Issue No.21 - Polo De’Marco Magazine Issue No.21 - International Edition | Page 35

Q5. You have the Royal Pet Club, which offers
an array of pet friendly products. Prince
Lorenzo’s Royal Treatment, which features
natural and organic pet products. Then, South
Beach Brewing Company, and your animal
charity, Animal Aid USA. How do your split
and share your time between all these various
enterprises while still having personal time for
yourself and for traveling?
LB: I like to say I’m very focused. I don’t use social
media much, and when I’m working, I focus on
my work. It’s amazing how much you can get done
in one day when one focuses on actually getting
things done. I also have a very good VP of business
development that helps me, as there is no way I
could do it all alone.
Q6. You created Animal Aid USA, a non-
profit organization in 2012, which helps
rescue animals by moving animals from high
kill shelters to adoptive partners across the
country in the US, and helps change laws to
end animal cruelty. Please share the story
that began your incredible drive for animal
advocacy, and please tell us the best way to get
involved to help Animal Aid USA?
LB: It is attributed to my dog Belle, a black lab who
died in 2005. She was a gift from an old girlfriend of
mine for my 21st birthday, and was by far the best
gift I have ever received. Because of her, I became
part of the “dog scene” in New York City. From my
discussions with people there, I learned more and
more about animal shelters and they convinced me
to go visit the Animal Care and Control of NYC
(AC&C), which I did. The AC&C has five rows of
dogs in cages. The last row are the dogs that if they
aren’t adopted that day, are euthanized. When I
saw these dogs there, I felt helpless. Right then and
there, I decided I would do what I could to help. As
of now, Animal Aid USA has saved the lives of over
28,000 dogs. If people want to help they can go www.
animalaidusa.org to volunteer and/or donate. My
organization is made up of 100% volunteers, so each
dollar donated goes directly towards saving a dog’s
life, and every donation is tax deductible.