Battered by Sandy, NY's Rescue Ink Shelter Seeks Donations

The rescue group run by tattooed bikers sets up an Indiegogo page to raise money and rebuild.

There are many ways to donate to Sandy relief, but if you're looking for animal-centric concern, look no further than Rescue Ink, the rescue shelter run by large, tattooed bikers who use "their intimidating presence to shame and report animal abusers and rehabilitate distressed animals," according to its Facebook page. The Long Beach, NY, shelter was nearly destroyed in the storm and was flooded, but because it's run by badass bikers, the staff members have their recovery efforts well under way.

Oh, and their dogs? You think these guys would let any harm come to their dogs? The dogs are fine, sitting happily in foster homes until the the shelter can be rebuilt. That's where you come in. The group has set up an Indiegogo page seeking $10,000 in donations.

Here's part of the group's statement on the site:

We've lost towels, litter, dry food, electric systems, bedding, Rescue Ink t-shirts, heat, computers, washer and dryer, everything. ... We even had a car donated earlier this year to help us go on cases. It was also destroyed.

The building is sturdy, it still stands. But the cleaning and restoration will be a hard process.

The sooner we start on the process of rebuilding, the sooner we can get the animals back into the shelter, as well as being able to take in more in the coming days. 

If you'd like to donate computer equipment, washer, dryer, or other items, please write to tracy@rescueink.org.

Thus far, the group has received $5,000, and the quick response left the team humbled. Posted yesterday on its Facebook:

Thank you to everyone who has given. We are humbled by this experience and the outpouring of support. We are determined to make the transition back into the shelter easy for the animals, and quick. We're trying to clean in the dark ... there's no power, no water. We're just doing what we know, trying to make it right for the animals. Please keep sharing, this isn't going away anytime soon for anyone in our area, it's bad for everyone. ... We have so much to do.

In addition to donating, you can vote for the group in the The Animal Rescue Site $300,000 Shelter Challenge of 2012, which is run with Petfinder. The grand prize is $5,000, which would go a long way toward fixing up Resuce Ink.

"We have much to rebuild," Rescue Ink posted on its Facebook page. "So many of you have said you want to help and we are grateful. Let's start here ... if Rescue Ink could win this grant, it would make such a difference."

Photos via Rescue Ink's Facebook.

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How One Great Dane Opened the Door for Battered Women

Dogs are amazing. We don't need to say it twice. They can sense our sadness and try to comfort us, they can help turn people's lives around, and they can make living with an illness much easier. Dogs and humans share a bond unlike any other relationship between people and animals. We've evolved to need each other -- it's a cosmic alliance that is centuries old.

It's this very bond that saved one woman from domestic violence and helped change the very rules of one women's shelter in Kansas City. Dubbed "Mackenzie" to protect her identity, the woman has her Great Dane, J. Matthew, to thank for where she is today -- a survivor who escaped an abusive monster.

"Mackenzie" can't show her face on camera in order to protect herself from her abuser.

Speaking bravely before an audience, Mackenzie described her painful experience, explaining, "When your life is being threatened and you're in that situation, you don't think. [You only want to] make it through the next blow. Make it through the next second. Make it through the next minute." It was during just such an incident that Mackenzie's boyfriend at the time hurled her right through a wall by her shirt. "Literally -- drywall, boards, nails -- to the other side."

J. Matthew risked his own life to save Mackenzie's.

Alerted to the commotion, J. Matthew rushed to Mackenzie's aid, lying on top of her to protect her from the continuing onslaught. Once the abuse subsided, Mackenzie was able to escape, but her boyfriend threw the dog off the porch, dragging him to a busy intersection and abandoning him there.

Afterward, and back with J. Matthew, Mackenzie was directed to a women's shelter called the Rose Brooks Center, where she learned her dog was not welcome. When Mackenzie insisted she would rather just leave town and stay at a rest stop than stay at the facility without J. Matthew, the Kansas City women's organization had a change of heart.

The Rose Brooks Center now welcomes women and their pets, and is building a fabulous new kennel to house the companions who are more than just pets, but family and support systems. With as many as 40 percent of battered women revealing that they don't leave abusive situations because they don't want to abandon beloved animal companions, the shelter's change of rules is one that can help save the lives of women like Mackenzie.

Rose Brooks Center CEO Susan Miller has no regrets about allowing dogs in the shelter.

Rose Brooks Center CEO Susan Miller doesn't regret the decision to banish the center's no-pet policy, saying, "It was just great to see the bonding they had ... the healing process they went through together. ... It really made us realize this was something we needed to do. We needed to provide this opportunity for women to bring their pets."

We're totally crying at our desks now, and we're not ashamed to admit it!

Via CBS News

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