Helping the 4-legged victims of the earthquake/tsunamis in Japan

Im not really a 'charity' kind of person.

I feel I do my part to help society with my time and knowledge, and I quite frankly dont trust most organizations with cash. Even the ones run by us can have problems.

There is a way to 'get me', though. The charity wanting funds must meet two requirements:

1-- Must be local. I can go talk to the people on the receiving end of my $$, and they can tell me what they did with the cash.
2-- That local charity is helping a) kids, b) animals.

Of course I was upset about the recent events in Japan-- like most people my thoughts were with the victims, and then went straight to "What would I do if I were in that situation?"

The first thing I would be worried about is my dog.

And then I see this (WARNING: While its a happy story, I just BAAAAAAAAAAWED and BAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWED watching the video)

Dogs, cats-- they are domesticated animals. Those dogs were (are?) someones pets. And if that was Arnieman, and I was killed or separated from him, I would be so appreciative of someone taking him in, keeping him safe, warm, puppy food, clean water-- I cannot put into words how much that would mean to me.

But how could someone in Oklahoma help the 4-legged victims of the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan?

I wouldnt even know where to start looking. And then I have no idea what the reputable local animal rescue/welfare groups are in Japan. I wouldnt give for fear of donating to some scam, like HSUS soliciting funds to help the animals of Katrina, when they were doing nothing of the sort.

So I emailed the folks over at Human Watch:

This might be out of your area of expertise, but I thought Id ask just in case-- Are there any legitimate animal welfare groups you know of that are helping out with the stranded/injured animals after the recent earthquake/tsunamis in Japan?

ERV readers have a soft spot for dogs, and seeing this story made me want to help... but then I remembered how HSUS took advantage of people after Katrina, and I wanted to make sure I didnt point my readers towards a bunk charity.

If you have any tips, I would appreciate it :)

And they quickly responded with a link to these folks Facebook page:

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support

Its a coalition of three local animal rescue groups in Japan that have come together to help dogs/cats/pets, their owners, and veterinarians in the area. Donations go towards, animal food, fuel, medical supplies, etc.

They will not go towards political campaigns against chicken farms or photo-ops with Michael Vick.

:-/

Im not asking my readers to donate, but if you were like me, looking to help the puppahs and the kittehs, this is a reputable group doing real work on the ground in Japan.

EDIT-- Hey, NPR covered these folks this morning! Ill take that as another good sign they are a reputable charity.