For those of you in the New York City area, one of my favorite shelters is called Barc. Before I got pregnant, Tobyjoe and I used to visit the cats every Sunday in order to give them some human attention to make them more adoptable. We loved it. I fell in love over and over again. The only reason I haven’t gone straight over there and adopted another one is because I am currently pregnant. (Pregnant ladies have to avoid Toxoplasmosis.) Anyway, Barc is outstanding. They have a vet on the premises for all those who already have cats; they run a homeless shelter for both dogs and cats in search of homes; there is also a pet store.

They are always looking for volunteers to keep the animals company (the dog volunteers are in an abundance. They need volunteers for our feline friends, however. At least that was the case when we were visiting a lot.) They accept donations as well.

Barc is one of the local Brooklyn shelters I am grateful for. Are there others in your area you want to give kudos to? Let folks know!

Well, I’m partial to BARC too, and thanks to volunteers like you guys, the situation for the cats has improved immensely! It will be even better in the next couple of years when they gradually get rid of the cages and build new “habitats” instead.

A good way to find a rescue or shelter in your area is to go to Petfinder and do a search with your zipcode:

http://www.petfinder.com

Another good shelter resource is pet harbor, which is the service my local (Canadian) shelter uses.

Barc sounds like a great place – I wish there were more places like it.

As for shelters, I can’t help but say that I’m partial to the Ottawa Humane Society, which is where all of my (50+!) foster kittens have come from. An incredible group of caring and compassionate folks who go out of their way to help animals in their care.

I’ll never forget, after fostering Lucy for nearly five months (you can see Lucy here ) that at least three people from the OHS left me phone or email messages to let me know that she went to a lovely new family who would never declaw her or let her roam free in the streets, and would smother her with love. Giving them back is awful and sad, but knowing that they will be loved? Makes it all so much easier.

We can’t have adult cats because of allergies in our house. Without this foster program, and the love of little tiny kitties on a semi-constant basis, I don’t think our lives would be anywhere nearly the same.