Sean Casey, Pet Rescuer

A Brooklyn-born animal lover is on a lifelong mission to save every stray, from the canine to the cold-blooded, that roam our city’s streets.

Photos by Jessica Bal

I arrived at Sean Casey’s shelter on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in April. The pet store comprising one-half of the building was packed. As I waited outside for room to open up in the rescue’s narrow entryway, I found myself next to a woman on a bench with a small, white, patchy-bald terrier mix perched on her lap. The dog jutted his nose out into the air between us, sniffed it, and then slipped his tongue out to give my hand a surreptitious lick.

“Hiiii,” I cooed to him. I extended my hand to pat his head, but he swiftly ducked away shyly.

The volunteer holding the dog grinned. “Want to walk him?” she asked, already holding out his leash toward me. The woman smiled happily as I reached for it.

All it took was one walk around the block and some persuasion from the shelter’s earnest, passionate employees—“He loves you! He’s perfect for you!”—and my boyfriend and I decided to adopt the dog. We settled on a name: Otis. As Alex and I filled out the adoption pap…