by June Portnoy

It’s not every day that you see a Bucks County Commissioner, a veterinarian and a police lieutenant taken “hostage” at a quaint Washington Crossing restaurant, but that was the scene on Thursday, February 16th.

“Hostages” either surrendered and drove to their captivity at Bowman’s Tavern or were driven and escorted inside by their “kidnappers.” They were then led into the main dining room of the restaurant where they ultimately were “allowed” to make one phone call to raise their ransom in order to be released.

No, this wasn’t the trailer of a new Bruce Willis movie. It was the unique fundraiser, Hostages for Homeless Pets, hosted by The Crossings Animal Sanctuary (CAS).

With the help of Wet Nose Rescue and Lead the Way Home Rescue, these three organizations participated in the “kidnappings.” Hostages included 14 area professionals, business owners/managers and community leaders.

The purpose of Hostages for Homeless Pets was to raise money for Boris & Natasha’s Fund, which supplements the cost of life-saving veterinary care for homeless cats and dogs in Bucks County and surrounding areas. It also provided information about the 25 communities across the country that now save 90% or more of their homeless pets, and how this goal can be achieved in Bucks County. 

“Hostages” raised over $10,000 in ransoms. Its top fundraising “hostages” were Bucks County Commissioner Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia and Dr. Robert Orsher, VMD, Owner/Co-Hospital Director/Chief of Surgery of Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (VSEC).

CAS presented Wet Nose Rescue and Lead the Way Home Rescue with checks for $2,500 each as a result of this fundraiser. Hostages were treated very well during their “captivity” with a delicious buffet breakfast. This “captive” audience was then presented with information on the no-kill movement in America.

According to Nathan Winograd of the No-Kill Advocacy Center, eight million dogs and cats enter shelters annually. Of those animals, 90% to 98% are savable, adding up to over seven million. Of those, only four million will be saved. This means that three million savable animals are killed each year in our nation’s shelters. Shelters nationally are killing approximately half or more of all incoming animals.

The presentation also addressed the quality of life a homeless animal can have in a shelter or sanctuary.

“The construction of shelters and sanctuaries has come a long way in the past decade or so,” said Yvonne Neiman, President of The Crossings Animal Sanctuary. “There are now so many ways to design a sanctuary or to retrofit a shelter that ensures high quality of life for a dog or cat, no matter the length of stay, that there is no longer any argument for killing an adoptable animal just because it may be staying a while.”

“Several shelters in numerous communities are now achieving unprecedented results, saving upwards of 95% of all impounded animals in open admission animal control facilities.” 

Describing the no-kill facility that CAS envisions for Bucks County, Yvonne said, “What we are building is a sanctuary, as opposed to a shelter. It is a difference in architecture and design that will allow animals, if they are not adopted, to spend the rest of their natural lives here with a high quality of life.”

To date, $50,000 has been raised for the no-kill sanctuary. The goal for this year’s Tail Waggers Strut, to be held at Washington Crossing State Park on June 3rd, is to raise $100,000 in net proceeds.

“With the success of the Tail Waggers Strut, we should be in a position to start looking for land by this summer and to acquire land by the summer of 2013,” said Yvonne. “The building of the sanctuary will begin within two to three years after that time.”

Visit CAS’s website at www.thecrossingsanimalsanctuary.org to make a donation or see how you can help make this no-kill sanctuary a reality.