February
2001
Stock
Broker by Day/Dog Rescuer by Night:
Tami
Friedman
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You’ve
been described as a ‘Stock Broker by day/Dog Rescuer by night.’
Is that an accurate description?
Pretty much, though I don’t rescue
at night per se! I do it with whatever free time I have.
You say you have a ‘Fund.’ What is it exactly that you
do?
It’s called the Tami Friedman Fund. I set it up through the
CACC (Center for Animal Care and Control), which has 501(c)(3) non-profit
status, so donations are tax-deductible. People are more inclined to
give donations if they get some benefit from it, so that’s the
reason I tagged on with the CACC. And the reason that I work with the
CACC is that all my rescues come from there; they are like the biggest
slaughterhouse in New York.
Do you get animals from the CACC? How do you know to pick up an animal
from there?
Yes, I get animals from the CACC. They used to contact me. It depends
who they have working there. Right now the staff is horrible...I should
not say horrible, but it’s just not going at the premium rate that
it should be. Nobody really calls and I have to go there and select
the pets. But when somebody is qualified and doing a really great job
there they call me with certain types of dogs that fit the criteria
of my Fund.
And what are the criteria?
Adoptable dogs that are going to be euthanized for small reasons,
such as grooming, a cold, and any type of medical problem. I’ve
taken in quite a few of highly adoptable dogs who’ll be euthanized
because of a broken limb. I would take them in even if they needed intensive-type
surgery.
Are these the ones that they call ‘unadoptable’?
They call them ‘up for euthanasia’ and they don’t
even qualify them as adoptable or not. They’re just putting them
down no matter what because—from what they say—they don’t
have the budget and they don’t have space, so they euthanize anything
that could be euthanized.
Do you get dogs from anywhere other than the CACC?
Once in a while a dog walks into my life, so I’ll take it into
the Fund as well. On the last rescue I did, I bought a dog on the street.
This little kid was selling a pitbull and I bought him for $49 and $2
for the leash.
When you say you take them ‘into the Fund,’ do you have
them in your home?
No. Going into the Fund means—number one—they go to my
vet to get a full check-up. Any shots or medications or whatever else
they need is taken care of. Then when they’re well they get spay/neutered,
and after that they go into boarding where they get shown for adoption,
all through a vet. And then I get billed!
Do you ever take a dog into your home?
I have on some occasions, but I just can’t take in every rescue
because that would have been hundreds of dogs last year. On some occasions
when they are really vulnerable; I’ve taken in a lot of three-legged
dogs who’ve had to have an amputation. When they first go through
that I usually take them into my house—especially the smaller dogs,
because it’s really a shock for them. I’ve had three amputees
this year; they’ve all gotten great homes. One was a poodle, one
was a shitsu, and one that I still have right now is a Chihuahua.
It’s an overwhelming situation to deal with, but how well do
you think the CACC copes?
On a scale of one to ten, I’d give them three; and that’s
only because the dogs are not wandering the streets. That’s what
they’re doing; they’re taking them off of super pain into
less pain by cutting their life short, but they’re not really helping
the issue.
Is it because they’re not being spayed or neutered?
I have to just say this in defense of them: they did get a law passed
recently where every animal has to be spay/neutered before they leave
the shelter. So they are doing this to any dog over six or eight weeks
old. It’s causing two different problems though. The good news
is animals are spay/neutered. The bad news is a lot of them are dying
because in the process they are so vulnerable to all sorts of diseases
and fears. So the dogs are getting sick and a lot of them are dying
as well because young puppies in that environment, especially if they
have anything else wrong with them, don’t do well. And if they
catch cold or get an infection, they’ll go down because they don’t
have the facilities to handle that.
Do you find that your animal rescuing influences your day job or
vice versa?
No. It has nothing to do with it, although I do try to influence
people with money to care more. A lot of them do. Actually, I have converted
a couple of people who had no knowledge of what goes on and they didn’t
care to.
You’re obviously ‘money conscious’ with the finance-oriented
work that you do, so you understand the role of funds in animal rescue
work.
Oh totally. It’s all about money when it comes down to it.
Well, it’s two things: money and compassion, and I don’t know
which one comes first. You know, probably compassion would come first,
but then money comes right after that because otherwise what can you
do with the problem?
I don’t actively pursue funds to be honest with you. About 98 percent
of the money for the fund comes out of my pocket. Like this year I had
a bill for close to $20,000 from one vet, and it came out of my money.
But if people are nice enough to help, it’s wonderful. Then I can
rescue more.
Do you have any animal-friendly stocks or do you encourage that in
others?
I’m certainly open to it. If I read something or hear something
I am right on it. There’s one stock I’ve been buying like
crazy: People Soft. Actually, it’s a pretty decent company, but
the only reason is that the CEO donated millions and millions to the
homeless animal shelter system in the California area. The stock this
year is doing unbelievable, incredible. I don’t usually look for
stock like that, but if I happen to read something and I see a CEO is
that conscious, I’ll buy their stock. Because I know about karma
and I believe that what goes around comes around.
Are you a vegetarian? Do you believe that it has any relationship
to your animal rescue work?
I am a vegetarian and I do believe that it is a different level
of consciousness and that people are on their own path to it, and when
people become vegan or vegetarian, they are much more conscious. You
know, some people will not wear furs but they’ll eat meat, and
then some people will do different things in a different order, like
they might not eat meat and not wear fur but they’ll eat chicken.
And then maybe they’ll get to anther level. But it’s just
all different levels, and I think being a vegetarian is really important;
it’s the most conscious level.
Are there any stories of particular animals that you’ve rescued?
There’s a particular dog called Tao. He was living with me
for awhile; he was one of those operation cases, not an amputee but
he had major surgery. He was in the city system for weeks. He had had
pins through his legs since he was a puppy, and because he was young
they had to keep adjusting them because his leg was growing, his bone
was changing. So he was with me for about six months. I got very attached
to him, I fell in love with him, but I have four of my own dogs so eventually
he was adopted by a lovely couple who live in Brooklyn. And to this
day—it’s almost two years ago—when I see this dog in
the neighborhood, he runs over to me like I just saw him. It makes my
day every single time.
For more information or to send a tax-deductible donation to the
Freidman Fund, call 718-399-7827, or send checks to Friedman Fund, 285
5 Ave., PMB 481, Brooklyn, NY 11215.
