Holiday Volunteers

Picture this. You work hard at school all season long and it's finally vacation time. You're friends all talk about going to this warm location and that cool ski resort. But you have other plans. Of all the things you could do with your precious time off, you want to volunteer at the Humane Society of New York. Over here, we are so fortunate to have many people who think like this and we could not be more grateful!

This past week we had some of the very cheerful and jolly friends come and visit us. We had

Toys For Dogs to go to later that night. Toys For Dogs is an annual event that Wendy Diamond and Animal Fair Magazine throws for us. It generates so many great gifts for the animals and we always have a good time. More about the actual event later!

The girls helped to create this stunning gift drop box for the event. They made it so pretty, don't you think? We LOVE them!

Me helping them hang the stocking and show off our artistic talent!

“Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.”

I saw a fabulous show on Broadway last night and wanted to tell you all about it!

Lombardi is about Hall of Fame Football Coach Vince Lombardi. I don't know if you know this but back in the day, I was quite the football player myself so this topic in a play...well I just couldn't wait to see it! So many people are familiar with his name but don't really know the man. Lombardi takes you into the life and times that shaped the man we all saw. It touches on his life off the field, from his family to key players and friends that were molded by his inimitable leadership.

Anyone who likes a good family drama will enjoy this play. I give it two paws up!

For more info, please see http://www.lombardibroadway.com/index.php

Therapy Dog Reunited with Owner Thanks to Judge

Recently I read an article of a heartwarming rescue story that I wanted to share with my readers. It is not every day that a dog can be rescued and reunited with its owner and this story is one of those occasions.

I am proud to report that The Honorable County Court Judge and Surrogate Frank J. LaBuda was travelling on Route 17 and spotted Lelia, a Border Collie. Upon picking up the dog, he brought her back to his chambers, seeing that she was non-threatening, trained animal. The dog spent the day in chambers with New York State Court Officers Scott Hamel and Richard McKay by her side until the Judge was able to contact authorities.

That is where the newspaper’s story ends, but not Lelia’s story. It turned out that Leila was a therapy dog and belonged to Ms. Panthere Portugay-Delany in Montecello, New York. They were brought back together after the story ran! Doesn’t this just warm your heart?

Winter Tips

With many of my friends in the north east and beyond, I wanted to share some tips for the winter season.

1) Watch where you walk! The salt that is put down to melt the snow and ice can sting your dog's paws. It is also very corrosive to metal and can cause electrical wires to become exposed and combine that with snow and your pet and you can get an electrical shock.

2) Never leave your pet in a car unattended. Just like in the summer when the car heats up, it can act like a refrigerator and your pet could freeze.

3) When you walk in the snow or ice, make sure you dry your dogs paws carefully with a washcloth.

4) Don't tie up a dog and leave them outside. It's not only unsafe for them but dog's are prone to cold, just like people.

More tips to come...

Santacon 2010

Can you spot me in this sea of Santas?

This past weekend was a citywide event called Santacon. Literally thousands of participants dressed up as Santa and gathered at various selected spots in Manhattan to celebrate the festive holiday season. Do you like my hat? Does it make my ears look big? I was happy I didn't have to wear an itchy mask since I have been growing my hair out and had the real thing.

(What should the caption for this photo be? Submit your ideas in our comments section. Best suggestion will win a prize!)

Lessons Learned

Today was a fun day of learning with my friends from a local school. They learned all about how to treat pets and what happens when people want to adopt pets. Everyone was so nice! I was surprised that we could all fit in the same room. Before they left they gave us some very pretty home made cards and a gift that we will cherish forever. We also took this amazing picture of all of our beautiful new friends. What a day, now it's nap time!

At The Tree

I am so glad the rain held out! It was wonderful seeing all the performances and holiday spirit. Here is me with that amazingly large tree behind me. It is truly a sight! Happy Holidays everyone!

