June 11, 2024 • 38 mins
Maria chats with Joanne Yohannan, North Shore Animal League America's SVP of Shelter Operations.
North Shore is the world's largest and longest running no-kill shelter! Celebrating 80 years of operation, they've saved more than 1.1 million animals! Joanne and Maria discuss many parts of their mission, including the Celebration of Rescue Gala this Friday June 14th in NYC that Maria is hosting.
Learn more at animalleague.org.
North Shore is the world's largest and longest running no-kill shelter! Celebrating 80 years of operation, they've saved more than 1.1 million animals! Joanne and Maria discuss many parts of their mission, including the Celebration of Rescue Gala this Friday June 14th in NYC that Maria is hosting.
Learn more at animalleague.org.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea on iHeartRadio. Welcome to
Maria's MutS and Stuff and with me. I am so thrilled to finally have
her on the other end of aninterview and chat with her. It is
Joeann Johannan, who is the SVPof shelter Operations at north Shore Animal League
(00:26):
America. So thank you, Joannefor taking the time and making time to
talk to me today. Oh,you're welcome, Maria. I'm so excited
to be here, and I'm thrilledthat we finally made the connection. I
know how busy you are. Weboth are. Yes, this is just
so important and such a really wonderfultime for north Shore Animal League America.
(00:52):
So thank you for having me.Absolutely, and I mean this is the
big thing for you for north Shore. It's that eighties yearniversary. That's amazing.
So when I think about it,eighty years ago was I mean World
War Two was still going on?So tell me how did north Shore Animally
America start? So in nineteen fortyfive, a small group of grassroots animal
(01:19):
lovers decided they wanted to save thelives of the animals. We've always been
no kill and it was a smalloperation. And then as the years went
by, Elizabeth Lewett and her husbandAlex became involved with this group and supported
this group, and they had theopportunity to provide animal control services on Long
(01:44):
Island in the town of Staid,but chose not to. They wanted to
continue with the tradition of saving asmany lives as they could without being dictated
to as to which animals they haveto take when they have to take them,
and not giving them enough time tofind homes. So we remain true
(02:06):
to that mission. So eighty yearsis a really long time to be able
to sustain the goal of staying focusedon rescuing, nurturing, adopting, and
educating people about the animals that wehave available for adoption. Sure, I
mean, and that is it's incredible, And you think eighty years, I
(02:28):
mean, it really is a longrun. And for those I'm sure there
are most people who are listening rightnow, they know and have heard of
North Shore Animalague America. But forthose who haven't, it is the world's
world's largest and longest running no killrescue and adoption organization. And I think
you've saved more than one point onemillion animals. Is that that's pretty correct?
(02:51):
Yes, that's correct. Oh mygoodness. I'm sure it's probably much
more than that if you add inthe natal programs we created, like Global
Petadaptithon, like transport, like Tourfor Life. The one point one million
animals are actual animals that came throughour doors and we were able to find
(03:14):
homes for I think it's so amazingand I'm so proud to be a part
of it. Sure, Oh mygoodness, of course. And so let's
that brings me to you? Howdid you get started? How how long?
First of all, how long haveyou been with north Shore Animally America.
I've been with north Shore for twentyeight years. Wow, congratulations.
(03:37):
Yes, No, that's amazing.It is, and it's really interesting the
way it came to be. Istarted working for the ASPCA in New York
City probably around nineteen seventy eight.And at the time, the ASPCA was
providing animal control services for the Cityof New York and Maria. You know,
(04:02):
in the late seventies and right intothe eighties and even part of the
early nineties, population control was atan all time high, using euthanasia as
that means of population control. Soit was pretty bad. And honestly,
the system for collecting data and understandingthe actual numbers of animals dying in the
(04:29):
shelter system was really difficult because weliterally would have like a handwritten log book
that would start at number one atthe beginning of each year, and maybe
she had six puppies, it wouldcount as one unit. So that means
those six little lives that were euthanizeddid not count. It was counted as
(04:50):
one union. Wow. Yeah,So the one hundred and fifty thousand animals
that we think were euthanized during thattime as a means of population controlled,
and that was just through the agIt was probably more like four hundred thousand
if you wanted to count the kittensand the puppies and you know, not
(05:12):
count them as units. So wewere in a really, really bad place.
So fast forward, I mean,here we are in the twenty twenties
and everybody has really supported animal welfare. Tide of animal welfare has changed since
that time, and it's been youknow, we've evolved through the past three
(05:39):
decades and if you look at wherewe were then and where we are today,
so many strides have been made,and I'm so thankful to have been
a part of that. So,you know, things that we do here
now other organizations are doing. Youknow, we were heavily criticized for transporting
(06:00):
animals from the South and bringing themup here, or for even taking animals
from the ASPCA. That's how Igot to know your animal. I was
a shelter director at the ASPCA formany years and nat Show would come in
and they would take animals that weregoing to be euthanized, and I was
so excited. And of course wedid silly things like you know, cross
(06:21):
out the sneezing or the goup inthe eyes, you know, get a
tissue and clean it up right.Term is just amazing. They would come
in and they would take these animals, and then through the years the idea
of transporting animals became mainstreams. Sotoday you've seen many even smaller groups,
(06:42):
grassroots groups, everybody. It takesthe village working together to save lives.
Why should these animals die if thereare good families waiting to adopt them in
different parts of the country, ofcourse, of course, Yeah, that's
been an exciting evolution through the yearsfor men. No, absolutely why do
you think why were people critical thoughof that? I think they didn't understand
(07:06):
the bigger picture. I think itwas because they felt that there were animals
here already. Why aren we bringingmore in? But if you look at
what we had, there were alot of not the way it is now.
You see even more now. Andyou know, I love pitbulls.
(07:26):
They are a marvelss breed. Ihave one, as a matter of fact,
mix of a pit bull. Butthere were a lot of pit bulls
at that time, a lot ofchow chows, a lot of dominant breed
dogs that families were afraid to adopt. And so yes, we would get
some of them adopted. But thatcan't be all you have, because if
(07:47):
it is, people end up goingto the pet store, and we all
know where those animals come from.Yes, so if there are homeless animals
whose lives could be saved through transport, and I truly believe that now people
understand. It took time. Youknow, people aren't great when it comes
(08:09):
to change. You know, humaneorganizations. Me myself, when I started
working at north Shore, I meanI came here with the intention of figuring
out what the heck it is.They were doing what kind of scam a
they run? There was no skinrun. I wanted to know how any
organization can do twenty thousand adoptions ina year. And I learned so much
(08:31):
being here, Maria. It wasjust amazing that not Shore actually advertised animals
and the paper, you know,that was the way to go. Sure,
social media, I remember that,Yes, I remember those ads very
well. Yeah, they were everywhere. You could open the TV guide.
My age is showing you could openthe Yellow Pages. I'm with you.
(08:52):
Yes, that's right, it wouldbe ads U Yeah, And I thought
to myself, Wow, this organizationis promoting the adoption of animals. We
all thought that was kind of crazybecause we all thought that it would encourage
spontaneous adoptions that weren't well thought out, resulting in returns, which we all
(09:18):
came to realize was wrong, orI came to realize was wrong. How
are people to save lives if theydon't know what's going on and they don't
know what's available. Sure, soit really worked out well. Yeah,
and how big is your staff now? You probably have? I mean,
I know you have a lot ofvolunteers. We do. We have over
three hundred paid employees. Between partand full time. But we probably have
(09:43):
close to eight hundred volunteers, andwe could not do the things we do
without our volunteers. They are amazing, amazing, Maria, absolutely. I
mean I've been at your events,I've seen your volunteers. They are amazing.
