This was one of my questions for Hilary Swank, award-winning actress and and passionate animal advocate; how does she face all of those pleading eyes in shelters?
Hilary Swank began her film acting career in 1992, and has starred in many different roles since then. In the fall of 2009, she took on a new role: ambassador for the annual Iams Home for the Holidays campaign. This was at the same time she was promoting her latest movie, Amelia. I know that her schedule was crazy and demanding, but I was impressed watching (and reading) her many interviews about pet adoption. Her passion is apparent, and her own two rescue dogs accompanied her to many of the appearances.
I spoke to Swank on January 14, 2010, ten days after the close of the Home for the Holidays adoption drive. The numbers are in: 1,363,638 animals adopted from October 1, 2009 to January 4, 2010. Over 3,900 shelters participated and several species of animals adopted. (Read more) Impressive numbers. How did Hilary feel about this year's efforts? Let's find out.
VetMedGuide: Did you or anyone you know (friend/family) adopt because of Home for the Holidays?
Hilary Swank: Yes. I had two friends adopt. Everyone else already has animals from me encouraging them to adopt in previous years (laugh). But I did have two friends go into their local shelter and adopt dogs this year.
Swank practices what she preaches. She is pictured here with Karoo on the left and Rumi on the right. (Click here for full size photo.) Karoo was starving and riddled with worms, fleas and ticks and was rescued while Swank was working in Africa. Rumi was rescued by Swank from East Valley Humane Society in Van Nuys, California.
Sidenote by VetMedGuide: I was inspired by the adoption drive and by my friends on Twitter and Facebook. I visited my local shelter for a "behind-the-scenes tour" and donated some pet food and funds. I started searching Petfinder.com to see who might be waiting out there, just in case. And, as most viewers already know, that was how we found our rescue Greyhound, Argos, who we adopted on December 11.
VetMedGuide: What tips can you offer for people afraid of "shelter overwhelm" when visiting a shelter?
Hilary Swank: "It's sad to go into a shelter. The fact of the matter is, when you hear these statistics, 8 million animals need a home and approximately 6 million of them get put to sleep, I overcome any ideas I have of what a shelter is about. I want to go in and take them all home. That's the hardest thing."
Swank went on to say that many people have a dim view of animals in the shelter - they may not be perfectly clean or may need to get "a little meat on their bones" but make awesome pets with attention and care. She stressed that for people who want a purebred, check your local shelter - 25% of the animals, that translates to approximately 2 million - of animals in shelters and rescues are purebred animals.
Back to the question, how does "just one person" help? Swank replied: "By doing what we do. We go out there, we spread the word, encourage people to adopt." By getting people to visit a shelter, see the great animals there, learn what is going on in their local community, they will tell their friends and family, and so on. This really does make a difference.
VetMedGuide: How do you feel about the success of this year's campaign - what stories stand out?
Hilary Swank: Almost 1.4 million animals were adopted and helped. She added: "Approximately 50,000 of these animals that got adopted - I've got to get this out because it is pretty cool - were rabbits, birds, turtles, horses, and when I went to the shelter there were goats, chickens... so there is an animal for everyone out there."
As we were wrapping up the interview, Swank shared a quote for those people like "us" - people who want to adopt every animal in the shelter. She said:
"Saving just one pet won't change the worldI have heard saying before, and it is similar to the Starfish Story that Greyhound rescue groups refer to, and it helps fight that overwhelmed feeling. It is my new motto.
but surely the world will change for that one pet."
Swank's passion and enthusiasm for helping animals are contagious. One possibly little-known fact about Hilary Swank? She has a soft spot for chickens. I knew I liked her.
