Every year, for the past 16 years, the most eligible dogs and cats in New York City have taken over Times Square for a party of epic paw-portions. This year, 28 rescues were invited to take part in the Shubert Alley shindig, and, word is, they’ve even graciously allowed famous humans like Bernadette Peters, Mary Tyler Moore, James Franco, and Audra McDonald to attend.
Ok, so maybe the humans had a little something to do with it. (Cats on the same invite list a dogs? This surely has human paw prints all over it!) 😉 Ever since animal lovers and acting legends Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore kicked off the inaugural Broadway Barks in 1998, more than 200 shelter cats and dogs have found their forever homes each year!
“People think these dogs are in the shelter because they are bad dogs, and that’s just not the case. Unfortunately, in these times a lot of people lose their jobs, lose their homes, have to move and can’t take their dogs with them. And then you have a 5-year-old family member in the shelter, depressed, sad. And then you see the difference when that dog gets adopted… they’re wonderful animals. Because shelter dogs know they’ve been rescued, they will bond with you forever,” Bernadette Peters told The BarkPost.
In addition to finding homes for these furry friends, proceeds from the auction and other donations received during throughout the event benefit the participating shelters and rescue groups as well as the Picasso Veterinary Fund, which is managed by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals and provides grants to shelters and rescue groups to cover major veterinary costs.
Since there were plenty of humans on paw to help with the adoption process…
…Jessie Mueller and the cast of Beautiful: The Carol King Musical somehow found the willpower to stop playing with cute pups long enough to entertain the crowd with a fantastic performance!
We were thrilled to see our favorite rescue-turned-star, Trixie, again!
And she even brought her whole performance pack from Bullets Over Broadway with her!
And even though we were sad we couldn’t take them all back to live at BarkBox HQ…
We were happy to be able to help by donating a free vet visit to all adopted pups through BarkCare. High paws, Broadway Barks. Here’s to your 16th successful year of helping a deserving pack of pups!
Shelters in attendance included: ASPCA, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Adopt a Boxer Rescue, Animal Care and Control of NYC (AC&C), Animal Haven, Anjellicle Cats Rescue, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), BARC (Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition), Bideawee, Bobbi & the Strays, City Critters, Humane Society of New York (HSNY), Husky House, KittyKind, Loving Touch, Manhattan Valley Cat Rescue, Metropolitan Maltese Rescue, Mid Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League, NY Pet-I-Care, PetResQ, P.L.U.T.O. Rescue (Pet Lovers United Together As One), Posh Pets Rescue, Russell Refuge, Save Kitty Foundation, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, Stray from the Heart, Tigger Foundation and Urban Cat League.
