One hundred and eighty cats were rescued from an animal hoarder in New York this week by the unlikeliest group of tattooed heroes. Men from animal welfare group Rescue Ink, a gang of brawny bikers who regularly come to the aid of animals in the area, rescued the kitties living at the home of Bonnie Edwards, a woman who said she didn't know how she ended up with so many felines. It could take up to a week for the team to remove all of the cats from the property, according to reports.
A biker named Batso, right, is just one of the guys that helps animals that can't help themselves. Others like Big Ant, Joe Panz, and Des "the Cat Man" work tirelessly to save animals and help them get adopted – check out the big hearted bikers on their official Web site. The organization was founded by animal-lover and avid motorcyclist, Robert Misseri, after he read an article about a man who lived near his house in Long Island that had poured gasoline on his own dog, Maximus, and set him on fire.
"When I read the article, I called a couple of the guys that I knew had the same passion," Misseri told PEOPLE in an interview earlier this year. "I had met them at motorcycle clubs and rallies. I asked them if they'd read the article, and some of them had. I said, 'I'd like to get out to Long Island and find this guy, find some information and get this guy arrested.'" The gang of guys became a non-profit in April of last year.
"Today, we're going seven days a week, sometimes working 15 hours a day," Misseri said. "Everyone's life changed drastically. We're a group of guys whose lives just changed on a dime. My weekends are no longer spent at home or with my wife. They're spent either rescuing, or at an event helping another group or cause. We were thinking it would be the same cost as when we go to a motorcycle rally. No one would've ever expected this to turn out the way it did. We get emails from other countries asking us for help."
While the group only goes out on rescues in New York and New Jersey, Misseri estimates that the group gets about 200 calls and 400-500 emails per day, from all parts of the world.
So, how do people react when a group of muscled bikers roar up on motorcycles, inquiring about animals? "I think at first they are very, very afraid," says Misseri, who is one of the few ink-free bikers. "Because they don't know who we are. Then when we tell them, 'We're here because of the animal,' they just are in awe. Then we explain that we're a rescue group, and that we're here to help them, and the animal. Then they are very [receptive]."
Want to help Rescue Ink help animals? Donate via their Web site!
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