[pyrnet] Re: Helping Pyr Rescue and local animal shelters

[Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com>]

As long-time list members know, I direct the International Primate 
Protection League. Part of IPPL's work is directing a sanctuary in South 
Carolina for rescued gibbon apes and supporting overseas primate rescue 
centers. Also among our charges are two Pyrs: Ivy and Patou.

However this is not the point of this post. I would like to draw everyone's 
attention to the absolutely critical situation facing many non-profits with 
a non-disaster related mission nationwide. These include but are not 
limited to animal shelters and sanctuaries and any groups whose work 
involves feeding and care of domestic or wild animals.

Since the New York catastrophe, IPPL has seen donations fall to almost a 
trickle. We would normally get 20-50 checks a day at this time of year but 
are seeing less than 10, many small. Many other groups are undergoing 
similar experiences. Ominously, people, especially on the East Coast, are 
getting scared to open their mail - so non-profits' holiday mail may end up 
in the trash. Most non-profits receive 40% of their income during the last 
two months of the year.

There are many "advocacy groups" that do NOT shelter animals (including 
PETA, the HSUS, the A, and many of the big-name groups). Many of these 
groups have staggering cash assets. Please do direct your help to your 
local animal shelters and Pyr Rescue groups this holiday season. The burden 
of animals needing rescue is increasing, not shrinking. Most non-profits 
operating in the United States are listed at www.guidestar.com which is an 
amazing site that includes the IRS Form 990s of over 600,000 non-profits. 
You can see that some animal groups which do not house animals pay 
staggering salaries - while asking the public to make sacrifices to support 
their "urgent" needs. Shelters tend to have land and housing assets rather 
than cash assets, but do need reserves to cover contingencies like the 
current national crisis.

Even if you aren't asked, please try to support our friends around our 
nation (USA) and the world working so diligently to rescue unwanted Pyrs 
and other abandoned animals who have never contributed to any of the 
world's current problems and should not become their victims.

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman, IPPL
POB 766, Summerville SC 29484-0766, USA
Ph. 843-871-2280 Fax. 843-871-7988
E-mail: ippl@awod.com. Website www.ippl.org

"We need not think alike to love alike."  Francis David