April 2010
Crest Hollow’s Janine Dion
Founder & President of Pet Peeves, Inc., Making a Difference
Pet Peeves, “the Voice of Long Island Pets,” Raised Over
$80,000 at
2010 Annual Event, “Unleashed”
STORY BY SALLY
GILHOOLEY
Pet Peeves, Inc.,
an umbrella organization that raises funds and awareness for Long Island’s struggling animal shelters
and rescue groups, celebrated with a sold-out crowd of nearly 400 guests
at their 8th anniversary gala, “Unleashed,” at the Crest
Hollow Country Club, Woodbury. The $85,000 raised will support their
2011 Grants.
Founder and president of Pet Peeves, Janine Dion, who is sales and
marketing director for Crest Hollow Country Club, says, “We gave out $70,000 this
year to 13 needy shelters and rescue groups and we received kudos from Nassau
District Attorney Kathleen Rice who spoke at our event on behalf of abused animals.
”With the generous funding we have received from individual and corporate
sponsors like (2010 premier gala sponsor) Joe Mamone, President of Coldwell Banker
Residential Brokerage of Long Island and Queens, and efforts of our loyal volunteers,
Pet Peeves is able to support important Long Island-based non-profit programs
that not only address pets in need, but families in need as well.”
To help get Pet Peeves up and running Dion says, “Davidow, Davidow Siegel & Stern’s
Steven Stern as an incredibly compassionate professional, donated and handled
my 501C3 paperwork; Mark Preiser of Walter F. Cameron Advertising has underwritten
all of design work including our logo; Adam Schwam of Sandwire hosts our website
and Arthur Sanders of Israeloff, Trattner & Co. has donated his accounting
services from day one.”
Support of the Monti Family
Dion credits Crest Hollow’s Richard Monti and his father, the late Joseph
Monti, president and CEO of Crest Hollow and a Networking® magazine David
Award honoree in 2002, for making Pet Peeves a reality saying, “they
believed in me and the Pet Peeves mission.”
For the past 27 years, Dion says she has been “very blessed” to
be a part of the Crest Hollow Team under the tutelage of Joseph Monti, She
adds, “Mr. Monti was my mentor and hero and I spent many hours listening
to family stories, show business tales and his unique business philosophy.”
“Joe Monti was a huge animal lover and one of the most generous souls on
earth. As for business, he had a sense that one is simply born with,” says
Dion. “Working with his son, Richard is a gift. He has an uncanny resemblance
to his Dad in strength, values and belief in family with a strong and familiar
loyalty to community and his team.
“In 2001, when I told Mr. (Joseph) Monti that I wanted to give back and
share my contacts and position with the calling I felt for the voiceless, he
agreed, cheered me on and encouraged my passion – and went so far as offering
me the option of running my charity from my Crest Hollow office,” adds
Dion. “Richard like his Dad, has always encouraged my
charity work and is an incredible supporter of Pet Peeves.”
A Vision and a Mission
Pet Peeves, Inc, “the voice of Long Island pets,” was born when
Dion realized she could achieve her true “vision and mission in life,” that
of helping homeless animals, seniors and sick children when she worked with
the “hundreds of compassionate Long Islanders who were equally concerned
about voiceless populations.”
“I knew in my heart,” says Dion, a Long Island native, “that
if I joined forces with other like-minded individuals and corporations, we could
make a difference in the lives of these most vulnerable members of our society.”
Pet Peeves’ three-fold mission: helping those who serve the Island’s
homeless and abused animals, supporting Humane Education Programs in schools
as well as Pet Therapy programs in children’s hospitals and nursing homes
enabled Dion to help fulfill all three of her goals of ways to give back to
her community.
“We have carved ourselves a niche and people are appreciative of the fact
we do our due diligence and research each and every grant recipient,” Dion
explains. “People know their dollars go directly to the animals. We do
our site visits and make sure the groups are fiscally responsible, have a current
board and no paid employees. We are looking to fund front line groups that are
on Long Island for Long Island.”
Filling A Need
She says, “For the past eight years, Pet Peeves has raised and granted
an average of $70,000 annually to assist Long Island’s needy animal shelters
and animal-related causes.” She notes their 2010 focus is on families
affected by the economy adding, “Pet Peeves is about people and not just
pets.”
This year’s annual food drive for cats, dogs and other pets is in collaboration
with Long Island Cares and in partnership with Coldwell Bankers’ 15 real
estate offices. To date, Pet Peeves has collected over 2,000 pounds of pet
food on behalf of LI Cares and the food pantries across Long Island enabling
families to provide their pets with meals much as food pantries provide food
for their children.
Pet Peeves supports Safe Haven programs in shelters that take pets
for an unlimited amount of time without asking the family, who may
be temporarily
out of work,
to give up the rights of ownership of their pet. Dion says, “It is agonizing
for a family to give up their pet and the safe haven programs allow families
to visit and stay in touch with their pet knowing that they are
well fed and cared for until such time as the family is once again
on their feet. With support for temporary care and feeding,
Pet Peeves
provides
real
solutions for animals and owners suffering in the current economy.”
Lifelong Love for Animals
Dion comes by her compassion for animals naturally as her parents were both “huge” animal
lovers and extremely caring about less fortunate pets and families.
She explains, “I was diagnosed with borderline asthma at age two and
received weekly injections until age 14. Much to my three siblings’ disappointment,
we were unable to have pets. This did not stop us from feeding every stray
in the neighborhood. Now, each of our families has a minimum of two pets!”
“Mario, our first dog, now 11, was the inspiration behind Pet Peeves. A
Christmas gift from my husband, Tom, who’d been told he’d come from
a reputable breeder, Mario proved to be a puppy mill dog …with all the
ailments common to puppy mill breeding.
“It was watching an eight week old pup, completely dependent upon us as
his caretakers, suffer through unnecessary pain that convinced me how helpless
and voiceless certain populations can be.”
Dion and her husband also have an eight year old Cocker Spaniel/Poodle
mix, Gabby, who was found abandoned in a cage in a deli parking lot by
a pet
store owner. “Gabby,” says Dion, “found her way into our home and
our hearts by chance, or, as I see it, by fate…she’s spoiled and
she deserves to be!”
The family’s three cats also came to them as abandoned kittens. Dion
says, “My husband and I are both allergic but, how do you say ‘no’ to
a three week old kitten that hasn’t eaten in days? ‘Sweet Pea’ (as
we named her) came home with us and our dog, Mario, became the only mother
she ever knew! Our next two kittens were found alone and only days old so I
learned to bottle feed and kept all five siblings until I found three great
homes.”
Careers Combine Serendipitously
Dion says her career at Crest Hollow “took on a new passion” when
she combined it with Pet Peeves adding that her time with clients became personal
and heartwarming. “The stress of discussing a complicated seminar often
became lighter, “adds Dion, “as we broke up our technical chats
with stories of our pets and family. Being a non-commissioned professional
allows me to get to know my clients and spend time without pressure and very
often a relationship and in many cases a friendship is born.”
The Pet Peeves team of professionals, corporations, veterinarians, students
and volunteers who share a compassion for all living creatures proudly dedicates
100% of funds raised to animal welfare, humane education and pet therapy programs.
Pet Peeves, Inc., a 501C3 non-profit at 8325 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, NY
11797 may be reached at 516-692-PETS and www.petpeeves.org
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