Broadway Barks 16, held Saturday, July 12, featured adoptable — and adorable — dogs and cats from New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies including ASPCA, Animal Care and Control of NYC (AC&C), Animal Haven, BARC (Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition), Bideawee, Bobbi & the Strays, City Critters, Humane Society of New York (HSNY), KittyKind, Posh Pets Rescue, SaveKitty Foundation and Urban Cat League.I asked Broadway Barks co-founder Bernadette Peters what is the biggest misconception about shelter dogs and she said, “People think they’re in the shelter because they’re not good dogs, and that’s just not the case. Unfortunately, during these times, people lose their jobs, have to move in with family members, can’t take their dogs and then you have a 5-year-old family member in the shelter — depressed, sad and you see the difference when that dog gets adopted. You see it on their face how happy they are. Because shelter dogs know they’ve been rescued, they will bond with you forever.”Mary Tyler Moore, co-founder of Broadway Barks, could not attend this year, so James Franco stepped up as co-host. Here he is hugging an adoptable kitty named Totes Magotes. In case you don’t know, “totes magotes” comes from a scene in the movie, “I Love You, Man,” when Paul Rudd used it as slang for “totally.” Franco said he decided to help out at Broadway Barks because, “I’ve loved the Broadway community, so I’m just trying to help out wherever I can.” When asked if he had pets Franco said, “I have two cats. That’s why I’m holding a cat.”I wanted to take home every dog I met, and the volunteers were lovely.A gentle Great Dane collected donations for shelter animals and made new friends all day. It was hard for me to take my eyes off “His Majesty.”Last year’s Broadway Barks led to 200 adoptions. Let’s hope this year’s tallies out to even more success.Here’s just one of the many paw-tastic dogs available for adoption. David Glicksman of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals said, “We are working to have a no-kill policy in all the shelters in New York by 2015. There are more than 25 rescue and shelter groups here today to help promote adoptions of shelter animals and to show off the great dogs and cats we have.”There were more than 25 rescue and shelter groups happily showing off the great shelter animals available for adoption.Beautiful and friendly dogs from New York City’s homeless shelters attend Broadway Barks in Shubert Alley. They look at every face as if to say, “Are you my mother? Are you my father? Are you? Are you?”Bernadette Peters and James Franco, holding a cat named Totes McGoats, enjoyed themselves with the animals and fans at Broadway Barks 16 on the Shubert Alley on Broadway.Laura Jackson holds up a photo of her rescue dog from Bobbi & the Strays at Broadway Barks last year. “His name is Leonardo DiCaprio II,” she said. “I was in rehearsal for ‘Motown,’ but I blew out my knee and needed reconstructive surgery. The dog sat with me every day, and I would not have gotten through this injury without him.”Animal trainer Bill Berloni makes friends with a Pomeranian at Broadway BarksI was surrounded by lovable pooches. This one stole my heart as I watched him steal a cookie from his brother. The two lil guys were accompanied by volunteers Christine Hahn and Tena Davies, and we all shared a smile with Jane Hoffman, the president and founder of Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.
