Riding to the Rescue
 A New York biker, Joe Panz has been a street
tough all his life and has faced some dangerous
situations. One of the worst was when he was
betrayed by people he thought were friends. They set
him up and lured him into a bar where he was shot
five times before escaping.
“I couldn’t go to the hospital because that’s the next
place they would look for me,” he says. “I knew I had
to go home, and I couldn’t depend on anyone for help
because I didn’t know who was my friend and who was
looking to finish the job.” Joe did have one loyal ally – his Rottweiler. “They’re
very keen dogs and know if something is wrong. That
dog watched out for me all night. I knew he would protect
me, no matter what, if someone came to the door.
My friends turned on me, but I could depend on that dog
through thick and thin.”
Turning Point
For Joe it was a turning point. He’s always had a soft spot for
animals, but his dog’s loyalty in the worst of times sealed
his commitment to them. In 2007, along with two other
biker buddies, Johnny O and Big Ant, he became one of the
founding members of Rescue Ink (rescueink.org), a group
of burly tattooed bikers dedicated to saving animals from
dangerous and abusive situations. “I’m just paying back the
favor,” Joe says. The group will handle virtually any situation
where animals are in danger, from breaking up pit bull
fighting rings to assisting hoarders. They’ve helped dogs,
cats, horses, ducks, chickens, turtles and even fish.
Rescue Ink has a rotating membership, with anywhere from nine
to 14 members actively participating at any given time. “We try
to keep the group small so it’s agile,” Joe explains. “Guys come
and go for different reasons. Some get burned out, some go on to
other things. This is rough work, and we risk our lives daily. We
never know what’s on the other side of a door or what we might
be walking into, but we do whatever is necessary to get an animal
out of a dangerous situation.” Rescue Ink also has a “den mother” named Mary Fayet who works tirelessly in the background to
coordinate their efforts. She answers phone calls and emails and
sends complaints to the appropriate people for investigation.
 “We have many other people helping us,” Joe says. “Some are
retired from the police force so they can check out individuals.
This includes getting photos of them and their cars, finding out
their workplace and seeing if they are felons or have weapons
or a violent history. We don’t want to get in a situation without
knowing exactly what’s going on.”
No Nonsense Approach
If the situation warrants it, the perpetrator will get a visit from
Rescue Ink and receive some re-education. The group keeps
its tactics within the law, but Joe emphasizes, “We can be very
convincing. Once they meet us, it usually takes care of the
situation because they don’t want us coming back.”
Rescue Ink also gets involved in situations that tend to go along
with animal abuse, like spousal or child abuse. “A lot of times we
find there’s more going on when we investigate animal cruelty,” Joe says. “Abusers like to hone their skills on animals because
they can’t talk and it’s easy to hide. They get more comfortable
and turn on other helpless victims like women, children or the
elderly. Some use the animal to show a woman what they will
do to her if she tries to leave, or they threaten to kill the animal
if she tries to go.”
Joe says the group hopes to break the cycle of violence by
educating abusers. “Kids see violence in their neighborhoods
and homes, they grow up and act the same way because they
get desensitized. We make sure they know the proper way to
treat people and animals. We make a good first impression and
let them know we’ll be watching. Believe me, they don’t want
another visit.” Rescue Ink also tackles the cycle at its roots by
going into inner city and reform schools to educate kids about
the humane treatment of animals. “We try to instill that you can
be tough and still do the right thing,” Joe says.
The group has a hot rod pet ambulance that started out as a
donated clunker. It was converted into a mobile clinic, and
veterinarians and vet techs donate their time to provide free
services for elderly and housebound people. They also run an
animal sanctuary upstate where animals are rehabilitated before
adoption. Those that cannot work through aggression or other
issues live out their lives at the sanctuary.
Canine Mascot
Of all the rescues the group has done, one stands out in Joe’s mind.
A Humane Society broke up a dog fighting ring in Kentucky and
came across a dog that had been used for baiting. Bait dogs are
like unwilling sparring partners and are used to train fighting dogs
and get them used to blood. The dog was hiding in someone’s
garage, eating out of their own dog’s bowls. The Humane Society
dubbed him Ribbon because of his torn-up ears.
“We told them we would do whatever was necessary to save
him,” says Joe. “We were assisted by Animal Rescue Flights,
a group of volunteer plane owners who help us out a lot. We
brought the dog to New York, had him vetted and nursed him
back to health. We were going to adopt him out, but he really
touched a chord because he’d been through such rough times
and almost lost his life, but he pulled through. He reminded us
of our own personal trials. We didn’t want him to ever get in a
bad situation again, so we kept him. Now he’s our mascot, and
we named him Rebel because we didn’t want him to have the
stigma of his old name.”
Rescue Ink is funded entirely by donations and has garnered a lot
of media attention. It started with a story in the New York Times
that generated a huge response. Viking Books published a book
about the group, and National Geographic is producing a television
show. Meanwhile, the group is staying busy, both in New York
and farther afield, doing whatever it takes to help animals at risk. “We go wherever the need and our funds take us.” |
