INSIDE:
Community
Calendar OOOOOO ••• . 40
Mazel
Toy!
42
To The Rescue
Farmington Hills couple open an animal rescue
and gift shop to give unwanted pets a second chance.
SHARON LUCKERMAN
Staff Writer
A
fter working long hOurs at their full-time
jobs, animal lovers Kathy and Larry
Nathan o1Farmington Hills devote their
evenings and weekends to unwanted and
abandoned pets.
Since November 2000, they've placed 309 cats,
dogs, birds and rabbits from their nonprofit Animal
Rescue and Gift Shop in Warren's Universal Mall at
Twelve Mile and Dequindre. Mall management
donates the space.
"People give up their animals for a number of rea-
sons — illness, death, divorce," says Larry Nathan,
55, who is a business administrator for dental clinics
when he's not rescuing animals. Kathy, 53, works for
Standard Federal Bank.
The animals don't live at the shop. Instead, more
than 250 rescue organizations, such as Michigan
Rabbit Rescue and the Silver Lake Animal Rescue,
bring animals to Nathan's shop. Every Saturday, and
sometimes during the week, an organization or two
will hold adoptions.
If you find an animal or can no longer care for
yours, Nathan can direct you to a rescue organiza-
tion.
"We [and the rescue organizations] are the one
place unwanted animals can go and not be kijled,"
he says, referring to euthanasia practiced by many
shelters.
But before any animal is adopted, it is housed at a
foster care home until properly immunized and
spayed or neutered. The adoption fee, $100-$125,
covers these expenses.
To pay for essentials at the shop, such as utilities,
the Nathans sell gifts for animal lovers — T-shirts,
pillows, statuary and stationery with animal themes.
The Rig ht Pet
As passionate as Nathan is about his store, it's not
something he planned. Before it opened, he ran
Michigan's Pug Rescue group. He did some fund-
raising for the pugs in the mall while working at a
dental clinic.
When mall management learned of his efforts,
they asked how they could help. Their request,
Nathan says, evolved into giving him an empty store
that used to be a pet shop.
Sarah Reis, 35, of Warren, a volunteer at Animal
Rescue and Gift, also discovered the shop by acci-
dent while shopping at the mall. She returned
several weeks later with her daughter Rachel, 4,
to adopt a dog.
"It was love at first sight," she says of her
daughter's first meeting with Jake, a 2-year old
Pug-mutt mix. A few weeks later the family
adopted Jake.
"He's adapted well to our family, and my
daughter and the dog are best friends," Reis says.
"If you see one, you see the other."
When adopting a pet, understand that the ani-
mals are generally very grateful, especially if they
were in an abusive situation. Give them special
love and attention, Nathan says.
"A pet is a commitment, like a child. It's
important to keep them up with their immuniza-
tions," he says.
When asked how to chose an animal, Nathan
suggests looking into an animal based on the pet's
needs and your lifestyle. "You don't want a hyper
dog if you're looking for a lap dog," he says. "And
if you can't exercise a dog, you don't want a bor-
der collie who needs to go outside and run."
Out of Control
The Nathans are concerned about the estimated
five million cats and dogs killed each year in ani-
mal shelters, which could be greatly decreased if
pet owners spayed or neutered their animals, Larry
Nathan says.
"Two unaltered dogs and their descendents can
reproduce 67,000 dogs over a six-year period," he
adds. "While two unaltered cats and their descen-
dents can reproduce 400,000 cats in seven years."
In May, the Nathans will hold a benefit for the
Warren Police Department's search and rescue
dogs, coinciding with National Police Week.
For more information or to volunteer, call
Animal Rescue and Gifts: (810) 574-0577. Shop
hours: 5 p.m.-9 Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday and Wednesday, noon-5 Sunday. O
Top to bottom: Larry and Kathy Nathan with a
beagle-Jack Russell mix up for adoption at Universal
Mall's Animal Rescue and Gs.
A close-up of the beagle-Jack Russell mix.
A cat up for adoption.
3/1
2002
35