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Celebrities Helping Pets
- 1. "A ""Cause"" to Celebrate (Prince)"
- 2. "How ""Shweet"" It Is! (Cartoonist Patrick McDonnell)"
- 3. More than a Game (Bob Barker)
- 4. Den Mother (Tippi Hedren)
- 5. Something to Believe In (Rikki Rockett)
- 6. One Life to Give (Catherine Hickland)
- 7. Canine Crusader Burt Ward
- 8. Casting Out the Demons (Linda Blair)
- 9. Donna Salyers Makes a Difference
Casting Out the Demons (Linda Blair)
Kastle Waserman
Mention Linda Blair's name and people still conjure up the
image of the possessed child in the 1973 thriller, The
Exorcist. Most would never have thought that the actress's
adult years would be spent working with a different type of
horror: animal abuse. But the child star, who also appeared in
the feature films Roller Boogie and Sarah T.: Portrait of a
Teenage Alcoholic, now spends much of her time working with
animal rescue and shelter organizations.
In spring 2002, Blair made an appearance at Farm Sanctuary's
"Walk for the Animals." This nonprofit organization
(www.farmsanctuary.org) is working to put an end to cruel animal
slaughter practices in the food industry. The walks - and
appearances by celebrities such as Blair - help raise awareness
of the cause. "At this point in history, the need for a walk on
the behalf of farm animals is pretty incredible," Blair sighs. "I
go out there and talk about my work rescuing chickens and
turkeys. The ones who are rescued out of battery cages are very
friendly and sweet. They've been abused, just by living in a cage
so small, and some have their beaks cut off. The conditions are
just inhumane." Blair is also being trained by members of Farm
Sanctuary to participate in slaughterhouse rescues by personally
going into unacceptable farm conditions and taking the animals
out.
In addition to her Farm Sanctuary efforts, Blair works with
the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to fighting the illegal slaughter of marine wildlife.
"I want to try to bring international attention to the clubbing
of baby seals," Blair says, adding that she is making plans to
personally attend one of Sea Shepherd's seal rescue
campaigns.
Closer to her Southern California home, Blair focuses on her
role as president of Pacific Coast Dog Rescue. Here she works to
save dogs from "death row" shelters and finds them homes. The
70-dog, no-kill shelter, founded by local resident David Roe,
hosts adoption weekends, which can be viewed online at
www.pcdogrescue.org.
It's a busy schedule for a woman whose own home is a bit
high-maintenance with a collection of dogs, chickens and her
former show horse. "They all wander around and hang out with each
other," she laughs.
Among her housemates is a dog named Sunny, a dark brindle
American Staffordshire terrier whom she calls "angel boy" because
he followed her home at a time when she really needed some
creature comforts. "My mother had just passed away and two of my
dogs had died. I was not happy," Blair says. "And Sunny followed
me home one day. Like everyone else, I was scared of this massive
dog! But it turned out he rescued my heart. He let me know that
God had sent me an angel." Blair's other animal companions
include Jane, a Siberian husky, and Riley, a pit bull she
rescued. "I've been working with pit bulls the past couple of
years," she says. "It's been a completely unique experience.
These animals will not stand for any type of abuse. They will
lash out. But they're actually very sweet. The people who have
them love them dearly. You have to treat them with love and
respect."
When it comes to her love for animals, Blair says, "I was born
this way." She says that her mother's teaching of respect for
animals also contributed to the development of a nurturing
personality. And it's not just the animals she's concerned with
saving; she cares about human health issues, as well. Part of
Blair's work includes spreading the word on how dietary habits
affect people's health and the environment. She recently
self-published her book, Going Vegan (www.linda-
blair.com), which contains information on how chemicals affect
the food chain, as well as the religious philosophies that oppose
man's consumption of animals.
Blair chose to become a vegetarian after learning about some
environmental issues. "I was reading about acid rain, pesticides
and how cattle graze and consume these chemicals and how the
pesticide runoff goes into the oceans and affects the fish and
lobster and shrimp.
I thought, 'Oh my God!' and I never touched meat or seafood
again."
But of course, it is her life in front of the camera that she
is best known for. While The Exorcist put her in the
spotlight many years ago, she admits it took a long time to shake
the negative stigma that followed. "I found dealing with The
Exorcist to be one of my most difficult journeys. So I had to
ask the question, 'Why was I chosen for this film?' But years
later, people started to see that I went on to other things.
The Exorcist gave me a platform, and I'm grateful now that
people recognize me and the work I do for animals."
For now, Blair's immediate goal is to combine her work with
the camera and her mission of animal awareness by making her
directorial debut on a film project that deals with animals and
health issues. "People need to realize that I put myself in these
situations to expose lies and atrocities. I love these animals
dearly. There's nothing I won't do to help them."
Kastle Waserman is a freelance journalist based in Los
Angeles.
© 2003 ASPCA
ASPCA Animal Watch - Spring 2003
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