Linda Blair: When I was about five years old, my mother saw an article in a magazine about kids modeling and doing commercials so she took me to an agent in New York. My mother told me that by working and saving my money, I could become a veterinarian. After working really hard as a child in commercials and modeling I asked my mom if I could quit since we were not going to move to California and she agreed. Two weeks later the interview for “The Exorcist” came along. If it had come along a month or two later, it would have not been me.

Blair: Being nominated for the Academy Award; winning the Golden Globe and the People’s Choice. No one can ever take that from you.

Blair: Only if they care passionately about them, but to just show up at events because their publicist said so doesn’t make sense. I wish more celebrities would follow their hearts because they have the ability to be heard.

Blair: My mom taught me love for all animals and cats taught me friendship. Sometimes they were my only friend when I was working all the time.

Blair: Before my mother died in 1994, one of my dogs passed away then my other dog died suddenly in 1997. I felt that I had lost everything I had ever loved. While crying one day I had a vision of animals in the shelters saying “What about me?” I immediately thought I could help animals by fostering, to get them to the next step. They just need a place of love, compassion and security for the time being until their ‘forever family’ comes along. Fostering led to finding out a lot of the problems with people. One day I was walking my dog and a big black pit bull followed me home. I was scared to death – like everyone else I thought he was going to attack. Well, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. He was begging for help. His chest was all torn up and I ended up giving him sanctuary for six weeks and fell in love. He healed my heart. Pit bulls are funny, loving and amazing animals and a lot of people will not have the pleasure to know them because they are afraid. And yes we do have too many irresponsible people today that don’t understand the breed and want them for other reasons.

After doing a segment on “Good Day L.A.” with a rescue dog I became President of Pacific Coast Dog Rescue. From there, I learned of people turning their animals in for very poor reasons like not matching furniture! I was collecting everybody else’s ‘throwaways’ and couldn’t do ‘Death Row Rescue’. I realized there were so many more problems and Pacific Coast knew I needed to be let go. I usually rescue large dogs because they are harder to place and I just started doing small dog rescue. I came to pick up ‘last day dogs’ at the Pasadena Animal Shelter, meaning they were to be euthanized that day and I asked if they had small dogs they wanted me to take. They showed me “Rudy” (named after Rudolph Valentino), who was hit and dragged by a car. People don’t realize that the sick and the injured can be healed along with their remarkable spirits! My belief is we need that next Doris Day and that’s who I feel like I am. That’s why I started my Foundation. I will do this work on behalf of the animals until I am no longer on the planet.

Blair: In my book “Going Vegan” I explain that there are so many alternatives that can give you the same benefit and flavors rather than eating animals. And the shear horror the animals are forced to suffer for you... If I can do it, anybody can because I’ve been anemic my entire life. The minute I stopped eating animals I never had a weight problem again!

Blair: Color Me Mine in Studio City as well as in Porter Ranch heard that I have been looking to build a rescue/educational facility and offered to have a fundraising event where families can pick a dog bowl and/or dog figurine to paint as well as other fun activities. There will be silent auctions, food etc. The event will also launch my “Born Innocent: An American Crisis” campaign to help end pet over population and animal abuse.

Blair: Denise, I am so emotionally and physically exhausted from rescuing, but when I gave my word, my word is everything. The shelters are full of FABULOUS animals and we need people to PLEASE stop buying them. Channel 2 News has done these undercover reports on how the poverty areas of Mexico find ways to make money by importing animals over the border in car engines, under seats – these are just two and three week old puppies! The puppies’ parents live a life of hell in puppy mills confined to small kennels, living in their own feces, making them sick, so genetically the offspring are sick to begin with. They don’t get their shots let alone any love and attention. And stop buying from ‘pet stores’! Every time you think you are buying a designer dog, it is a ‘mutt’, plain and simple. Don’t buy animals people are selling on the side of the road either. Understand that those animals may be very sick and every time you buy one, they go out and replace the animal with another one! So Rescue! Go to a good rescue organization, go into the shelters, come out to adoption events. Spaying and neutering is so important too! Even if you don’t have a pet or are not allowed to have pets, you can always donate to help the animals. Linda Blair World Heart Foundation itself needs funding to get into the school systems and educate the children. More kids have been to a dog fight now than have a wonderful companion animal at home. Where there’s dog fighting, there are drugs and guns.

I wish people that own apartment buildings would be open minded and allow their tenants to have pets. Companion animals save peoples’ hearts and lives! And why can’t we foster four animals if we are being responsible? There are people that are doing great work and constantly you’ve got law enforcement and all these legal issues against us. It’s not right.
And for those that are afraid to go into the shelters – know that the animals stuck in there are FAR more afraid than what you could ever feel. Your sadness visiting a facility is nothing compared to how scared they are every minute, knowing many times that they are on Death Row. PLEASE go to the shelters and rescue - they are as scared as you are sad to go in there. They have no choice; they are locked up hoping someone will come get them. Nobody wants to go visit jail and the animals don’t want to BE in jail!