Animal Allies: Animal League of Birmingham provides resources to shelters, rescues

Inga Clum loves animals.

She has adopted two dogs — Maddie Mae, a 3-year-old dachshund, and Lexy Lou, a 10-year-old beagle — and serves as president of the Animal League of Birmingham, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for rescues and shelters.

It meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Homewood Public Library.

“We have people who come from all over Birmingham, from different areas,” Clum said. “We have nurses, teachers, retired police officers, accountants, just people from a variety of ages, and everybody just has a passion for helping animals.”

According to Clum, a retired school teacher, the Animal League was started in 2010 by a group of women who realized that local shelters needed financial assistance.

“There are many rescues in the area that at many times need emergency help,” Clum said, “just because maybe their funding is low or they just get an animal they weren’t expecting and that needs extra support.”

The Animal League provides funding for vaccinations, heartworm treatments, surgeries, spaying, neutering and food, among other items.

Fund recipients include shelters and rescues from a wide swath of central Alabama, such as the Greater Birmingham and Shelby County humane societies.

“Whatever their need is, we’re able to give funds for that,” Clum said.

Wendy Montealegre, the Animal League’s director of grants, remembers when a shelter in Sylacauga reached out after eight of its dogs tested positive for heartworms. The Animal League paid for the dogs’ treatments and, by extension, saved their lives.

Knocking out the sickness qualified them for adoption rather than euthanization.

“It’s amazing to be able to get to do that,” Montealegre said.

Montealegre, who owns a 10-year-old Cairn Terrier named Maxwell, joined the Animal League five years ago. She said she has made some of her best friends through the organization, which has around 30 members.

“We’re all united in our compassion and concern for Alabama’s animals,” she said.

The Animal League raises some of its money by hosting several annual events. One is a canine beauty pageant called Birmingham’s Next Hot Dog Contest, and another is the Pooch Plunge.

In the Next Hot Dog Contest, dogs and their owners parade down a runway and compete in categories such as “Most Squeezable Puppy,” “Best Fur-Do” and “Sassiest Senior.”

At the Pooch Plunge, dogs can swim to their hearts’ content at the Levite Jewish Community Center’s outdoor pools.

“That’s always a fun event,” Clum said.

The Animal League also has participated in World Spay Day, on which it provided economical spaying and neutering for the animals of veterans, and sells low-cost kitty condominiums to keep outdoor cats warm during the winter.

Montealegre said the Animal League uses its platform to educate the public about the importance of spaying and neutering their animals. Those steps help control Alabama’s animal overpopulation problem.

“We euthanize more animals in our state than almost any other state in the U.S.,” said Ashley Glass, who joined the Animal League a few years ago.

Glass owns five rescue dogs — Ella, Lulu, Red, Bear and Daphne — that reside on her 40-acre property in Corner. She learned about the Animal League through her veterinarian and now runs its social media accounts.

She said she wants to do her part to combat overpopulation and advocate for animal welfare.

“We would love to see Alabama not even need shelters,” she said.

The Animal League used to meet at members’ homes before moving to the Homewood Public Library in 2019. During meetings, which are open to the public, Montealegre said attendees discuss upcoming events, formulate new fundraising ideas, hear reports on past animals they have helped and fellowship with one another.

“They’re a lot of fun,” Montealegre said.

While members don’t bring their pets to meetings, they do bring them to Animal League activities.

Before the holidays, for instance, Clum planned to take Maddie Mae and Lexy Lou to the Hollywood Feed pet store in Cahaba Village on U.S. 280.

There, the dogs made paw print ornaments that were available for sale, with proceeds benefiting the Animal League. Events like that help the organization achieve its mission and, hopefully, expand its reach.

“We would love to grow,” Glass said, “and have as big of an impact as we can.”

For more information or to donate to the Animal League, visit theanimalleagueofbirmingham.com or email theanimalleagueofbirmingham@gmail.com.

The Homewood Public Library is at 1721 Oxmoor Road.