“Hoppy” Mother’s Day

RockStar Bar Benefit 4/11!

Wythe Ave. Graffiti Rat - photo R.S. Guskind

Anjelica is a former lab rat and an ECC alumni. Her person Matt Dallow recently emailed us about this RockStar Bar benefit Saturday where he’ll be making a guest appearance with Nathan Carpenter. Great line-up, reasonable cover, with proceeds going to Empty Cages Collective. Help the animals, and help yourself to a diverse collection of punk rock and acoustic acts! Here’s the info: Saturday, April 11th at The RockStar Bar, corner of South 5th and Kent in Williamsburg. Doors open at 9pm. $5-10 sliding scale, 21+ with ID. Performers include: Nathan Carpenter, Morgan O’Cane, Sturgeon, Zhenia Golov, Hipster Holocaust, and DJ Marvelous Hagler. And, it’s also Janine (sometime ECC volunteer) and Spencer’s birthdays!

ECC Gets Blogged

Michele Howley, a friend to animals and adopter of one our bottle-baby kittens, visited the feral cat recovery space this past weekend and did a great write-up on her blog today. We’ve already gotten some donations and encouraging notes, and the cats and kittens are going to be thrilled with the toys and treats donated off the Amazon WISHLIST! Thank you everyone, we’ll have lots of crazy kitten videos soon! To read the post and meet Murray, the magnificently goofy tiger click HERE.

Simon Says “Thanks!”

Sometimes for animals in need, it’s about being in the right place at the right time.

A few days ago, two Empty Cages Collective (ECC) volunteers were returning from releasing (now spayed and neutered) feral cats back to their home colonies in Bushwick. When only a few blocks away from the recovery space, a little feathered body laying on the side of street caught one of their eyes. After closer investigation, it was became clear that the bird in question wasn’t just resting – he needed help!

The poor pigeon, who we’ve named Simon, was badly injured. Simon’s feet and legs were so severely entangled and embedded with trash in the form of string, he was unable to walk or stand. He was suffering immensely as the string constricted blood flow and was now responsible for an infection in his limbs. Poor Simon couldn’t even manage to forage for food and was slowly starving to death from the entangled mess. It seemed when the ECC volunteers found him, he was just waiting to die ignored and alone.

Lucky for Simon, ECC volunteers quickly rescued him and took him to our avian veterinarian. Dr. Pilny was able to remove all of the litter from Simon’s swollen feet. Now, he is receiving foot soaks in Betadine solution to help his wounds heal and some old-fashioned rest and relaxation. His prognosis for recovery is good and if all goes well, he should be able to return to the skies of Brooklyn very soon.