Finding shelter

Irene Edwards long enjoyed the way the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center dominated the view from her Jersey City apartment. "I love that whole downtown area," she says. "I have so many memories of shopping there, having dates there."

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, though, Ms. Edwards says, "With those two towers gone, there's a hole in my heart." But quickly she fixed on a remedy that would be altruistic as well as therapeutic: "I'm going to fill that void with two cats."

Edwards is one of many New Yorkers who rapidly turned their thoughts to concerns about animals after the attack. There had been fears that not only would pets be stuck in empty apartments in evacuated areas, but also that the victims of the blast might leave behind large numbers of "orphaned" animals.

As a result, animal-welfare groups such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), based in Norfolk, Va., were flooded with calls from volunteers eager to take in needy pets.

"People want to donate money, to donate food, to donate booties for the rescue dogs," says Doug Mansfield, deputy executive director and general counsel for the Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC) in New York City. "It shows you the kind of role animals play in people's lives."

But for some New Yorkers, the desire to connect with an animal in need ended up transcending the immediate impact of the events of Sept. 11. In the days since the attack, says Pam Nelson, adoption supervisor at the CACC's Manhattan shelter, there has been a sudden spike in the number of New Yorkers looking to adopt homeless animals.

"They're not looking for World Trade Center orphans, because fortunately we hardly had any of those," she says. "But they're just suddenly interested in any animals we have."

On any given day in New York City, about 200 lost or homeless animals - mostly dogs and cats - arrive at shelters. The CACC facility in Manhattan - one of the largest shelters in the country - takes in about 60,000 animals a year. There is always a desperate need for families or individuals willing to adopt.

Getting a dog from a shelter is something Pam Genovese and her boyfriend have "thought about for years." But suddenly, she says, since the attack on the World Trade Center, "it seemed like the right moment is now."

She's in the shelter on a recent Thursday afternoon, fondling both an earnest German shepherd mix and a playful Rottweiler, but she says her boyfriend needs to come back with her to meet the dogs before she can make any final decision.

Constance Mesnick is visiting the shelter on the same afternoon, peering into the cages holding dogs eligible for adoption, hoping to find a small one that might live peacefully with her two cats.

"I've been contemplating this anyway, but when the attack happened, I just thought there'd be so many displaced pets that maybe by taking one I could help to empty out the shelters," she says. "I wanted to volunteer in some way, to help with the crisis, and this is something I can do."

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