By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — Social justice activist Yetta Kurland’s next political battle could be as an advocate for New York City pets.
Kurland, a civil rights lawyer and active promoter of gay rights, was appalled by what she found when she had to seek medical attention for her Italian greyhound, Salvatore.
“3 hours waiting for emergency car[e] for Sal, what does that say about our health care system for animals,” she tweeted about her bad experience at an emergency pet care facility in Chelsea on Monday.
Kurland said she woke up after she heard Salvatore throwing up and enduring a bad case of diarrhea at 3 a.m. She rushed the 5-year-old dog to Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists, where he was finally put on an intravenous drip after hours of waiting.
“Health care is something we all have to think about, but animals are impacted by that as well,” said Kurland, who failed to beat out incumbent Christine Quinn for a City Council seat in District 3 last year. “I appreciate work of people in veterinary care, but this was a wake up call.
“Animals can’t talk. We must be a voice for them.”
Kurland campaigned with her two pet greyhounds at a “Yelp for Yetta” Dog Crawl in Washington Square Park in August. She also trotted her dogs out at a birthday fundraiser for the dogs at Animal Haven in SoHo in September 2008.
Kurland said Salvatore, who is believed to have a bacterial infection, is not only a “member of the family but a political inspiration.”
