Rescue Ink Teams up with Hempstead Shelter to Promote Pet Adoption Program

The Town of Hempstead  in Wantagh and the famed animal welfare group Rescue Ink are currently promoting "Home for the Holidays," a two-month long pet adoption program aimed at providing safe and loving homes for animals in need.

Town officials, shelter employees and members of Rescue Ink teamed up to hold a holiday pet adoption fair this past Saturday in Wantagh as a final effort to inform the community of their holiday adoption program. As part of the "Home for the Holidays" Pet Adoption Program, the Town of Hempstead is waiving all adoption fees as well as rabies vaccination fees for all pets adopted from the town's animal shelter through Jan. 15.

"As we approach the Christmas holiday we thought, let's have one more party to get the word out to our residents and non-residents alike," said Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray.

Rescue Ink is a well-known animal rescue group based on Long Island and Queens that is described on the organization's website as being "an army of tattooed, motorcycle-riding street guys who have zero tolerance for animal abuse and neglect." Members of the group are featured on a series airing on the National Geographic Channel called Rescue Ink Unleashed. 

"We got started when rescue groups that were mainly comprised of women would come to us from time to time with different problems, but we have been saving animals for all of our lives," said Rescue Ink member Joe Panz at the Dec. 18 holiday pet adoption fair in Wantagh.

Rescue Ink travels worldwide handling various issues such as animal abuse, dog fighting, unsafe shelters and animal facilities, and anything else they can take on to help ensure animals are kept safe.

"They have a national following and we're really proud to have them as real supporters of the shelter," said Murray of Rescue Ink.

"We are always partnering with animal rescue groups, and animal advocates and they really help us on a daily basis," Murray added. "They'll help us move our cats and dogs into families. It's a real give and take communication, and bottom line is it ends up allowing us to rescue out more dogs and cats."

Rescue Ink just recently began to work with the Town of Hempstead shelter because of accusations being made against the facility. This included a lawsuit by three women banned as animal rescue workers at the shelter claiming they were penalized by the town for speaking out about abuse and neglect at the Wantagh facility, which has a budget of $7.1 million.

"People were pointing fingers and saying a lot of things were wrong with this shelter," said Panz. "We came because everyone was saying there's a problem but upon inspection we didn't see any problem."

One of the Rescue Ink members that goes by the name Steve D said of the Wantagh facility: "We go to a lot of shelters all over the states and see some horrific conditions, this place is beautiful."

Saturday's pet adoption fair lasted from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and featured live music performed by Blue Angel, a local band from Suffolk County. A visit was made by Santa Claus, and holiday refreshments were provided by Stop & Shop.

The holiday pet adoption program has so far brought a great deal of awareness to the local community with over 100 animals adopted, according to town officials. For further information on the pet adoption program, visit the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter website.