Sutton Foster (lev radin / Shutterstock.com)
Sutton Foster’s four-legged fans have something to bark about. The Tony Award-winning actress will support two new initiates to help needy shelter animals: Sutton’s Spotlight, launching on November 1, is a new social media campaign to help shelter dogs find forever homes; Towels for Toto will bring the Broadway community together to provide comfort and support to shelters and needy animals.
“Animal welfare is a passion of mine, and I am so excited to be able to help these special animals,” said Foster. “I have always had rescue dogs, and they fill my home with love and joy. I am happy to do whatever I can to help find forever homes for the many dogs who are sitting in shelters waiting for their own special rescuer and to work with Broadway productions to bring comfort to animals awaiting adoption.”
Sutton’s Spotlight will provide a platform to help needy shelter dogs find forever homes. Foster will begin a series highlighting special animals available for adoption, starting November 1. Photos and each dog’s story will be posted on Foster’s Instagram account.
Over three million dogs are sent to animal shelters each year, and only half that amount is adopted. Puppies and popular breeds are most likely to be adopted. By spotlighting loving older dogs and some pups with special needs, Foster hopes to help find homes for dogs who might be overlooked at first glance. Foster is partnering with the Humane Society of New York, The Westchester SPCA and PetResQ to help these pups find forever homes.
Additionally, Foster is partnering on Towels for Toto, a joint initiative with the Broadway Community, Broadway Green Alliance (BGA), the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, and animal activists Bill and Dorothy Berloni. This initiative will help animal shelters by repurposing towels, blankets and linens for local animal shelters, where they will become bedding and provide comfort to scores of rescue dogs and other animals. (Who wouldn’t want to snuggle up in a bed made from Hugh Jackman’s makeup towel or Bruce Springsteen’s dressing room linens?)
Besides rescuing her own pets, Foster has shown compassion for helping animals by participating in Broadway Barks, an adoption event co-founded by Bernadette Peters and the late Mary Tyler Moore, as well as benefits for the Humane Societies of the U.S. and N.Y. and the ASPCA. She is the author of Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life and she will next star in the upcoming Broadway revival of The Music Man opposite Hugh Jackman.
Foster has appeared in 11 Broadway shows and is a two-time Tony Award winner for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has led the critically-acclaimed TV series “Younger” and also starred on television in “Bunheads” and “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” among other notable credits. Foster has delivered three albums: “Wish” (2009), “An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Café Carlyle” (2011), and “Take Me to the World” (2018).
