STATEWIDE - NJN Public Television celebrates a decade of commitment to improving animal welfare and matching homeless pets with caring people in a special half-hour program Homeless Tails, A Decade of Caring, which will be broadcast on Saturday, December 20, at 12:30 pm; Sunday, December 21, at 6 pm; and Thursday, December 25, at 6 pm. Thousands of dogs and cats crowd New Jersey's animal shelters and rescue groups, hoping for a second chance in a loving home. For more than ten years, NJN's Homeless Tails has saved lives by bringing together unwanted pets and people who want to help and by providing valuable information about proper pet care.

In this half-hour special, host and producer Sandy Levine revisits some of the serious humane topics covered during the past ten years. Topics include preventing animal cruelty, the importance of spaying and neutering, and the difficulties of keeping exotic animals as pets. The program highlights several of Homeless Tails' many heartwarming success stories.

In Homeless Tails, A Decade of Caring, key leaders of New Jersey's animal welfare community talk about the progress made in addressing New Jersey's companion animal overpopulation problem and the challenges that remain. Since Homeless Tails began, members of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association have donated more than 500 spays and neuters to animals adopted from featured shelters. Nina Austenberg, director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of The Humane Society of the United States credits the program with improving the lives of thousands of animals in New Jersey.

Ms. Levine, whose love for animals began in early childhood, has been the creative force behind Homeless Tails for the past eight years. In November 2002, The Humane Society of the United States Mid-Atlantic Regional Office honored Levine for her accomplishments on behalf of animals, and the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly issued a Joint Legislative Resolution, commending her for her efforts. Levine has been nominated six times for regional Emmy Awards of which five were for her work on animals.

Funding for Homeless Tails, A Decade of Caring is provided by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.