And you have you probably have adoptions. I know you'd have them every
(10:03):
weekend, and you probably have themalmost seven days a week. It seems
like we do. We're open foradoption seven days a week. And the
only time that changed was during thepandemic, and only for two short weeks
while we caught our breath and regrouped. And I have to tell you,
(10:24):
we did a capital campaign. Iknow you know this, and we expanded
our adoption center. We added thesecond floor called Bianca's Fury Friends. And
what that is is a fourteen thousandsquare foot cage free environment for our cats
and kittens. And what that didwas, aside from providing this phenomenal stress
(10:50):
free environment in which the cats thriveuntil they go home to their permanent loving
families, but it also opened uproom downstairs on the first floor or for
additional life saving work with dogs andruppies. Right though, the fact that
it opened November. BFF opened Novembertwenty nineteen. It was almost like a
(11:13):
gift, yes, that we gotall of this extra space right before the
pandemic was full swing. Yeah,yeah, that's true. Yeah, yeah,
as a result of having fourteen thousandadditional square feet upstairs, and the
cats are ecstatic because now they don'thave to hear barking dogs, which is
(11:33):
of course loving it. Yeah,we were able to open. A lot
of organizations couldn't or didn't or youknow, was unable, were unable to.
But we were able to open andcontinue with our rescue and continue with
our adoptions because we had upstairs andwe had downstairs, so there was plenty
(11:54):
of room for us to distance ourselvesand to wear the masks and continue rulling
on with adoptions. But it waswonderful having that space then, and it's
even greater now, you know,going back to what I said about the
tide of animal welfare change, andwe get a lot of older animals,
geriatric animals, animals in need ofcare, so they stay with us is
(12:20):
a little longer than it has beenin past years. So having the ability
to provide such an enriching environment fora longer stay is truly a gift for
the animals. Absolutely, and youknow, that's always one of my biggest
pet peeves. People always want puppiesand kittens, but you know, and
I always say, oh, butthere are others. Get young adults or
(12:41):
or adopt a senior because sometimes,you know, sometimes people die and they
don't make plans. It happens allthe time. You know it better than
I do. And there's not youknow, and there's nothing wrong you're going
to get. You know. Firstof all, another big pet peeve is
there's nothing wrong with animals that windup in shelters. They're not damaged,
(13:03):
there's nothing wrong with them. Theyjust happened to sometimes the failure of people
or not who didn't spay or newtertheir animals and they wind up in a
shelter. Okay, So it's likewin win to adopt, you know,
And I just you know, andlike you said before, when you know,
animals come from stores. The storecan tell you anything that they think
(13:30):
you want to hear. But thebottom line is those animals came from puppy
mills. So absolutely right, andit doesn't matter somebody's like, oh no,
it's a special breeder. Just forthe store. No no, no,
no, that's not true, youknow, and special breeder they're usually
backyard breeders. Yes, there aresome really really good breeders out there that
(13:54):
have very high standards, and thosebreeders usually have waiting lists for their animals,
and they usually screen their potential buyers, you know, and they usually
will take their animals back if itdoesn't work out, whereas the backyard breeder
is just looking for volume to increaseprofits, and so the care of the
(14:18):
animals is not at the forefront ofwhat they're thinking about when they're doing this.
So I'm with you. I thinkthat adopting an animal from a shelter
or a rescue group, or takingfrom somebody who can no longer keep an
animal and preventing that relinquishment in thefirst place, really is the way to
(14:39):
go. And life happens, youknow, sometimes, like people pass away,
people end up in assisted living ornursing homes. People get divorced.
Yeah, people move to places thatdon't allow pets. I personally wouldn't but
you know me too, me too. I know you can't judge. You
can't judge, right, right,we are cut from the same cloth with
(15:01):
that because I'd be like, well, I'm not going to move there if
I can't take my pet. Youknow, it's not a couch. But
okay, yeah, exactly, it'spart of the family. Yeah, I
think that many Americans are very proudof the pets they rescue and adopt.
Yes, I think that the wholemindset of having to have a specific breed
(15:24):
dog, not because there's anything wrongwith breed specific dogs. You know,
we get those here too, butI think that whole mindset has changed,
and I think that people just lookfor that connection and they really yeah,
they want to embrace that human animalbond. It's not necessarily all about what
the dog looks like anymore or thecat looks like anymore. Right, I
(15:45):
agree with that. I think it'sdefinitely changed. I think especially you know,
you think back like our grandparents andthey had dogs, and yes they
were in the house, but itwas different. You know, they probably
ate what the people ate, andyou know, they took care of them.
There are other people that just lefttheir dogs in a doghouse outside.
But now I think and over theyears, I mean I've seen it.
(16:07):
I know you have dogs and catsare and yeah, I mean it applies
to both of them. They arepart of the family and they are you
know, and when it comes totheir healthcare and how they sleep and how
they eat. And I think I'mvery grateful that the you know, it's
the tide has changed for it.Yeah, these two we've come a long
(16:32):
way, like I said, stillhave a ways to go, you know,
until organizations like North Shore are nolonger necessary. Maybe then we become
a medical center and a boarding facilityin a grooming shop and you know,
right right like that. But untilsuch time, is just good to know
that we have the ability to helpso many animals. Absolutely, Yeah,
(16:56):
Proud that I'm able to do alittle stuff thing to add to that.
Absolutely, And it's a big something, it's not little, Joanne. You
need to own that. You're likea pioneer in this whole situation. So
I hope you realize that. Well, thank you for saying that, because
I look back at my younger daysand when I started at the ASPCA in
(17:18):
nineteen seventy eight as a young girland going to work was like, oh
my god, we got to giveas many animals out of here as we
can. It was just so mucheuthanasia happening. And as the years went
by and I got to know notthShore Animal League, I was so thankful
and so thrilled. I knew MissusLeWitt personally. We used to call her
(17:41):
bad Bet and I would always askher, I remember this one dog.
We had a pregnant dog and therescue van she was on was full.
But I knew that if they didn'ttake this little brown dog, that they
were going to put her down.And she was pregnant. Maria and I
looked at Missus Leeward and I said, do you think maybe you could take
(18:04):
this dog? And she looked atme and she knew I was upset,
and she said, Joanne, there'salways room for one more. All these
years, I never forgot that.And she promptly took that little brown dog
and put the door with astray,put the dog on her lap. She
was on the passenger side of thevan, and off they drove. I
(18:26):
was so happy, of course,that that dog's life was saved. And
you know what, that wasn't herfirst litter, because about two weeks later
when she came back again, thatlittle brown dog had eight puppies. Oh
my goodness, Yes, And whenthe litter is that large, you know
(18:47):
that you know it's probably her secondor third litter. But she also let
me know when the dog was adopted. So I have so many wonderful memories
of Babbat and so many wonderful memoriesof not sure coming in and saving so
many lives. But I also havemany memories etched in my heart of animals
that warn't saved Maria, and Ithink that that's what motivates me to stay
(19:15):
focused, yes, and do asmuch as I can for as many as
I can. Exactly, I wasjust actually you're reading my mind. I
was just going to say, Joanne, that's what keeps you focused for all
the animals that warn't saved, butthe ones that still need to be saved.
