Rappaport To The Rescue

Best Friends Animal Society CEO and co-founder Julie Castle joins Jill Rappaport for a powerful conversation about the mission to save homeless dogs and cats and make America’s shelters no-kill. Plus, model and animal advocate Ivy Getty and Broadway star Sierra Boggess share why they're lending their voices to the Best Friends Benefit to Save Them All.

Julie takes Jill back to the beginnings of Best Friends and explains how a mission that once seemed impossible has helped transform animal welfare in America. She also shares the remarkable story of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation. Best Friends took in 22 of the most challenging dogs after others believed they couldn't be rehabilitated—and ultimately found homes for 20 of them, with some even becoming ambassadors visiting children in hospitals.

Julie also explains what “no-kill” really means, why Best Friends uses a 90% save-rate benchmark for shelters and the challenges animal welfare organizations continue to face, including veterinary shortages and dogs with behavioral issues.

Then Jill welcomes model and animal advocate Ivy Getty, who introduces her rescue Chihuahua, Martini, and talks about growing up in a family committed to animal rescue. Ivy explains why she believes those with a public platform have a responsibility to give back and why educating a younger generation about adoption is so important.

Broadway superstar Sierra Boggess—known for The Little Mermaid and The Phantom of the Opera—shares her lifelong love of animals and introduces Jill to her two rescue cats. She also reveals why she chose “Till There Was You” from The Music Man to perform at the Best Friends gala, explaining that its message perfectly captures the transformative love between rescued animals and the people who give them a home.

It's an inspiring celebration of Best Friends Animal Society, pet adoption and the people working to save homeless animals across America.

Listen to Episode #69 Now:

Transcript:

Hi, I'm Jill Rappaport, and welcome to Rappaport to the Rescue. I have a really exciting event coming up next Monday, which I'm thrilled to attend. October 20th is Best Friends' annual gala called Best Friends Benefit to Save Them All.

And I have to tell you, it is truly a wonderful, heartwarming, celebrity-filled event to highlight the tireless work this organization does. And here's a little bit about Best Friends if you don't already know about the incredible things they've been doing and have been since 1984. Since then, Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill by running life-saving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 5,500 shelters and rescue organizations.

And from their headquarters in Kanab, Utah, they also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary. They believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And by working together, they can save them all.

So I am so thrilled to have the co-founder and CEO, Julie Castle, with us today, who InStyle Magazine celebrated as one of 50 badass women who, quote, show up, speak up, and get things done. Also, she was one of CNN's Champions of Change in 2024. And Julie Castle continues to lead the no-kill movement to achieve its mission of saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved.

When we come back, you won't want to miss it. Julie Castle will be joining us. Welcome back to Rappaport to the Rescue.

I am really honored to have this special lady here with me today, the co-founder and the CEO of Best Friends. Julie Castle, this is really a great opportunity for me to finally get to talk to you about your mission of the heart, which has always been mine. Oh, thank you so much.

It's an honor to be here with you, Jill. And I'm such a super fan of yours. You're amazing.

Oh, well, coming from you, that is the ultimate compliment. Because you and your husband, and first of all, my deepest condolences on the loss of your husband, Gregory. He was just amazing.

And the two of you co-founded this organization and did something at a time that no other animal organization was doing. You believed in life for all. Tell us about your mission and why you and your husband were so passionate and driven to saving every dog and cat you could and still do.

Well, it's an interesting story. And essentially, it comes down to a really simple notion, which is when the organization was founded, the question was asked, why is everyone working not to save their best friends, but rather the best way to kill their best friends? And there was no one that was really asking the question of, why aren't we creating the wealthiest country in the world? Creating a situation where back then, 17 million animals were dying in America's shelters. And we have the resources and the means to save them all.

And that's your tagline, save them all. Right. And everyone, everyone thought we were crazy.

And back then, there were no no-kill shelters. It felt like a pipe dream to a lot of people. And everyone thought we were absolutely nuts.

