Rye’s Coveleigh Club is going to the dogs, cats and other needy animals with a special Friday night fund-raising gala on March 25: the Wags and Whiskers Gala from 7- 11p.m.
Four animal activists will be honored for their commitment to ending animal cruelty:
- MaryAnn Liebowitz, Weschester County Assistant District Attorney
- Ken Ross, Chief, Putnam County SPCA
- Ken Ross III, Detective, Putnam County SPCA
- Robert Jiao, DVM- Westchester Animal Hospital, Mount Vernon
Events like the Rye Coveleigh gala direct attention to the plight of needy animals, including the need for surgery for abandoned, stray and abused animals like Midget, who required an operation to help restore her sight before help organizations could find her a home.
The event sponsors are the Cat Assistance & Pet Adoption League, both 501(c)3 charities that save the lives hundreds of homeless companion animals each year in Westchester, according to Sarah Jo Hart, president of Cat Assistance.
Both organizations, she said, are dedicated to finding permanent homes for abandoned, stray, and abused pets, many of whom require serious medical care after extensive abuse. These organizations pick up those medical tabs.
Every year, she said, the rescue groups save hundreds of animal lives and provide valuable information for pet owners on low-cost spaying/neutering and behavior training.
Donations are used to pay for food, necessary supplies, and veterinary bills, according to Ms. Hart.
Midget needed surgery to help restore her sight, said Ms. Hart- a cat lover who has been working to help needy felines and dogs for around a decade now.
“I have hundreds of abused cats and dogs stories like Midget’s,” she said.
The Coveleigh gala event will include cocktails and dinner, auctions and raffles of one-of-a-kind items. Phone: Cat Assistance, 914-419-2574.
In a related event just up the road from Rye in Elmsford, the Westchester Broadway Theatre will stage “Broadway to the Rescue” April 11 at 6 p.m., a dinner theatre benefit for Pets Alive West (formerly the Elmsford Animal Shelter) at WBT, 1 Broadway Plaza.
The evening of cocktails, dinner and Broadway entertainment is the brainchild of singer/comedienne Terry Rakov who started an organization called Better Late Than Never Productions to provide performers, herself included, an opportunity to grow their audiences and expand their networks while raising money and awareness for animal causes.
The WBT evening combines what Ms. Rakov calls her “two true loves:” Animals and Broadway. It will include performers from “Phantom of the Opera,” “Phantom,” “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” “42nd Street,” and “Nine” among other shows, including a special appearance by "Juno, the Rescued Beagle.”
Further information: WBT, 1 Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; phone: 914-592-2222.