And that's where you, you know, and North Shore Animal in America
come in every day, every night, working so tirelessly to you know,
(19:37):
to get these animals saved and adopted, working tirelessly. I have to say,
we were talking about BFF and thenyou know, when we talk about
animals, it's it's so it's soeasy to go from topic to topic because
there's so much to talk about.Yes, but I've got to tell you,
bet Star. Well, yes,John, I have to ask you.
(19:59):
Yes, I was going to actuallybring her up because we were talking
about Bianca's furry friends, and Iwas like, we must talk about Beth
and the name of Bianca's so pleasetell me Beyonca was Beth and Haward Stern's
dog, and sadly, Bianca diedin twenty twelve, and Beth wanted to
(20:22):
do something meaningful in memory of Bianca, and so I thought, you know,
Howard does some artwork, and he'sreally quite talented. He is,
He's very good. Yes, yeah, I would get these Christmas cards from
them, and the year that Biancapassed away, there was a watermark of
her on the back of the card. So my idea of big we were
(20:45):
at We were at the location Idon't remember, but it was twenty twelve.
It was right after Sandy. Thevenue we had in Chelsea's Tears was
flooded, so we couldn't go there. We had to quickly organized the gallap
it might've been the Waldorf Astoria.Whatever, it was put together very quickly,
(21:06):
and Beth and I were sitting atthe table, so I said to
her, oh, you know,maybe Howard could come up with a line
of specialty cards and we could usethat watermark. And she said, well,
that's a good idea, but Iwas thinking something bigger, you know,
maybe like an adoption center for cats. And we just started talking.
She took her little makin she wasdrawing pictures on there, and I said,
(21:30):
well, you know, I don'tknow if we can do this,
but I'm going to check with thetown. Maybe we could add a second
floor and that could be for catsand kittens. And you know, we
were thinking about this together, right. One idea rolled into another. So
she was going away. I said, when you come back, I'll have
some answers to you. The shortversion is that we went to the town,
(21:53):
we were able to add a secondfloor. So when she got back,
which was early twenty thirteen ten,it was full swinging fundraising and you
know, finding a company that coulddo the sketches, getting the architect.
I can't tell you how amazing shewas. She and Howard actually, because
(22:14):
he supports her tremendously with the rescuework that she does. There's always cats
and kittens, and she's a biglover of dogs. She's a big lover
of a yeahs her, I'm prettysure she's a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as well,
and I have to say one ofthe most impressive things she's done aside
(22:38):
from BFF, and it was somuch fun working with it. On her
she has made her and Howard adoptingolder animals like the in thing to do,
and her Instagram reaches hundreds of thousandsof people, so animals that would
normally sit for months at a time. Once she focuses on those animals and
(23:02):
talks about them and does a quickvideo clip, we're able to find homes
for them. So I can't eventell you how many lives that has saved.
Oh, not only directly here atNotchare, but across the country because
she's got quite a strong followers shedoes yeah yeah, and you know,
the people that follow her are biganimal lovers and they share with their friends
(23:26):
and it's just been really a whirlwindof lives saved as a result of her
promoting of bets, promoting the cats, the kittens, and even some older
adult dogs on her Instagram. Soit's been an amazing run with her.
(23:47):
But she's always always been an animallover. It's how I met her,
and how did the two of youmeet well, it's really funny, she
was, Oh my god, itwas so long ago, probably the early
two thousands. We had a luncheon. I was not in this position.
I was the manager of off offsideevents and offside adoptions and we were at
(24:11):
the Garden City Hotel and it wasthe luncheon. She was one of I
don't know four or five models,Maria one was more beautiful than Sunny.
Nobody had announced on them, andthere it is. They're holding these puppies
(24:33):
and they're modeling, and you know, we were doing some adoptions there.
Beth wanted to make sure all theanimals got adopted. And it was funny
because when the cameras went off,and you know, the other models there
was a couple of other models andthey were all beautiful too, they were
holding the puppies away from them.So the volunteers and the staff we went
and took the puppies and I said, excuse me, miss, and it
(24:56):
was Beth. I didn't know her. Said I'll take the puppy. And
she looked at me and she gesturedwith her hands like, oh, it's
okay, right right, I said, but what about your dress? The
puppy's gonna maybe the puppy's going totear your dress or get hair on there.
She jested again with her hand andsaid, oh please, can I
(25:17):
hold him? So I said,of course, you can hold him,
and then we just started talking.She told me her name was Beth.
She said, if I could everdo anything for you, just let me
know. She gave me her phonenumber, and the rest is history because
we did. Yeah. Yeah,and you know, the internet was kind
of just starting out, our websitewas just starting out. But she was
(25:40):
so darned pretty. Yeah, Isaid, Beth, you could make any
old dog look fabulous, So wouldyou mind modeling with a couple of our
older, larger breed dogs. Andshe did, and they were adopted of
course, right right, Yeah,it worked. I mean as time went
by, then hit in two thousandand six, and at that time I
(26:03):
didn't even know she was dating HowardStern, right, And it was the
funniest thing because she said to NijaWanne, I'm dating a radio DJ.
Do you want me to talk tohim about work you're going to be doing
in Louisiana? I said, sure, who's your boyfriend? She said,
I'm dating a guy named Howard SternAnd It was funny because I heard the
name, but I was always sowrapped up in animal welfare that I didn't
(26:26):
really listen to the show. I'membarrassed to say. Okay, yeah,
all right, there are a lotof the interviews. But anyway, he
ended up talking about it. Ithink he was on AM radio at the
time, or it wasn't serious atthe time. All I know is he
was probably a k rock maybe,right, he's probably a k rock then,
(26:47):
yeah, yeah, two thousand andsix, Yeah, he was definitely
a k rock. Yes, buthe was also around the country too,
syndicated around the country. But yes, yeah, he was a k rock.
I'm like, wait, I'm trying. Of course in two thousand and
six, Yes, that's funny.Well, he ended up talking about it
a couple of times on his show. And the donations, not just monetary
donations, but we got a van, we got crates because we needed those
(27:11):
partners, we got food, wegot all kinds of donations. And then
Beck just never left. She becamea volunteer. She went out on rescue.
I mean, she is the realdeal. She is wanted to know
what it was to go out andchoose certain animals and have to leave behind
other animals, and you know,all these years she has saved so many
(27:34):
lives and never wants to be recognizedfor it. I can't help but talk
about it because I'm so appreciative andwhat she does is really wonderful. Of
course, no, I mean sheworks tirelessly. I know. I follow
her on Instagram and I always seeher stories and the cats and the kittens,
and sometimes Howard will be in aphoto with her with like cats all
(27:56):
in their heads. I mean,it's just it's adorable, you know,
and you know it's true blue thatwhen it's coming from Beth as opposed to
like the other models. Obviously theywere there, oh they were doing a
job, but it was like Ireally don't want, you know, I
want to hold this puppy for asshort a time as I can. But
with Beth it was completely different becauseshe's true blue. So you know,
(28:18):
it's just so perfect. Yeah,it's so perfect. And you're right,
she's like a doll to me becauseshe's so gorgeous and she really when I
see her at the galleys and howshe's dressed, I'm like, oh my
god, she's like a doll.I don't even want to go, like
I will always go and say helloto her and hug her, but I
don't want to get her dirty,you know, because I feel like I
(28:40):
don't want to mess you up.And you know what, the funny it
is, she could care, shedoesn't care, I know, which is
even funnier. But that's just yeah, yeah, a natural beauty that comes
from within. I've seen Beth withabsolutely no makeup on. She looks the
same, of course, yeah,you know it just she's a good person
(29:03):
and we're very very fortunate and theanimals are extremely fortunate to have her.
