IN Keystone Oaks Summer 2014 | Page 20

to the Rescue! Animal Advocates celebrates 30 years of finding dogs and cats loving homes. By Mark Berton E stablished in 1984, Animal Advocates is a nonprofit, all-volunteer, Pittsburghbased animal welfare organization involved in the rescue and permanent placement of cats and dogs that are in need of finding new homes. “We basically started off as an animal rights organization,” said Animal Advocates president and original volunteer for the group, Patricia Murphy. “We mostly got involved in campaign activities, letter writing, picketing and the like. As we grew, the volunteers who joined us wanted to do more [animal] rescue work, so we started moving in that direction.” As their visibility grew, so did the numbers of people who wanted to help Animal Advocates achieve its goals. They solicited donations from private donors as well as the public, and, in 1990, six years into their mission, Animal Advocates bought a home to call their own. 18 724.942.0940 to advertise | Keystone Oaks