And here we are today, 425,000 animals are still losing their lives every year in America's shelters. And that's still way too many. But when I look at the progress we've made since 1984, it's remarkable.

We're in the middle of creating societal change. And how many people in their lifetime get to raise their hand and say, I was part of making history. So it's incredibly rewarding.

It's interesting because over the years, I remember when I first became truly aware of Best Friends, Oprah was going to have me come to your sanctuary, to your facility in Utah, to do a story on the Michael Vick dogs. That's when you really gained international awareness. Tell us a little bit about that for people who might not remember the situation.

Well, as you know, Michael Vick was one of the most hailed quarterbacks in NFL history. And he was caught running a dog fighting operation. And all of the dogs were seized.

And the attorney who was appointed to oversee the process knew about Best Friends. And at that time, officials had contacted some of the other big animal agencies. And every single one of them were saying, you know, these dogs are not redeemable.

They should be euthanized humanely. It's part of their DNA. They're killers.

And we were contacted and asked if we'd be willing to take a chance on them. So we sent a team out there to evaluate all the dogs. And we ended up taking 22 of the most difficult dogs.

And when they arrived at the sanctuary, you know, of course, it was a risk for us because we didn't know if these dogs, you know, have the ability to be rehabilitated. And so we were taking a really big chance. When the dogs arrived, it was remarkable how many of them were just scared out of their minds.

They would pancake on the ground out of fear. Many of them had their teeth removed so that they wouldn't bite during the fights. You know, their faces were all scarred up.

Their bodies were scarred. And the most remarkable miracle happened. We spent months and months with these dogs, delivering kindness to them, training protocols that were positive.

And would you know that we ended up adopting 20 of the 22 dogs. Many of them went into programs where they became ambassadors, would visit children in hospitals. They were the most incredible, resilient animals.

And that was the big lesson for us is that these animals are forgiving, they're resilient, they're amazing. And that level of kindness that we showed them, they showed it right back. And that is your resounding message, Julie.

I think people have misconceptions about what no-kill really is. Can you explain to our listeners what does no-kill really mean? Yeah, well, so when the organization was founded, we really drew a line in the sand, where we started with the sanctuary being a no-kill sanctuary, where no matter the condition, an animal can live out its life here. But the bottom line is we know the best place for an animal is a home.

And so our whole point is to bring them here and rehabilitate them and try to find them homes. There are cases, the best thing to do is to end suffering. You know, we don't want to keep an animal alive.

For us, it's a selfish act. You know, medically, if an animal is suffering, we do humane euthanasia. And our whole point is how do we spread this to the rest of the country and shelters all over the country so that we knew that we had to set a benchmark for shelters, a goal for them.

And so we determined that roughly 90% of animals that enter shelters are savable. 10% are, you know, maybe they have terminal cancer or a situation that just is, it's inhumane to keep them alive. And so essentially, we set that 90% benchmark for shelters all over the country.

And today, two out of every three shelters in this country have hit that benchmark, which is really outstanding and incredible. And so we know that that's a number, but we know that in many cases, more than 90% can be saved. And, you know, you see a situation like Los Angeles, that's an enormous shelter system with seven shelters.

And they are at hovering around 90%. But yet, when you look at those shelters, many more animals in that city can be saved. So the no-kill threshold for us is a goal for every shelter to attain.

Once they hit that goal, then it's a matter of saying, hey, how many more of these guys can be saved? And that's the problem that I just experienced because I had one that I was determined to save. And I called in every shelter group, can you help me? Can you help me? And it was a big ask, a 90-pound dog who had a bite history, six years old. Can you take him? Well, a responsible shelter would say, no, he's not adoptable if he has a bite history.

So then I was looking at sanctuaries. There are so few, Julie. We have to figure out and have alternatives for these animals that might not be perfect for in somebody's home, but they deserve to live.

Where are they going to go? We're in big trouble here. Well, we have, I think, two of the biggest issues that we face in our field today. The first one is the veterinarian shortage.

There simply are not enough veterinarians in this country to take care of people's pets, let alone shelter animals. So that is a really big problem. The second one is behavior issues with dogs and cats, to some degree.