And Howard absolutely no, I agree. I agree so well. The big
thing that's coming up, the eightiethanniversary, the gala that North Shore Animal
League is happening is having rather onJune fourteenth. That's going to be here
(29:26):
before we know it actually at theTribeca rooftop. Speaking of Beth, right,
she will be there, She's shewill be there, yes, And
I'm honored and I have to admitit because I'm honored and flattered that I
will be hosting it this year.So thank you for that. Oh,
I'm so excited that you're so thrilledto learn that you accepted. Oh my
(29:49):
goodness, to be such a wonderfulnight. And the Rachel Ray Foundation is
being honored with our Crystal Cholera Rewards, So Rachel Read and John Cusamano will
be there. There's going to bea performance by Taylor Dane. It's going
to be an exciting night, andyou just never know who else may be
(30:10):
there. That's true. That's true. And for those who are listening,
if you you can still get sometickets if you'd like by going to Animal
League dot org slash Celebration of Rescue. But it's it's going to be a
very great night. And I thankyou for letting me host it, Joanne,
because it's something I've wanted to dofor many, many, many years.
And when I was asked, Iwas like, what yeah, yeah,
(30:37):
Well it worked out for all ofus because it's our honor to Maria.
You yourself are an icon radio personality. So thank you, no,
thank you, thank you, thankyou. And you know, for those
who are just learning about north ShoreAnimal League America right now, and I
really want to put this point outbecause I I feel like north Shore is
(31:00):
very, very lucky because there aremany celebrities and you know, musicians and
artists, and they take photos withpuppies and dogs and cats. But that
doesn't mean that everybody donates, andthat doesn't mean that north Shore doesn't need
donations. And I'm not pooh poohingon the fact that there are a lot
(31:22):
of celebrities that are very supportive,but they all don't. You know,
I would say the majority don't givedonations and help out. Am I correct
on that. I would say weare very lucky because ours do. But
you're right about that. Some willpose for pictures and yeah, that's really
about it. Let me give ashout out to the organization, But any
(31:47):
of the celebrities that we've worked with, we've been very fortunate. But you
know, we still depend upon ourcommunity and the generality of our donors because,
as you know, Maria is savinglife, saving lives very very expensive.
Yes, yes, and you know, the medical the level of medical
care that we provide to each animalcould be in the thousands, depending on
(32:10):
what they need. Sure, Andyou know, I understand that not everybody
is in a position to donate money, and that's okay. You know,
you could volunteer, You could bringtowels, right, you could bring blankets.
There's so many things that you coulddo. You know, you could
(32:31):
you could become an advocate to theanimals through anipals and help us get long
term animals adopted, just by sharingon your social media pages. So you
know, if you're not in aposition to donate, I mean, every
dollar counts. Don't think that afive dollars or ten dollars donation is not
appreciated, because it is. Itis exactly and that was my point about
(32:52):
celebrities, is that five dollars isstill appreciated and needed and wanted. Absolutely,
yeah, because it all adds upand it allows us to do the
work we do. Absolutely. Soif you are listening and you can make
a donation, that would be prettyamazing. Or if you can volunteer if
you're in the Tri state area,that would be great too, Or make
(33:14):
donations of towels and just get allthe information you need and you can get
it at Animal League dot org.So yes, if they're outside of New
York and they want to volunteer,they can visit our website Animal League dot
org and check out our shelter partners. There are shelters that everybody's community across
(33:37):
the country and rescue groups that arejust a desperate need of volunteers so that
you know they could do that aswell. That's and that's amazing, that's
amazing to do it. Please doit. I love north Shore Animal League
America. I have for many,many, many many years, you know,
growing up on Long Island, soit was always I knew what north
(33:58):
Shore was and so uh, it'sjust it's so wonderful to be affiliated with
the organization and with you, Joanne, and you know, I thank you
for all that you do, becauselike I said, you definitely are a
pioneer and north Shore Animally, Imean, eighty years is incredible. It's
really incredible. I hope you're aroundand north Shore Animal League America is around
(34:21):
for another eighty years, saving liveslike you do, and all the programs.
I mean, we could talk forhours, but there are so many
different programs. You have m degreesand uh Tour for Life and the Humane
Relocation. There's so many different programsthat north Shore Animal League has and you
can ye so many because degrees thatjust really quickly. Yeah. That is
(34:45):
a curriculum that was developed with YaleUniversity School of the Twenty first Century and
North Shore Animal League America, andit's in over five thousand schools and libraries
across the country. And it's awonderful program. It's not traditional in the
sense where we just bring puppies intoa classroom and explain kindness. Full program
(35:14):
that focuses on the whole child.It's social and emotional learning and teaching children
empathy and how to become good citizens, including the Animal Advocates of tomorrow.
Beyond that, just being good neighbors, good caretakers of the earth and one
(35:37):
another. It's a program whose timehas come, and we are the only
organization that continues with humane education becausewe feel it's that important. Other major
organizations have stopped their programming because it'snot programming that is necessarily supported by donations.
(36:00):
But we just think it's that importantthat we continue on with it.
Mm hmm. Absolutely. And forthose because I know there are listeners who
have been listening to Maria's mutts andstuff for many years since it first started
in twenty seventeen. I believe itmight have been twenty eighteen when I had
Jane Vitalion talking about mudigrees. Actually, she came into my studio and we
(36:23):
did an interview about muddigree. Soyou can actually go back on the iHeartRadio
app or iTunes wherever you get yourpodcasts, and you can learn about mudigrees
from way back when. Yeah,perfect, perfect perfect. Oh and the
last thing I want to add isI love Q one O four I really
do. Three. I've been listeningto it since I was a teenager.
(36:45):
I love it. I just loveit. Well, thank you, Joanne,
thank you, thank you, thankyou for all you do. Of
course, thank you for listening toQ and O four point three. I
love that, but thank you forall you do and all your hard work
for twenty eight years and he's totwenty eight years more. And I appreciate
you and all your information. Andof course north Shore Animal League America.
(37:07):
And as I've said, and Ican't tell you over and over are enough
times that if you can help outand make a donation or or just to
learn more, you can go toAnimal League dot org. And you know
the big thing is too, whenyou said earlier about not needing to have
north Shore Animal League America around,I believe if you spay and neuter,
(37:30):
if everybody spays and neuters their pets, that will help in that mission because
that's another pet peeve. Absolutely,and you know we have the first national
platform still going strong. Spay USAis ours. Yes, we have across
the country spade and neutered literally tensof thousands of animals, So we definitely
(37:52):
agree with you. Yes, andthat is very important to us as well.
