“How Often Do You Get Bitten?” A Chat With Sean Casey, Brooklyn Animal Rescuer | The Awl
“How Often Do You Get Bitten?” A Chat With Sean Casey, Brooklyn Animal Rescuer | The Awl
My Rainbow Street series editor sent me the link to this article on a truly amazing man. Once again, fact is stranger than fiction – I wouldn’t have dared make up some of the stories Sean Casey has lived. I felt truly humbled reading this:
“If you live in Brooklyn and have any kind of affinity for animals, the odds are fair that you’ve heard about Sean Casey. He operates his shelter—Sean Casey Animal Rescue (or SCAR)—out of a cramped storefront in Windsor Terrace. The no-kill shelter takes in around 150 animals per month, providing a service that too often can’t be served by official agencies. Stop by the shop and you’ll see gerbils, hamsters and domesticated rats, lizards of all possible description, as well as chattering parakeets, lonely-looking cats and, lumbering freely along the floor at comically low speeds, several rescued tortoises. Volunteers and staffers dash about, answering visitors’ questions in between stocking shelves and tending to the menagerie.
Nearby the store is a kennel, recently opened, for the dogs taken in by the shelter. SCAR is particularly known for its work with pit bulls: sometimes abandoned and gone feral, and sometimes rescued from the shockingly cruel underground dog-fighting culture. The stories about these dogs are dramatic and sad, although SCAR’s work also seems to be a reliable subject for soft-focus pieces. In one such segment, a reporter from Channel 11 dubs Casey “The Pit Bull Whisperer.” Casey has appeared on “The Today Show” and on Animal Planet. When a two-headed turtle was stolen from his shop, The New York Times covered it.”
Whether you live in Brooklyn or not, have a look at the rest of the article. It’s fascinating, and moving.
http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/sean-casey-scar
http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/sean-casey-scar
Wendy Orr is a Canadian-born Australian writer. Her books for children and adults have been published in 27 countries and won awards around the world. Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea have also become feature films, starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin (Nim’s Island) and Bindi Irwin (Return to Nim’s Island.) Her latest book is Cuckoo’s Flight, a companion to the highly acclaimed Bronze Age novels Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance. Read full bio