And the first thing that we look at is, what exactly is the bite history? Because a lot of times, these bites are a dog is startled. A dog that wouldn't otherwise bite a human is startled, or maybe a toddler doesn't understand the interaction with the dog yet. And so you have these unfortunate situations where a dog ends up with a bite history.

But really, the question is, what was the bite? How did it happen? Digging into that is really important. And so for us, from our point of view, the behavior situation with dogs is very under-resourced in our field. And there aren't a lot of organizations that have the skill or the resources to be able to relate to these dogs.

Yeah, you hit it right on the head. What you and your husband, Gregory, created long before anyone had any idea it could even be done. You really invented the wheel.

And it is just incredible to me that all of these years later, you're still doing God's work. When I think about that, first of all, thank you. And secondly, I think it's a blessing to know what your life path is.

Young in life, for me, I knew that this was my life path. And to be able to be a part of that, and fulfill that, and see this come to fruition, is a gift. It really is a gift to me.

And it's my hope and dream that we can continue to inspire others to do the same, follow this path. Because I know that that simple act of kindness to a helpless being is about the highest level of generosity that us as humans can offer. And I think it elevates everybody's game.

It elevates humanity to show that degree of kindness in figuring out how to save a life. Because to us, these animals are intrinsic beings, and they all have individual value. And our society is measured on that.

That is so beautifully put. And you have this gala coming up where so many people come to support you and spread the word at this wonderful gala. Tell us about that.

Oh, it's so fun. It's such a cool event. We do it every year in New York City.

And it's an opportunity to really celebrate the work we've done and bring together celebrities, our supporters, advocates, everyone who believes in this cause for an evening to be inspired and to continue to push the mission forward. And obviously, it's a fundraiser for the animals, for our mission, so that we can save more lives. And to do it in a city as important as New York is a big deal for us.

And the fact that we're blessed to have so many people supporting us is just really cool. And so, if you're interested in going to the event, please buy a ticket because you'll have a lot of fun. And tell us where our listeners can go to to go online to buy a ticket.

If you can't go to the event, there's a lot you can do to help. There's a lot you can do. Just go to our website, bestfriends.org. If you can't make the event, you can donate online to us there.

Or you can support us by becoming a volunteer or fostering or helping a local shelter in your area or a rescue group. Because we're all in this together. You know, Best Friends created a network of over 5,000 no-kill organizations.

And we have members of that network in every single state in the country. There's a lot of need locally. So, you know, volunteer for us nationally, volunteer at our sanctuary, volunteer at one of our life-saving centers, or go to your local shelter because they always need the help.

If you can't open your wallet to help a local group or an animal welfare organization, open your heart and foster. Because every time you foster, you're freeing up space for another animal that needs a spot in the shelter. And when you foster, you're saving two lives.

And so, for me, there are many more ways that you can give of yourself than just providing resources in the form of money. And so, I would just encourage all the listeners to get out and volunteer. You know, a couple hours a week means the world to these animals who are really defenseless.

That's such a great and important message during this time. And Julie Castle, so great to have you on today. And I'm really excited to see you next Monday, October 20th.

I'm so excited to see you. Thank you so much. You're amazing.

Thank you so much. We have so much more on this show, including your co-chair, model, fashionista, influencer, animal advocate, Ivy Getty, and one of your very special guests, a superstar talent on Broadway, Sierra Boggess, who will be singing. And she gave us a little sample, I must tell you.

One of the most heartwarming songs. It brought me to tears. So definitely stay tuned.

Welcome back to Rappaport to the Rescue. I'm very excited for our next guest, who's really an inspiration to young people everywhere. You're a trendsetter.

You have done so much in the world of fashion. She's a model, but most important, she is an animal advocate, which she inherited from her grandmother, Ivy Getty. So great to have you on the show.

Thank you so much for having me. For our listeners that can't see, Ivy is holding the most adorable pet. Tell us about Martini.

