ANYONE YOU LOVE ON FOUR LEGS?

A recent edition of ABC's Nightline concentrated on the relationship Americans have with their pets, spending billions of dollars on food, pet care products, toys and now surgeries and medical procedures. Those who think from their wallets may say it's just a pet, why spend the money for treatment? What a waste. Obviously, these are people who have never bonded with a pet.

Dogs, cats, birds and other animals may not be as convoluted or complex as we are--at least, as far as we know (or as far as they have revealed themselves to us). But for relatively little, they give back so much--affection, companionship, loyalty, love. It is not all that rare to hear the tail, er, tale of a housepet who alerted a family to a house fire or did what they could to protect the baby from an attacking wild animal. When a family member is ill, the family pet will frequently stay bedside, patiently providing any support or comfort they can without complaint. (Dogs trained as assistants for the physically disabled seem to not only do their jobs but enjoy them as well.) And who is a better, more patient listener, understanding instinctively that when you love someone, being there is more important than passing judgment or forcing a conclusion. Animals can provide the type of love we frequently fail to bring to the table as humans. But just as importantly, the honesty of communion with a pet is an elevating experience, a connection in its purest, most uncomplicated form.

In New York City, the animal shelters deserve support for the food, leashes, grooming and housing facilities they provide to take care of these creatures who, for one reason or another, have found themselves abandoned or in trouble. Yet city fiscal budgets being what they are, many of these shelters are woefully under-funded. Playwrights for Pets, founded by Sue Yocum, is an organization that raises money for shelters that, in turn, serve animals in need. As written up in the national publication, Animal Companion, PFP gives theater artists a chance to use their skills while raising money that will be used to help an animal (who in turn helps many a human). Recent benefits for Animal Haven, for example, have raised funds that helped rescue abandoned pets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and have gone towards the new Animal Haven SoHo, a combination shelter/adoption agency/training space, where pets are not only matched up with owners but where the appropriate care, training and education is provided to ensure a positive, long-lasting relationship between pets and their humans.

On Monday, October 22nd, Playwrights for Pets will present another wonderful evening of original, humorous plays performed by a crackerjack cast--IN TRANSIT: Six Plays that take place in Motion! Those of you who've come to our other evenings know that the plays are usually delightful, the actors delicious, the setting (Baruch's Performing Arts Center in the Recital Hall) highly comfortable and attractive and the post-show wine-shmuzathon reception divine! For those of you who haven't attended, it's a delightful evening (an hour for the reading and what-you-will for the reception), with all of the $10 proceeds going to Animal Haven, the wonderful no-kill shelter that provides food, care and adoption opportunities for dogs and cats in need.

So . . . Here's the info! Hope to see you there.

Playwrights for Pets

presents

IN TRANSIT
A reading of short plays that take place in motion
to benefit
Animal Haven

Plays by
Jim Dalglish, Bill Dudley, Ron Frankel, Griffin Miller,
Susan Shafer, Judd Lear Silverman & Sue Yocum

Read by
Kaseem Bristow, Erin Cronican*, Elizabeth Gee, Laura Gillis*,
Jonna McElrath*, John Moss* & Dana Watkins*
*AEA member

Monday, October 22, 2007 at 7:30 pm

BPAC - Baruch Performing Arts Center
"an incubator for the arts"
55 Lexington Ave @ 25th Street (btwn Lex & 3rd Aves)
Reservations: call 718-768-4213 or email gracomal@pipeline.com
Donation Requested: $10 • Baruch ID: no donation required
Running time approximately 1 hour • www.playwrightsforpets.com • www.animalhavenshelter.org