About Henry, Alan, Loss and Hope

I lost a friend today. I'm still processing the fact that he no longer walks this Earth. Having been told years ago that storytelling is good for the soul, I want to talk about my friend. Alan. But I need to start with Henry.

Many people are familiar with Henry Bergh who is known as the founder of the animal protection movement in the United States although that was certainly not his only achievement.  Bergh promoted the first animal protection law in 1867 which was essentially the first form of a CAPA (Companion Animal Protection Act) advocates promote today to codify the way tax-funded shelters operate.  Bergh created not only the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but also created a society for protection of children - showing that compassion for animals and for people are not mutually exclusive. Bergh was was subjected to the same criticism and ridicule as advocates are today, but was determined to do what was right. He was also concerned about the corrupting influences of money, power and politics which we have seen play out in animal welfare circles in full force over the last decade. Bergh was known of as the The Great Meddler. Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center wrote this about Bergh's efforts:   "Bergh fought for horses, dogs, cats, animals raised and killed for food, and more. Every time he was told he should stick to dogs or horses and was going too far, as when he attempted to ban the shooting of pigeons, the killing of rats, or to get a law passed banning vivisection (laboratory and medical school experiments on animals), Bergh was undeterred."

There were many years when the No Kill Advocacy Center issued Henry Bergh Awards to leaders in the No Kill movement which seeks to end the killing of healthy and treatable animals in our tax-funded animal shelters. If the award process had continued, I'd like to think Alan would have received one. I knew Alan Rosenberg as one of my many contacts across the country in the trenches of animal advocacy, specifically advocating for reform of tax-funded animal shelters. Everyone has heard of the ASPCA (that has strayed light years away from Bergh's vision) and Humane World (that used to be the Humane Society of the United States), large organizations people think are helping animals when what they do best is spend your money. Alan was a key  member of what I consider a band of brothers and sisters across the country working in the trenches to change our society and how we treat companion animals. He was just one guy. He worked a full-time job, had a family, didn't get paid for his advocacy and spoke out for animals because it was just the right thing to do. Like many of us who belong to social movements and interact with people not only in this country but around the globe, I never met Alan in person but that mattered little. He was my friend. We spoke by phone often, shared countless emails and spent hours upon hours participating in videos for the No Kill in Motion channel on Youtube including short videos we called No Kill Uncaged like this one.  Alan was our "numbers guy" and I'm not ashamed to say he was the smartest person in our group. He wrote incredibly detailed blogs on his New Jersey Animal Observer website most of which were based on in-depth research of public records. It's hard to pick one article, but a great example is his blog from 2021 in which Alan ranked the top No Kill shelters in the country in which he concluded that the Lake County Animal Shelter in Florida was the example for other shelters to emulate. Davyd Smith of No Kill Colorado did a special No Kill in Motion segment with Alan about his research which is a personal favorite of mine. Looking back at it now, I smile at Alan's wavy hair with the backdrop of a treadmill and a cat tree. 

Alan lived in New Jersey but like many people active in the No Kill movement, the effects of his advocacy were felt across the nation. People looked to Alan not just for his affinity for numbers and analysis, but because of his breadth of knowledge of No Kill programs and services he had seen work in communities large and small, wealthy and poor, suburban and rural. He was an unapologetic proponent of the No Kill Equation as the solution to end the killing of healthy and treatable animals in our nation's shelters and did not hesitate to help anyone who sought his counsel. There were many times when people from other states contacted me for help and while I did all I could to guide them, I often referred them to Alan. He had a way of speaking with people that helped them understand the Equation clearly and was full of examples of how each element of the Equation could be implemented anywhere to affect change. I marveled at not just his communication skills but the way his brain worked. It was a marvel to behold.

Alan was a modern renaissance man in all sense of the phrase. He worked at Pfizer and was proud of the work the company does to help people, particularly developing vaccines to save countless lives during the pandemic. Alan was a devoted husband to his wife Estrella and a devoted father to his son Gavin. I often wondered how he had the time to advocate for shelter reform at all considering how full his life was with so many activities with his family and his job. To say Alan led a purpose-filled life is a tremendous understatement. That we all should spend our time her with so much meaning. It was totally unrelated to our connection through advocacy, but I remember finding so much joy in Alan's posts on social media about his west coast baseball stadium tour with his family that include the Petco Park Stadium in home hometown of San Diego. 

I last spoke with Alan a few months ago to ask some question about stats and he told me he would be backing away from advocacy for a while due to some health issues. I didn't press him on the subject because it was none of my business. I just wished him well, told him I would pray for him and asked him to keep in touch. Little did I know we would never talk again. We all know time is short and none of us is guaranteed our next day on this Earth with the families we love and as we devote time to causes about which we are passionate. When Davyd Smith called me today to tell me Alan had died, I was shocked. I babbled. And then when I hung up the phone I cried. I will miss my friend.

Alan and I never talked about religion or his beliefs, but I would like to think he has been rewarded for a life well lived and that maybe, just maybe, he and Henry will meet and engage in many spirited discussions about what we owe children, what we owe animals and what we owe companion animals specifically. I fully expect Alan would remember some stats and research off the top of his head so he could share with Henry how far the movement he started has come in all these years. That thought put a smile on my face today and I plan to hold onto it in the months and years to come. Gone too soon, my friend. May you now rest.

(this image was shared by Alan's wife, Estrella, and has been modified to suit my beliefs about him)

If you would like to watch the No Kill in Motion tribute to Alan, it is on our No Kill in Motion Youtube channel at this link. Many people in Alan's life may not be aware of the full extent of his advocacy efforts to we wanted to not only honor our friend, but give people some insight into his advocacy which helped change how shelters operate across the country.

Note:  The Celebration of Life for Alan will be held on Sunday, October 12, 2025 at Herbal Roots Organics in Boonton, New Jersey. Donations in his honor may be made to the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Research Foundation.

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