What kind of a little animal is he? They have this like 23andMe type of thing for dogs. And he came back as a purebred Chihuahua, which was crazy. He doesn't look like a Chihuahua.

No, I was certain he had like a mix of so much more. But I rescued Martini from... There's a lot of dogs that are still being euthanized in certain states. Texas is one of them.

So they will transfer rescues from Texas to other states that they feel like they have a better chance in. So he came from Texas and was at 11th Hour Rescue in New Jersey. And that's where I rescued him officially.

And now he's three and he is the cutest ever. Oh, look at that. He's giving you a little kiss.

Well, obviously, you are a huge animal lover and advocate. As I said in the intro, you inherited that from your grandmother. Tell us about that relationship and why it's so important to you to save lives.

Well, really, I mean, my grandma very much continued it. But initially, my stepfather worked at the SPCA in San Francisco. And so I grew up only knowing about rescuing dogs.

It was never any question otherwise. So we had probably like four pit bulls at one point. We had birds.

We had all sorts of animals. So I kind of grew up around that. And I would even rescue like mice if I found them in the house.

I was obsessed with like the wild thornberries and animals and just all of that. And then when I moved into my grandparents' house when I was 13, my grandma also had three rescues. And my Aunt Vanessa, she's super involved as well with the SPCA in San Francisco.

So it's kind of just a thing throughout my family. Well, and your family is one of the most prominent families in the country. The name Geddy is known worldwide.

When you are part of a legacy, part of that name, part of the family, do you feel a responsibility to carry forward something that is good and important? Absolutely. I think it's important to understand the values you were taught and to continue them and honor them and become passionate about whatever that is that you want to support, especially coming from a privileged position. It's really important to give back and to spread the word if you have any sort of platform.

That's so important, but you'd be surprised, and I'm sure you realize so many people in those positions don't, which is so frustrating because animal welfare is in a dire state right now. We need help. We need money.

We need people stepping up to the plate, whether it be fostering, donating their time or their funds. We need help now. Absolutely.

I heard about a year ago that for the first time in ages, the rate of adoptions went down and the rate of buying dogs went up. And to me, that was so concerning. And then I've even had personal experiences with a lot of friends I respect and love where they're talking about, oh, I'm going, what do you think about this dog? And I can tell it's from a breeder in the picture they're showing me.

And when I explained to them, they shouldn't be supporting that kind of industry. They really just have such a lack of information on it. It's not that people are against it.

It's just for whatever reason, it's kind of been forgotten about. So it's very important to bring it back. Exactly.

And that's what you're doing. And I love that you are co-chairing this important event this year, Best Friends Gala on October 20th. You and Dylan Lauren, who's a very good friend of mine.

So cool. I've never met her, but I'm so excited. Like I love Dylan's candy bar.

Dylan's candy bar, but she is even sweeter than her products. But why was it important for you to co-chair this event this year? Well, I was honestly devastated last year. I was out of the country when it was happening.

So I was very, very adamant about definitely making it happen this year. And meeting the team once I moved to New York, everybody is just so lovely. And it really makes you want to have as much as you can with them.

I had a dinner last December, but when they asked me to co-chair, I was super honored to even be involved like that, because I would have gone regardless. Well, it is a big honor. And I'm so thrilled to get to meet you.

Thank you. I feel like you're making me sound so much better. And I feel like it should be said.

But I do recognize that a lot of the people that follow me are younger. And so it's important to have these galas in locations like New York City, because you can... My own friends didn't know that much information. So by having them see this, when you really watch a video and you're around people explaining to you how important it is to adopt, you can be very easily influenced to make the right choices.

That's the best message of the day. Absolutely. Ivy Getty, I will be seeing you on October 20th.

And my dogs are going to be coming. Can't wait to see all of you. Now, when we come back, more about the Best Friends Gala with Sierra Boggess, an amazing Broadway star who has a very special song that she will be singing at this event.

And I'm going to try to get a little bit out of her when we come back. Welcome back to Rappaport to the Rescue. I'm Jill Rappaport.