Absolutely, so get your rest.Thank you on and Joanne, Johanna
and I really appreciate you and yourtime and all you do, and thank
you so much to you and NorthStore Animal League America. Thank you.
You're welcome. Have a good day, Rader operator, and just see you
(38:19):
Rader. Mommigator
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea on iHeartRadio. Welcome to
Maria's MutS and Stuff and with me. I am so thrilled to finally have
her on the other end of aninterview and chat with her. It is
Joeann Johannan, who is the SVPof shelter Operations at north Shore Animal League
(00:26):
America. So thank you, Joannefor taking the time and making time to
talk to me today. Oh,you're welcome, Maria. I'm so excited
to be here, and I'm thrilledthat we finally made the connection. I
know how busy you are. Weboth are. Yes, this is just
so important and such a really wonderfultime for north Shore Animal League America.
(00:52):
So thank you for having me.Absolutely, and I mean this is the
big thing for you for north Shore. It's that eighties yearniversary. That's amazing.
So when I think about it,eighty years ago was I mean World
War Two was still going on?So tell me how did north Shore Animally
America start? So in nineteen fortyfive, a small group of grassroots animal
(01:19):
lovers decided they wanted to save thelives of the animals. We've always been
no kill and it was a smalloperation. And then as the years went
by, Elizabeth Lewett and her husbandAlex became involved with this group and supported
this group, and they had theopportunity to provide animal control services on Long
(01:44):
Island in the town of Staid,but chose not to. They wanted to
continue with the tradition of saving asmany lives as they could without being dictated
to as to which animals they haveto take when they have to take them,
and not giving them enough time tofind homes. So we remain true
(02:06):
to that mission. So eighty yearsis a really long time to be able
to sustain the goal of staying focusedon rescuing, nurturing, adopting, and
educating people about the animals that wehave available for adoption. Sure, I
mean, and that is it's incredible, And you think eighty years, I
(02:28):
mean, it really is a longrun. And for those I'm sure there
are most people who are listening rightnow, they know and have heard of
North Shore Animalague America. But forthose who haven't, it is the world's
world's largest and longest running no killrescue and adoption organization. And I think
you've saved more than one point onemillion animals. Is that that's pretty correct?
(02:51):
Yes, that's correct. Oh mygoodness. I'm sure it's probably much
more than that if you add inthe natal programs we created, like Global
Petadaptithon, like transport, like Tourfor Life. The one point one million
animals are actual animals that came throughour doors and we were able to find
(03:14):
homes for I think it's so amazingand I'm so proud to be a part
of it. Sure, Oh mygoodness, of course. And so let's
that brings me to you? Howdid you get started? How how long?
First of all, how long haveyou been with north Shore Animally America.
I've been with north Shore for twentyeight years. Wow, congratulations.
(03:37):
Yes, No, that's amazing.It is, and it's really interesting the
way it came to be. Istarted working for the ASPCA in New York
City probably around nineteen seventy eight.And at the time, the ASPCA was
providing animal control services for the Cityof New York and Maria. You know,
(04:02):
in the late seventies and right intothe eighties and even part of the
early nineties, population control was atan all time high, using euthanasia as
that means of population control. Soit was pretty bad. And honestly,
the system for collecting data and understandingthe actual numbers of animals dying in the
(04:29):
shelter system was really difficult because weliterally would have like a handwritten log book
that would start at number one atthe beginning of each year, and maybe
she had six puppies, it wouldcount as one unit. So that means
those six little lives that were euthanizeddid not count. It was counted as
(04:50):
one union. Wow. Yeah,So the one hundred and fifty thousand animals
that we think were euthanized during thattime as a means of population controlled,
and that was just through the agIt was probably more like four hundred thousand
if you wanted to count the kittensand the puppies and you know, not
(05:12):
count them as units. So wewere in a really, really bad place.
So fast forward, I mean,here we are in the twenty twenties
and everybody has really supported animal welfare. Tide of animal welfare has changed since
that time, and it's been youknow, we've evolved through the past three
(05:39):
decades and if you look at wherewe were then and where we are today,
so many strides have been made,and I'm so thankful to have been
a part of that. So,you know, things that we do here
now other organizations are doing. Youknow, we were heavily criticized for transporting
(06:00):
animals from the South and bringing themup here, or for even taking animals
from the ASPCA. That's how Igot to know your animal. I was
a shelter director at the ASPCA formany years and nat Show would come in
and they would take animals that weregoing to be euthanized, and I was
so excited. And of course wedid silly things like you know, cross
(06:21):
out the sneezing or the goup inthe eyes, you know, get a
tissue and clean it up right.Term is just amazing. They would come
in and they would take these animals, and then through the years the idea
of transporting animals became mainstreams. Sotoday you've seen many even smaller groups,
(06:42):
grassroots groups, everybody. It takesthe village working together to save lives.
Why should these animals die if thereare good families waiting to adopt them in
different parts of the country, ofcourse, of course, Yeah, that's
been an exciting evolution through the yearsfor men. No, absolutely why do
you think why were people critical thoughof that? I think they didn't understand
(07:06):
the bigger picture. I think itwas because they felt that there were animals
here already. Why aren we bringingmore in? But if you look at
what we had, there were alot of not the way it is now.
You see even more now. Andyou know, I love pitbulls.
(07:26):
They are a marvelss breed. Ihave one, as a matter of fact,
mix of a pit bull. Butthere were a lot of pit bulls
at that time, a lot ofchow chows, a lot of dominant breed
dogs that families were afraid to adopt. And so yes, we would get
some of them adopted. But thatcan't be all you have, because if
(07:47):
it is, people end up goingto the pet store, and we all
know where those animals come from.Yes, so if there are homeless animals
whose lives could be saved through transport, and I truly believe that now people
understand. It took time. Youknow, people aren't great when it comes
(08:09):
to change. You know, humaneorganizations. Me myself, when I started
working at north Shore, I meanI came here with the intention of figuring
out what the heck it is.They were doing what kind of scam a
they run? There was no skinrun. I wanted to know how any
organization can do twenty thousand adoptions ina year. And I learned so much
(08:31):
being here, Maria. It wasjust amazing that not Shore actually advertised animals
and the paper, you know,that was the way to go. Sure,
social media, I remember that,Yes, I remember those ads very
well. Yeah, they were everywhere. You could open the TV guide.
My age is showing you could openthe Yellow Pages. I'm with you.
(08:52):
Yes, that's right, it wouldbe ads U Yeah, And I thought
to myself, Wow, this organizationis promoting the adoption of animals. We
all thought that was kind of crazybecause we all thought that it would encourage
spontaneous adoptions that weren't well thought out, resulting in returns, which we all
(09:18):
came to realize was wrong, orI came to realize was wrong. How
are people to save lives if theydon't know what's going on and they don't
know what's available. Sure, soit really worked out well. Yeah,
and how big is your staff now? You probably have? I mean,
I know you have a lot ofvolunteers. We do. We have over
three hundred paid employees. Between partand full time. But we probably have
(09:43):
close to eight hundred volunteers, andwe could not do the things we do
without our volunteers. They are amazing, amazing, Maria, absolutely. I
mean I've been at your events,I've seen your volunteers. They are amazing.