Holiday Hustle at Humane Society of New York

Today I am getting all dressed up for the famous tree lighting ceremony that will happen later tonight at Rockefeller Center. I am very excited to see my friends. I think the tree is one of the most beautiful sights to see in New York City. Don't you just love the holidays? How many days til Christmas?!

What I go through!!!

I had to get all bathed and ready to meet some special volunteers that were coming to visit. The members of Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority spent the afternoon with us and they were awesome!! They socialized with our dogs and raised funds to help our clinic and adoption center.

Thanks Alpha Sigma Tau!!!

5, 4, 3, 2…..

I am terribly proud to have presided over the NASDAQ closing bell on September 30, 2010. And I’m also extremely proud to say that the Humane Society of New York was the very first animal organization to have had the honor of ringing the opening bell over nine years ago. I hope that everyone’s investments did well, as I really had to push hard to make the bell light up. Thanks NASDAQ!!

LET'S GO METS!!!

Today was one of my best days ever because two of my favorite players from the New York Mets, Jeff Francoeur and Mike Pelfrey came to visit us! I thought they came to recruit me to play shortstop, but they actually came to do volunteer work with our adoption animals. At first, I was a little disappointed about being passed over for shortstop, but I am thrilled that they came to help take care of our dogs and cats. (I’ll keep practicing and maybe one day I’ll make the farm team!) Even though they have to play a game tonight their energy was amazing (or should I say Amazin’?) and our dogs are all SO EXCITED that we made such wonderful new friends!!!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!!

A kitty friend of mine, Shugie, who was adopted by the Society a few years ago, e-mailed me to say that her parents, Janice & Victor, will be married 60 years on May 28th! Wow! In dog-years that’s like…..well, I’m not great at math but that’s a looooong time!! They live all the way down in Memphis, Tennessee, otherwise I would go to their party. I hope they’ll mail me a piece of cake! Please join me in a shout-out to a couple that’s still going strong – CONGRATULATIONS, YA’LL!!!

My Number One Fan!!!

Willis with his Number One Fan!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to the President…of my fan club in Israel! I bet you didn’t know that I’m beloved all around the world, did you? Well neither did I until Einav, the President, made a special trip to New York just to see me at the Humane Society of New York!! She and her brother, Tomer are so much fun to play with, and they’re teaching all of their friends to say Willis in Hebrew!!! How cool is that? I’m looking forward to seeing them again on their next trip. So until then, to the land of milk, honey, Einav and Tomer, a great big shout out with lots of love from me to you!!! Shalom!

ERIN GO WILLIS!!!

What an exciting day I had!! I just got back from marching in the big St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue! As I am from Irish descent (at least I am today when everyone’s Irish!), it was so much fun to meet so many friendly fellow Irishmen. From the bagpipers of County Clare, the marching bands (I always wanted to play the tuba but I never grew tall enough…) to New York’s finest, I want to thank everyone for welcoming me.

Getting ready!!

My very good, close, personal, Friends :-)

New York's Finest with New York's Cutest!!!

I LOVE a good Marching Band, don't you??!!?!!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

NEWS!!

Those of you who follow my Post know that I like to share thoughts about being socially responsible. Please read on…

The Humane Society of New York would like to commend Whole Foods Market for the well-crafted design of the new animal welfare labeling system. When given the choice, many consumers prefer humanely raised meat, but they are rarely provided with accurate or sufficient labeling. By implementing a tiered system, Whole Foods Market has supplied consumers with valuable information about the products they buy and simultaneously created an incentive for meat producers to improve the conditions of their farms. We are hopeful other supermarkets will be moved to adopt your standards, and we would like to thank Whole Foods Market for helping consumers make informed decisions about animal welfare when purchasing their food.

EXHAUSTED!!! ;-)

If a tired dog is a good dog, I’m Best in Show!

I know I should be answering my fan mail…

If I don’t get my 14 hours of sleep, I just can’t focus!

Watching the Winter Olympics just wears me out

Happy Valentine's Day!!!