 About
Us
Our
History | President's
Welcome | Celebrity Involvement |
Basehart Fund
The
question that always pops up is "What is it that you do?" Well...actually,
it goes more like "What is it that Animals and Actors do?",
or our favorite, "What does Animals for Actors do?"
It
all began in 1971 on one of Los Angeles' busy freeways. It
was on such a freeway that the late actor Richard Basehart
and his wife, Diana, watched in horror as someone in a car
ahead of them nonchalantly tossed a dog out of the car window
to a grisly death. Their outrage that day prompted them to
gather fellow actors and members of the community together
to stop such inhumane treatment.
When
we opened our doors in 1971, our objectives were to provide
proper care for and prevent inhumane treatment and destruction
of animals. The founding members knew that these goals were
not going to be easily attainable. They would require stamina,
resourcefulness and a long-standing commitment. As George
Bernard Shaw so aptly observed: "The worst sin toward our
fellow creatures is not to hate them; but to be indifferent
to them; that's the essence of inhumanity."
The
story of Actors and Others for Animals is also the story
of compassionate people - donors, celebrities, supporters,
volunteers, staff and board members - who helped take a fledgling
organization and through hard work, dedication and loving
kindness made it a dominating protector of animals.
 Actors
and Others prides itself on being a nuts and bolts organization,
a broad-based community group working to end all animal abuse
and exploitation. Although the bulk of our efforts are focused
on the need to stop the surplus pet population, throughout
our history we have we have always put a priority on raising
the quality of life - all life.
And
while our history is rich with many accomplishments on behalf
of animals, we are especially proud to have been the prevailing
force behind the elimination of the decompression chamber
in California. Working closely with the County of Los Angeles
in the 1970's, it was agreed that if the County did not use
the decompression chamber at the new Agoura shelter but instead
used a euthanasia injection, Actors and Others would fund
such a pilot project. It was so successful that it soon was
adopted by all the other county shelters - then by the City
- then in 1979 by all of California.
Please
read the "President's
Welcome"!
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