Actress Ali MacGraw had always wanted to visit the Best Friends sanctuary, so last summer she spent two days here. And while she’s read all about the animals in Best Friends Magazine, nothing, she says, could have prepared her for what she called “the sanctuary experience.”
“I am still speechless,” she says, “and I cannot wait to go back. What an unforgettable weekend.”
She’s been a member and subscriber for years of the magazine and regularly passes it on to fellow animal lovers. Most recently, however, her Give the Gift – a tax-deductible membership that includes a one-year subscription to the magazine – was for a middle school library in Santa Fe, just south of MacGraw’s home in Tesuque, New Mexico, so students there can enjoy the magazine as much as she has.
In Tesuque, in the rural hills above the state capitol, MacGraw shares her home with a Scottie dog named Jemima, who, she says, “owns me,” as well as Jemima’s “best friend” Simba, whom MacGraw describes as a “foundling red cat.” Her two pets “are inseparable and also terribly affectionate and funny.”
While at the sanctuary, MacGraw spent time with a pig named Sprocket who reminded her of her own potbellied pet she had while growing up in the hamlet town of Pound Ridge, New York. Animals have always been attracted to her, which isn’t surprising considering MacGraw’s unassuming good nature, coupled with her enthusiasm for causes near to her heart.
While the veteran TV and film star is best known for her starring roles in Love Story and The Getaway, she has also been an outspoken animal advocate and environmentalist.
After Hurricane Katrina, and following forest fires in California, MacGraw publicly addressed pet owners, saying, “If you must leave your homes, take your animals with you.”
She knows firsthand what can happen during a disaster. In 1993, she lost her seaside California home to a wildfire. The next year, she relocated to New Mexico, where she continued her activism. In 2005, she spoke at the dedication of the long-awaited new Santa Fe Animal Shelter, and she volunteers for what she calls “virtually every nonprofit in the area,” including the annual Santa Fe Film Festival.
MacGraw’s lifelong commitment has always been to “make a quiet difference,” especially for animals.
In 2007, she sat beside New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson during a news conference as he signed a bill outlawing cockfighting, making Louisiana the only state in the union where the practice remains legal. For many years, MacGraw lobbied for the ban, which took 18 years to pass.
“I am so glad that we can now put this aside and join the overwhelming multitude of human beings in the United States who think that cruelty to animals for recreational amusement is no longer OK,'” she told reporters at the time.
So, it’s no wonder that MacGraw enthusiastically joined Best Friends in its Give the Gift drive. “I want everyone I know to learn about Best Friends and the wonderful work you do,” she said after her visit to the sanctuary. “Not only were the animals wonderful, but every single person I met was, too.”
Written by Cathy Scott
Photo of Ali MacGraw and her dog Jemima by Clay Myers. Photo of Ali MacGraw and Sprocket by Barb Davis.
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