And you have you probably have adoptions. I know you'd have them every
(10:03):
weekend, and you probably have themalmost seven days a week. It seems
like we do. We're open foradoption seven days a week. And the
only time that changed was during thepandemic, and only for two short weeks
while we caught our breath and regrouped. And I have to tell you,
(10:24):
we did a capital campaign. Iknow you know this, and we expanded
our adoption center. We added thesecond floor called Bianca's Fury Friends. And
what that is is a fourteen thousandsquare foot cage free environment for our cats
and kittens. And what that didwas, aside from providing this phenomenal stress
(10:50):
free environment in which the cats thriveuntil they go home to their permanent loving
families, but it also opened uproom downstairs on the first floor or for
additional life saving work with dogs andruppies. Right though, the fact that
it opened November. BFF opened Novembertwenty nineteen. It was almost like a
(11:13):
gift, yes, that we gotall of this extra space right before the
pandemic was full swing. Yeah,yeah, that's true. Yeah, yeah,
as a result of having fourteen thousandadditional square feet upstairs, and the
cats are ecstatic because now they don'thave to hear barking dogs, which is
(11:33):
of course loving it. Yeah,we were able to open. A lot
of organizations couldn't or didn't or youknow, was unable, were unable to.
But we were able to open andcontinue with our rescue and continue with
our adoptions because we had upstairs andwe had downstairs, so there was plenty
(11:54):
of room for us to distance ourselvesand to wear the masks and continue rulling
on with adoptions. But it waswonderful having that space then, and it's
even greater now, you know,going back to what I said about the
tide of animal welfare change, andwe get a lot of older animals,
geriatric animals, animals in need ofcare, so they stay with us is
(12:20):
a little longer than it has beenin past years. So having the ability
to provide such an enriching environment fora longer stay is truly a gift for
the animals. Absolutely, and youknow, that's always one of my biggest
pet peeves. People always want puppiesand kittens, but you know, and
I always say, oh, butthere are others. Get young adults or
(12:41):
or adopt a senior because sometimes,you know, sometimes people die and they
don't make plans. It happens allthe time. You know it better than
I do. And there's not youknow, and there's nothing wrong you're going
to get. You know. Firstof all, another big pet peeve is
there's nothing wrong with animals that windup in shelters. They're not damaged,
(13:03):
there's nothing wrong with them. Theyjust happened to sometimes the failure of people
or not who didn't spay or newtertheir animals and they wind up in a
shelter. Okay, So it's likewin win to adopt, you know,
And I just you know, andlike you said before, when you know,
animals come from stores. The storecan tell you anything that they think
(13:30):
you want to hear. But thebottom line is those animals came from puppy
mills. So absolutely right, andit doesn't matter somebody's like, oh no,
it's a special breeder. Just forthe store. No no, no,
no, that's not true, youknow, and special breeder they're usually
backyard breeders. Yes, there aresome really really good breeders out there that
(13:54):
have very high standards, and thosebreeders usually have waiting lists for their animals,
and they usually screen their potential buyers, you know, and they usually
will take their animals back if itdoesn't work out, whereas the backyard breeder
is just looking for volume to increaseprofits, and so the care of the
(14:18):
animals is not at the forefront ofwhat they're thinking about when they're doing this.
So I'm with you. I thinkthat adopting an animal from a shelter
or a rescue group, or takingfrom somebody who can no longer keep an
animal and preventing that relinquishment in thefirst place, really is the way to
(14:39):
go. And life happens, youknow, sometimes, like people pass away,
people end up in assisted living ornursing homes. People get divorced.
Yeah, people move to places thatdon't allow pets. I personally wouldn't but
you know me too, me too. I know you can't judge. You
can't judge, right, right,we are cut from the same cloth with
(15:01):
that because I'd be like, well, I'm not going to move there if
I can't take my pet. Youknow, it's not a couch. But
okay, yeah, exactly, it'spart of the family. Yeah, I
think that many Americans are very proudof the pets they rescue and adopt.
Yes, I think that the wholemindset of having to have a specific breed
(15:24):
dog, not because there's anything wrongwith breed specific dogs. You know,
we get those here too, butI think that whole mindset has changed,
and I think that people just lookfor that connection and they really yeah,
they want to embrace that human animalbond. It's not necessarily all about what
the dog looks like anymore or thecat looks like anymore. Right, I
(15:45):
agree with that. I think it'sdefinitely changed. I think especially you know,
you think back like our grandparents andthey had dogs, and yes they
were in the house, but itwas different. You know, they probably
ate what the people ate, andyou know, they took care of them.
There are other people that just lefttheir dogs in a doghouse outside.
But now I think and over theyears, I mean I've seen it.
(16:07):
I know you have dogs and catsare and yeah, I mean it applies
to both of them. They arepart of the family and they are you
know, and when it comes totheir healthcare and how they sleep and how
they eat. And I think I'mvery grateful that the you know, it's
the tide has changed for it.Yeah, these two we've come a long
(16:32):
way, like I said, stillhave a ways to go, you know,
until organizations like North Shore are nolonger necessary. Maybe then we become
a medical center and a boarding facilityin a grooming shop and you know,
right right like that. But untilsuch time, is just good to know
that we have the ability to helpso many animals. Absolutely, Yeah,
(16:56):
Proud that I'm able to do alittle stuff thing to add to that.
Absolutely, And it's a big something, it's not little, Joanne. You
need to own that. You're likea pioneer in this whole situation. So
I hope you realize that. Well, thank you for saying that, because
I look back at my younger daysand when I started at the ASPCA in
(17:18):
nineteen seventy eight as a young girland going to work was like, oh
my god, we got to giveas many animals out of here as we
can. It was just so mucheuthanasia happening. And as the years went
by and I got to know notthShore Animal League, I was so thankful
and so thrilled. I knew MissusLeWitt personally. We used to call her
(17:41):
bad Bet and I would always askher, I remember this one dog.
We had a pregnant dog and therescue van she was on was full.
But I knew that if they didn'ttake this little brown dog, that they
were going to put her down.And she was pregnant. Maria and I
looked at Missus Leeward and I said, do you think maybe you could take
(18:04):
this dog? And she looked atme and she knew I was upset,
and she said, Joanne, there'salways room for one more. All these
years, I never forgot that.And she promptly took that little brown dog
and put the door with astray,put the dog on her lap. She
was on the passenger side of thevan, and off they drove. I
(18:26):
was so happy, of course,that that dog's life was saved. And
you know what, that wasn't herfirst litter, because about two weeks later
when she came back again, thatlittle brown dog had eight puppies. Oh
my goodness, Yes, And whenthe litter is that large, you know
(18:47):
that you know it's probably her secondor third litter. But she also let
me know when the dog was adopted. So I have so many wonderful memories
of Babbat and so many wonderful memoriesof not sure coming in and saving so
many lives. But I also havemany memories etched in my heart of animals
that warn't saved Maria, and Ithink that that's what motivates me to stay
(19:15):
focused, yes, and do asmuch as I can for as many as
I can. Exactly, I wasjust actually you're reading my mind. I
was just going to say, Joanne, that's what keeps you focused for all
the animals that warn't saved, butthe ones that still need to be saved.
