Letter from the Director

Dear CHAI Members,

I wish you could have been with me at the airport to witness the outpouring of love and caring demonstrated by the 16 volunteers who arrived at JFK in the wee hours of the morning, toting food, water, paper towels, leashes, and other supplies, and who waited patiently for hours for the flight, which had been delayed by a strike at the airport in Israel. This small, but big-hearted army of angels welcomed the puppies from their long journey with open arms, then quickly set to work cleaning them and their cages, feeding, watering, walking, caressing, and fretting over them, readying them for the next leg of their journey.

I wish I could also share with you the excitement of the adoption days, so many people flocking to the events in search of a new addition to their family; the thrill of watching little Snofkin leap with joy at every other step when walked on a leash for the first time; of hearing that Ashley (now Latke) burst into puppy play as soon as she realized, “I have a home!”; the warmth expressed between the new mothers of sisters Donna and Luna upon connecting with one another to exchange stories and feelings. Donna, her mother reports, likes to sit with her two little boys in a way that looks like she's hugging them both at once.

I wish you could be moved, as I was, by Zavoa's mother cradling and rocking her on her lap till she stopped shaking in fear; at learning that Devivon's family speaks to her in a special “doggy” voice; by seeing the excitement of the children in Hermon and Ziki's families the day their new sister and brother arrived; at Leah's lolling contentedly on her back as her new adoptive family lovingly rubbed her tummy, letting me know which family to choose; at Neri's mother's report that he really gets airborne running with abandon. Deciding another flight would be too much for him, she instead arranged for someone to drive him to their winter home in Florida.

I wish you could have been with me to witness the exuberant welcome Luna and Devivon received, back from a stay at the vet's, as they raced around the room joyfully reconnecting with their fellow orphans; or giggled with me at Snow's mother and her vet's decision that whatever combination of breeds Snow is, it should become a new standard; and, best of all, the happy task of delivering them to the new families who eagerly awaited them, secure in the knowledge that all are safe in loving homes.

I cannot tell you how deeply grateful I am to you for making possible this emergency rescue mission and CHAI's other efforts on behalf of animals. These and many more animals would not have survived without your support.

When we are working on legislation, education, and spay/neuter, we know we are making a better world for them in policy, laws, and regulations, all of which is of great importance. But the experience of bringing these bundles of love to the U.S., snatched from the jaws of death, allowed me to look into the eyes of one individual after another whose safe future we ensured. Nothing could be more gratifying, more heart warming, more up close and personal. Please look at the faces of these babies on our centerfold, and know that they, and many more like them in Israel, are alive and well and loved today, thanks to you. Bless you for having the heart to see their plight, and the generosity to turn tragedy into joy.

Yours for a more compassionate world,