love & romance
24 The Jewish Journal – jewishjournal.org – february 3, 2011
Open Your Heart and Adopt a Homeless Animal Susan Jacobs Jewish Journal Staff
L
ove is not limited to the affection one human being might express for another. Animal lovers feel a great deal of emotion for their four-legged friends. Unfortunately, many dogs and cats are in need of loving homes. Until they get a permanent placement, some enjoy temporary solace at the Friends of Marblehead’s Abandoned Animals shelter. Inside the small,
unassuming building, they receive food, shelter and attention. Linda Greenberg of Swampscott has been a volunteer at the shelter for two decades. Among other tasks, she coordinates animal adoptions. “It’s a real mitzvah to take in one of these animals,” Greenberg said. “Right now we have some wonderful pets that are eager to find loving, stable homes.” The no-kill shelter, which was founded in 1993, prides itself on finding placements for all ani-
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Photos courtesy of Marblehead Animal Shelter
Louanne, left, and Twizzler, above, are hoping you will fall in love in love with them.
mals that wind up there. In 2009 it found homes for 78 cats, 32 kittens, 4 dogs, 5 birds, 2 ferrets and a guinea pig — a total of 122 homeless creatures. Unlike many other shelters, it will find homes for hard-to-place animals such as three legged dogs, or blind cats. The non-profit organization has no paid staff and is run entirely by dedicated volunteers.
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The shelter is always seeking more individuals willing to help walk and play with the animals, clean cages, do laundry and keep the environment tidy. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. There are usually more cats than dogs available for adoption says Greenberg, who has published a book about her experiences at the shelter entitled, “No Fleas on Us: Animal Shelter
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Tales.” All the cats at the Marblehead Animal Shelter are tested for FeLV and FIV, treated for any medical problems they might have, given rabies and distemper shots, and are spayed or neutered. The shelter’s website has an up-to-date list of available animals and their characteristics. Two cats currently available for adoption are Louanne and Twizzler. Louanne is a one-yearold female with a shiny, steel gray coat and large, round amber eyes. She is very friendly and affectionate. Twizzler is an adult male with short black fur who was left behind when his owners moved away. He is gentle, sweet and very lovable, and although he is FIV positive, he does not require medication and can be expected to live a long, healthy life. He hopes to find a forever home where he will never be left behind again. Friends of Marblehead’s Abandoned Animals is located at 44 Village St. in Marblehead. Call 781-631-8664 or visit marblehead-animal-shelter.org.
The Jewish Character of Cupid Everett Gendler Jewish Telegraphic Agency
What’s Jewish about Val entine’s Day? The day was first released from the purview of the Catholic Church in 1969, when Pope Paul VI declared that Valentine’s Day was no longer a saint’s day. But Cupid isn’t exclusively a pagan symbol. There is interesting archeological evidence of Cupid’s Jewish character. Cupid appears on Jewish sarcophagi in Rome, on paintings in Jewish catacombs in Rome and, most significantly, above the door of the synagogue at Capernaum in Israel — six of them over the main entrance. Love is a necessity of life, long established in the rabbinic tradition. To live in isolation is to live “without joy, without blessing, without happiness,” the Talmud says. “It is not good for a man to be alone,” God says in Genesis. Happy Valentine’s Day! Rabbi Everett Gendler, rabbi emeritus at Temple Emanuel in Lowell, was the first Jewish chaplain at Phillips Academy in Andover, serving there from 1971 to 1995.