And that's where you, you know, and North Shore Animal in America
come in every day, every night, working so tirelessly to you know,
(19:37):
to get these animals saved and adopted, working tirelessly. I have to say,
we were talking about BFF and thenyou know, when we talk about
animals, it's it's so it's soeasy to go from topic to topic because
there's so much to talk about.Yes, but I've got to tell you,
bet Star. Well, yes,John, I have to ask you.
(19:59):
Yes, I was going to actuallybring her up because we were talking
about Bianca's furry friends, and Iwas like, we must talk about Beth
and the name of Bianca's so pleasetell me Beyonca was Beth and Haward Stern's
dog, and sadly, Bianca diedin twenty twelve, and Beth wanted to
(20:22):
do something meaningful in memory of Bianca, and so I thought, you know,
Howard does some artwork, and he'sreally quite talented. He is,
He's very good. Yes, yeah, I would get these Christmas cards from
them, and the year that Biancapassed away, there was a watermark of
her on the back of the card. So my idea of big we were
(20:45):
at We were at the location Idon't remember, but it was twenty twelve.
It was right after Sandy. Thevenue we had in Chelsea's Tears was
flooded, so we couldn't go there. We had to quickly organized the gallap
it might've been the Waldorf Astoria.Whatever, it was put together very quickly,
(21:06):
and Beth and I were sitting atthe table, so I said to
her, oh, you know,maybe Howard could come up with a line
of specialty cards and we could usethat watermark. And she said, well,
that's a good idea, but Iwas thinking something bigger, you know,
maybe like an adoption center for cats. And we just started talking.
She took her little makin she wasdrawing pictures on there, and I said,
(21:30):
well, you know, I don'tknow if we can do this,
but I'm going to check with thetown. Maybe we could add a second
floor and that could be for catsand kittens. And you know, we
were thinking about this together, right. One idea rolled into another. So
she was going away. I said, when you come back, I'll have
some answers to you. The shortversion is that we went to the town,
(21:53):
we were able to add a secondfloor. So when she got back,
which was early twenty thirteen ten,it was full swinging fundraising and you
know, finding a company that coulddo the sketches, getting the architect.
I can't tell you how amazing shewas. She and Howard actually, because
(22:14):
he supports her tremendously with the rescuework that she does. There's always cats
and kittens, and she's a biglover of dogs. She's a big lover
of a yeahs her, I'm prettysure she's a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as well,
and I have to say one ofthe most impressive things she's done aside
(22:38):
from BFF, and it was somuch fun working with it. On her
she has made her and Howard adoptingolder animals like the in thing to do,
and her Instagram reaches hundreds of thousandsof people, so animals that would
normally sit for months at a time. Once she focuses on those animals and
(23:02):
talks about them and does a quickvideo clip, we're able to find homes
for them. So I can't eventell you how many lives that has saved.
Oh, not only directly here atNotchare, but across the country because
she's got quite a strong followers shedoes yeah yeah, and you know,
the people that follow her are biganimal lovers and they share with their friends
(23:26):
and it's just been really a whirlwindof lives saved as a result of her
promoting of bets, promoting the cats, the kittens, and even some older
adult dogs on her Instagram. Soit's been an amazing run with her.
(23:47):
But she's always always been an animallover. It's how I met her,
and how did the two of youmeet well, it's really funny, she
was, Oh my god, itwas so long ago, probably the early
two thousands. We had a luncheon. I was not in this position.
I was the manager of off offsideevents and offside adoptions and we were at
(24:11):
the Garden City Hotel and it wasthe luncheon. She was one of I
don't know four or five models,Maria one was more beautiful than Sunny.
Nobody had announced on them, andthere it is. They're holding these puppies
(24:33):
and they're modeling, and you know, we were doing some adoptions there.
Beth wanted to make sure all theanimals got adopted. And it was funny
because when the cameras went off,and you know, the other models there
was a couple of other models andthey were all beautiful too, they were
holding the puppies away from them.So the volunteers and the staff we went
and took the puppies and I said, excuse me, miss, and it
(24:56):
was Beth. I didn't know her. Said I'll take the puppy. And
she looked at me and she gesturedwith her hands like, oh, it's
okay, right right, I said, but what about your dress? The
puppy's gonna maybe the puppy's going totear your dress or get hair on there.
She jested again with her hand andsaid, oh please, can I
(25:17):
hold him? So I said,of course, you can hold him,
and then we just started talking.She told me her name was Beth.
She said, if I could everdo anything for you, just let me
know. She gave me her phonenumber, and the rest is history because
we did. Yeah. Yeah,and you know, the internet was kind
of just starting out, our websitewas just starting out. But she was
(25:40):
so darned pretty. Yeah, Isaid, Beth, you could make any
old dog look fabulous, So wouldyou mind modeling with a couple of our
older, larger breed dogs. Andshe did, and they were adopted of
course, right right, Yeah,it worked. I mean as time went
by, then hit in two thousandand six, and at that time I
(26:03):
didn't even know she was dating HowardStern, right, And it was the
funniest thing because she said to NijaWanne, I'm dating a radio DJ.
Do you want me to talk tohim about work you're going to be doing
in Louisiana? I said, sure, who's your boyfriend? She said,
I'm dating a guy named Howard SternAnd It was funny because I heard the
name, but I was always sowrapped up in animal welfare that I didn't
(26:26):
really listen to the show. I'membarrassed to say. Okay, yeah,
all right, there are a lotof the interviews. But anyway, he
ended up talking about it. Ithink he was on AM radio at the
time, or it wasn't serious atthe time. All I know is he
was probably a k rock maybe,right, he's probably a k rock then,
(26:47):
yeah, yeah, two thousand andsix, Yeah, he was definitely
a k rock. Yes, buthe was also around the country too,
syndicated around the country. But yes, yeah, he was a k rock.
I'm like, wait, I'm trying. Of course in two thousand and
six, Yes, that's funny.Well, he ended up talking about it
a couple of times on his show. And the donations, not just monetary
donations, but we got a van, we got crates because we needed those
(27:11):
partners, we got food, wegot all kinds of donations. And then
Beck just never left. She becamea volunteer. She went out on rescue.
I mean, she is the realdeal. She is wanted to know
what it was to go out andchoose certain animals and have to leave behind
other animals, and you know,all these years she has saved so many
(27:34):
lives and never wants to be recognizedfor it. I can't help but talk
about it because I'm so appreciative andwhat she does is really wonderful. Of
course, no, I mean sheworks tirelessly. I know. I follow
her on Instagram and I always seeher stories and the cats and the kittens,
and sometimes Howard will be in aphoto with her with like cats all
(27:56):
in their heads. I mean,it's just it's adorable, you know,
and you know it's true blue thatwhen it's coming from Beth as opposed to
like the other models. Obviously theywere there, oh they were doing a
job, but it was like Ireally don't want, you know, I
want to hold this puppy for asshort a time as I can. But
with Beth it was completely different becauseshe's true blue. So you know,
(28:18):
it's just so perfect. Yeah,it's so perfect. And you're right,
she's like a doll to me becauseshe's so gorgeous and she really when I
see her at the galleys and howshe's dressed, I'm like, oh my
god, she's like a doll.I don't even want to go, like
I will always go and say helloto her and hug her, but I
don't want to get her dirty,you know, because I feel like I
(28:40):
don't want to mess you up.And you know what, the funny it
is, she could care, shedoesn't care, I know, which is
even funnier. But that's just yeah, yeah, a natural beauty that comes
from within. I've seen Beth withabsolutely no makeup on. She looks the
same, of course, yeah,you know it just she's a good person
(29:03):
and we're very very fortunate and theanimals are extremely fortunate to have her.
