Morgan Bogle to the (Animal!) Rescue
Somewhere between racking up degrees from Central Saint Martins and SCAD, interning for Marc Jacobs, working a series of high-profile gigs, and launching her new line of sustainable vegan handbags, Morgan Bogle has consistently found time to lend a hand to animals in need. Alongside boyfriend and business partner Scott MacDonough, the Freedom Of Animals designer has logged countless hours volunteering for animal rescue and wildlife conservation groups. And we mean countless–she's labored on behalf of tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, tended to orphaned cheetahs in South Africa, and rescued 10 pitbulls and counting.
"We've been to and volunteered with a bunch of organizations that are poorly run and have very little funding. It's hard to give them credit when there is not even a website to check out," Bogle explains. "The one exception was an organization that really stuck in our heads–a circus and entertainment animal retirement sanctuary out in Northern Cali named PAWS." The group–whose name stands for Performing Animal Welfare Society–rescues animals from the entertainment industry and exotic animal trade, creating and maintaining natural habitats where formerly abused, injured and abandoned animals can live out the rest of their days.
Though she has yet to personally work with them, Bogle's also "a huge fan of the David Sheldrick foundation over in Kenya." In addition to pioneering wildlife and habitat protection efforts in East Africa, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust runs what has been recognized as the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. The late Sheldrick's wife, celebrated conservationist and author Daphne Sheldrick, heads up the trust and is a particular source of inspiration to Bogle. "I've seen all her documentaries and read all her books and articles," she says. "What they are doing is really incredible!"
To learn more about these Bogle-approved rescue groups, check out www.pawsweb.org and www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.
