My Pet World: Pet-loving celebrities support 'Remember Me Thursday'
"I travel with Gertie, my rescue Chihuahua. Gertie came from the East Valley Los Angeles City shelter through a wonderful rescue called Kinder4Rescue. She was slated to be euthanized on the day I got her. She has no teeth and her tongue is perpetually falling out of her mouth. She went from certain death to a loving home just because I chose to adopt from a shelter."
David Backes (via a telephone interview):
"Next to the good Lord, you won't find a friend as loyal as a dog," says the St. Louis Blues captain and two-time Olympian.
Backes is impressed with the "Remember Me Thursday."
"It's a global effort to shine a light on the animals no one talks about, those who never make it," he says.
At a time when professional athletes are under fire for a wide variety of criminal offenses, Backes agrees with the public condemnation. He even adds, "Look what Michael Vick did. We're working to turn the stigma around to show that the majority of professional athletes are compassionate people," he says. "And I'm out to show that the old verse, 'those to whom much is given, much is expected' is very true."
Backes and his wife, Kelly, have long been supporters of animal welfare. They were board members at Five Acres Animal Shelter, a no-kill organization in the St. Louis area. Kelly served as interim executive director and was also the vice president of the board. They helped lead the small organization through a capital campaign and the construction of a new building for adoptable dogs before founding the non-profit Athletes for Animals.
Their organization is new, so Backes is building a list of ambassadors, which so far includes Blues teammate Barret Jackman; An~e Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings; David Perron, Edmonton Oilers; Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche; Barry Enright, Los Angeles Dodgers; Brad Thompson, St. Louis Cardinals; Jake Long and James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams; and U.S. Olympic curler Jessica Schultz.
Kelly and David Backes have four dogs and two cats.
"I'm no scientist, but I'd have to think that as a professional athlete, having unconditional love there for me whenever I return home is healthy," he says. "Pets don't care whether I had a great game or not; they just care that I'm home. It's one reason why having pets is actually good for all of us -- no matter what our job happens to be."
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