and sections that highlight adoption stories, education opportunities, and a celebrity interview conducted by Close.

The award-winning actress also narrates a video for the site that promotes the benefits and joys of adopting senior pets.

Close talked with Tails and answered a few questions about the video, senior pets, and the adoption and rescue of pets in general:

What inspired you to participate in a video promoting the adoption of senior pets?
I know how hard it is for older pets to find homes, and find it heartbreaking to think that many of them don’t ... They deserve happy endings.

Is this something you’d consider doing yourself sometime (adopting a senior pet)?
I would certainly consider adopting a senior pet and will probably do so, if my lifestyle ever makes it feasible.

If not a “senior” dog, would you again consider rescuing or adopting dogs in the future, as you did with Chigger (a dog Close found and adopted some years ago)?
I would only get a rescued dog now. There are so many dogs in need of homes, and each one represents a huge potential for unconditional love and companionship.

To watch the video, visit FetchDog.com.