And Howard absolutely no, I agree. I agree so well. The big
thing that's coming up, the eightiethanniversary, the gala that North Shore Animal
League is happening is having rather onJune fourteenth. That's going to be here
(29:26):
before we know it actually at theTribeca rooftop. Speaking of Beth, right,
she will be there, She's shewill be there, yes, And
I'm honored and I have to admitit because I'm honored and flattered that I
will be hosting it this year.So thank you for that. Oh,
I'm so excited that you're so thrilledto learn that you accepted. Oh my
(29:49):
goodness, to be such a wonderfulnight. And the Rachel Ray Foundation is
being honored with our Crystal Cholera Rewards, So Rachel Read and John Cusamano will
be there. There's going to bea performance by Taylor Dane. It's going
to be an exciting night, andyou just never know who else may be
(30:10):
there. That's true. That's true. And for those who are listening,
if you you can still get sometickets if you'd like by going to Animal
League dot org slash Celebration of Rescue. But it's it's going to be a
very great night. And I thankyou for letting me host it, Joanne,
because it's something I've wanted to dofor many, many, many years.
And when I was asked, Iwas like, what yeah, yeah,
(30:37):
Well it worked out for all ofus because it's our honor to Maria.
You yourself are an icon radio personality. So thank you, no,
thank you, thank you, thankyou. And you know, for those
who are just learning about north ShoreAnimal League America right now, and I
really want to put this point outbecause I I feel like north Shore is
(31:00):
very, very lucky because there aremany celebrities and you know, musicians and
artists, and they take photos withpuppies and dogs and cats. But that
doesn't mean that everybody donates, andthat doesn't mean that north Shore doesn't need
donations. And I'm not pooh poohingon the fact that there are a lot
(31:22):
of celebrities that are very supportive,but they all don't. You know,
I would say the majority don't givedonations and help out. Am I correct
on that. I would say weare very lucky because ours do. But
you're right about that. Some willpose for pictures and yeah, that's really
about it. Let me give ashout out to the organization, But any
(31:47):
of the celebrities that we've worked with, we've been very fortunate. But you
know, we still depend upon ourcommunity and the generality of our donors because,
as you know, Maria is savinglife, saving lives very very expensive.
Yes, yes, and you know, the medical the level of medical
care that we provide to each animalcould be in the thousands, depending on
(32:10):
what they need. Sure, Andyou know, I understand that not everybody
is in a position to donate money, and that's okay. You know,
you could volunteer, You could bringtowels, right, you could bring blankets.
There's so many things that you coulddo. You know, you could
(32:31):
you could become an advocate to theanimals through anipals and help us get long
term animals adopted, just by sharingon your social media pages. So you
know, if you're not in aposition to donate, I mean, every
dollar counts. Don't think that afive dollars or ten dollars donation is not
appreciated, because it is. Itis exactly and that was my point about
(32:52):
celebrities, is that five dollars isstill appreciated and needed and wanted. Absolutely,
yeah, because it all adds upand it allows us to do the
work we do. Absolutely. Soif you are listening and you can make
a donation, that would be prettyamazing. Or if you can volunteer if
you're in the Tri state area,that would be great too, Or make
(33:14):
donations of towels and just get allthe information you need and you can get
it at Animal League dot org.So yes, if they're outside of New
York and they want to volunteer,they can visit our website Animal League dot
org and check out our shelter partners. There are shelters that everybody's community across
(33:37):
the country and rescue groups that arejust a desperate need of volunteers so that
you know they could do that aswell. That's and that's amazing, that's
amazing to do it. Please doit. I love north Shore Animal League
America. I have for many,many, many many years, you know,
growing up on Long Island, soit was always I knew what north
(33:58):
Shore was and so uh, it'sjust it's so wonderful to be affiliated with
the organization and with you, Joanne, and you know, I thank you
for all that you do, becauselike I said, you definitely are a
pioneer and north Shore Animally, Imean, eighty years is incredible. It's
really incredible. I hope you're aroundand north Shore Animal League America is around
(34:21):
for another eighty years, saving liveslike you do, and all the programs.
I mean, we could talk forhours, but there are so many
different programs. You have m degreesand uh Tour for Life and the Humane
Relocation. There's so many different programsthat north Shore Animal League has and you
can ye so many because degrees thatjust really quickly. Yeah. That is
(34:45):
a curriculum that was developed with YaleUniversity School of the Twenty first Century and
North Shore Animal League America, andit's in over five thousand schools and libraries
across the country. And it's awonderful program. It's not traditional in the
sense where we just bring puppies intoa classroom and explain kindness. Full program
(35:14):
that focuses on the whole child.It's social and emotional learning and teaching children
empathy and how to become good citizens, including the Animal Advocates of tomorrow.
Beyond that, just being good neighbors, good caretakers of the earth and one
(35:37):
another. It's a program whose timehas come, and we are the only
organization that continues with humane education becausewe feel it's that important. Other major
organizations have stopped their programming because it'snot programming that is necessarily supported by donations.
(36:00):
But we just think it's that importantthat we continue on with it.
Mm hmm. Absolutely. And forthose because I know there are listeners who
have been listening to Maria's mutts andstuff for many years since it first started
in twenty seventeen. I believe itmight have been twenty eighteen when I had
Jane Vitalion talking about mudigrees. Actually, she came into my studio and we
(36:23):
did an interview about muddigree. Soyou can actually go back on the iHeartRadio
app or iTunes wherever you get yourpodcasts, and you can learn about mudigrees
from way back when. Yeah,perfect, perfect perfect. Oh and the
last thing I want to add isI love Q one O four I really
do. Three. I've been listeningto it since I was a teenager.
(36:45):
I love it. I just loveit. Well, thank you, Joanne,
thank you, thank you, thankyou for all you do. Of
course, thank you for listening toQ and O four point three. I
love that, but thank you forall you do and all your hard work
for twenty eight years and he's totwenty eight years more. And I appreciate
you and all your information. Andof course north Shore Animal League America.
(37:07):
And as I've said, and Ican't tell you over and over are enough
times that if you can help outand make a donation or or just to
learn more, you can go toAnimal League dot org. And you know
the big thing is too, whenyou said earlier about not needing to have
north Shore Animal League America around,I believe if you spay and neuter,
(37:30):
if everybody spays and neuters their pets, that will help in that mission because
that's another pet peeve. Absolutely,and you know we have the first national
platform still going strong. Spay USAis ours. Yes, we have across
the country spade and neutered literally tensof thousands of animals, So we definitely
(37:52):
agree with you. Yes, andthat is very important to us as well.
Absolutely, so get your rest.Thank you on and Joanne, Johanna
and I really appreciate you and yourtime and all you do, and thank
you so much to you and NorthStore Animal League America. Thank you.
You're welcome. Have a good day, Rader operator, and just see you
(38:19):
Rader. Mommigator
Popular Podcasts
1. Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
2. Stuff You Missed in History Class
Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.
3. Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.