Page 79 - Demo

www.MOSTmag.com || MOST FITNESS || 79doing a lot of research and practice on telepathic animal communication, somehow we were able to continue to communicate after she died and from time to time she would do that and send me messages about other dogs, and where to go and look for certain rescues. She also visits me as a butterfly when I am out walking my dogs or at home in my garden. MFM: Simple Green matches all proceeds dollar for dollar-how does your foundation decide which shelter or project to put the money you raise towards first?VSF: I pretty much decide where the money goes; I work with, or donate to only a few certain rescues that I personally know how they work, and I pretty much only donate to the ones that somehow involve me in their world and show me how they do things and where the money goes. Unfortunately, there are so many scams out there and some people use dogs as a way to make money, so I%u2019d rather take it slow, keep it small, and learn from all the good rescue people out there that I have met so far. I just want to help as much as I can, and I visit shelters all of the time as well. I also like to sponsor families to help them with medical bills for their pets and adoption costs. So I always make sure that the money I raise only goes to the right people for the right reasons.MFM: You have a lot of fame in the fitness and modeling worlds-have you encountered any other celebrities who care to help the cause?VSF: A few other fitness models and girlfriends, who I work with and a few actor friends have offered to help, so hopefully in the future we will see some of them. This past year I had a lot of fans, real fans, from my fitness modeling world who donated to Amore for Dogs, and that has made me so happy and given me a lot of support and courage to keep going and do more in the future.MFM: Why are there so many abandoned dogs out there? What do you see to be the number one cause behind homeless/abandoned dogs?VSF: There are a lot of different reasons why people leave their dogs at the shelter or on the streets. Unfortunately, many people don%u2019t take the responsibility serious enough of taking care of a dog from day one until the very last day. So a lot of people only get excited about having a puppy, or a young dog, and when the dog gets older and needs special medical attention, the owner gives up and chooses to leave him behind. A lot of people leave their dogs to go on vacation and don%u2019t want to pay for their care, which is very sad. Many dogs on the streets don%u2019t have microchips or collars, and they just simply get lost and end up in a shelter or hit by a car, or stolen to be used for cruel acts. I have told people that if you don%u2019t see a dog as part of your family member and you can%u2019t afford him financially and take care of him forever, then don%u2019t get a dog. They are not toys to be used and abused and then thrown away. Dogs suffer every time they are abandoned, and they don%u2019t forget who their owner is. They get scared just like we do about being on the streets, and getting sick and not having food. I think people should take this more seriously.Photo Credit: Alex Ardenti