My next guest, who is very involved with this gala for Best Friends, is a Broadway superstar, Sierra Boggess. Now, of course, she is best known for originating the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway, and then for her multiple appearances as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. And then in 2012, she played Fantine in the London production of Les Miserables.

She also originated the role of Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock in 2016. And besides her incredible talent, it's her huge heart for animals in need, which is why this event is so important. I am so thrilled to have you on Rappaport to the Rescue.

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. Well, you are a big part of this event coming up for Best Friends.

Tell me how you got involved with this wonderful organization and this gala. Well, I was asked by a friend of mine named Mark Tuminelli if I would want to sing something for a gala that is all about saving animals. And I'm like, I couldn't say yes fast enough, because two of my favorite things, making sure the animals are okay on this planet and singing.

So it was a really easy yes for me. I have two rescue cats myself, and I've been a vegetarian for my entire life, simply because I care about animals so much, not for health reasons, just because I couldn't, I just can't do that for myself. And so I've always been a huge, huge animal lover.

And so this is just, I'm really, really thrilled to be able to be a part of this evening. Now, are you able to tease us a little, or actually tell us what song you're going to be singing for those of us who cannot attend? I don't know. I don't know if I'm supposed to, but I mean, I guess.

Emotion's great. It will help sell tickets. Tell us what the song is.

I'm singing Till There Was You from the Music Man. And I just think it's the most perfect song because all of us who know, who have adopted animals, it makes me cry because I just am like, that's what it feels like. It's like, I didn't know what love was until there was you.

And you know, and I think also the animals feel like that too, when they finally get to feel safe. It's our Jillb to also protect them. They do so much for us.

And so I just think that song encapsulates all of that. Perfect choice. And your career, ever since you were so young, has been on just a meteoric rise from the beginning.

And I love what Andrew Lloyd Webber said about you. And this is back in 2013, Sierra. And he said, Sierra is one of the most talented girls in musical theater, period.

And it's only a matter of time before she becomes an absolute megastar. That coming from Andrew Lloyd Webber, does it get better? No, he's been such a huge part of my career and really one of the people who gave me my start. And I just am, yeah, those words that meant everything to me then and still do to this day.

So yeah, that's pretty nice. About as good as it gets. And considering what an incredible career you've had, for those of us in different parts of the country that might not be able to get to Broadway, where can we see you right now? What's going on in your life and your career? It's funny.

I'm currently waiting for one of the shows that I'm involved in to get a Broadway theater, which is just how that works. It's kind of a real estate game, really, for Broadway because you have to wait for a theater to become available. So there's a show called Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which is based off of the novel.

And it's been turned into a musical. The music is by Jason Robert Brown. And the book is by Taylor Mack and directed by Rob Ashford.

What's funny is Rob Ashford was actually my very first choreographer when I graduated college and my first professional show in New York out of town with him. And so now it's really amazing, like revisiting, working together all these years later. So that's what we're waiting on.

And while I wait for a show to happen, I do concerts all over. So I'm going to Pittsburgh. I'm at the Pittsburgh Cultural Center in the beginning of November and then in Greensboro, North Carolina.

So yeah, that's really what we do while we wait for a show is that we get to sing our own shows all around the country. So yeah. Well, those lucky enough, like myself, will get to hear you sing firsthand on October 20th.

We are so excited for this Best Friends Gala. And as we wrap up this interview, you teased us with the name, you teased us with a little lyrics. Do you want to just tease us with a little song to send us off of? Oh, what they're going to hear is a little There was love all around But I never heard it singing No, I never heard it at all Till there was you I think I sound like you in my shower.

I only wish. That was incredible. Sierra Boggess, you are truly amazing.

I totally agree with what Andrew Lloyd Webber said. And I can't wait to see you singing the song to the people that make such a difference for these animals' lives and to the animals themselves that will be there. Thank you so much, Sierra.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. And thank you all for Jillining us on this very special edition of Rappaport to the Rescue.

And don't forget Best Friends Gala, October 20th. You don't want to miss it. Get your tickets now.

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