Make Peace With Animals' Founder and President Cynthia A. Branigan

Cynthia Branigan’s involvement with the welfare and protection of animals dates back 30 years when she began working for author Cleveland Amory and his organization, The Fund for Animals. Through The Fund, she set up adoption centers across the country for over 10,000 wild burros and mustangs that the group rescued from public lands in the west. She also saved the last two Atlantic City Steel Pier diving horses and was instrumental in helping establish tougher laws to protect New York City’s carriage horses.

 Ms. Branigan adopted her first Greyhound, King, in 1987 and was inspired by him to found Make Peace With Animals, a non-profit, all-volunteer, animal protection group based in New Hope, Pennsylvania. One of their special missions is the adoption of retired racing Greyhounds and, to date, over 4,500 of these dogs have found homes through the organization.

Ms. Branigan is the author of two books on Greyhounds, both published by Howell Book House, NY. The first, Adopting The Racing Greyhound, has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide since 1992 and is now in its updated Third Edition. It is regarded as “The Bible” for anyone considering ownership of a former racing dog. The second, The Reign of the Greyhound: A Popular History of the Oldest Family of Dogs, traces the breed, the oldest of the purebreds, from 6000 B.C. to the present. It won top prize, Best General Interest Book, in 1998 from the Dog Writers’ Association of America and is now in its expanded Second Edition. For Ringpress Publishers, Ltd. of England she edited the book, Living With A Greyhound (2002) and, in 1994, wrote the chapter on adoption for The Complete Book of Greyhounds. In 2003, she was recognized by The Greyhound Project for her pioneering work on behalf of the Greyhounds.

Ms. Branigan is an award-winning journalist who has written for such publications as The New York Times, New Jersey Monthly, Equus and Dog World. Her television appearances include Animal Planet, Good Morning America and Good Day Philadelphia.Ms. Branigan also writes a monthly column called "From The Home Front" for the Greyhound Review, the magazine of the National Greyhound Association.

 As an undergraduate, Ms. Branigan was an English major at Franconia College in New Hampshire. She is now pursuing studies in history at the University of Pennsylvania. She shares a home in New Hope, Pennsylvania with her husband, Charles Rissel, and their adopted dogs and cats. Ms Branigan is a popular lecturer on the adoption of Greyhounds and the humane treatment of all animals.

Ms. Branigan will speak for the cost of her travel expenses to all-volunteer animal adoption agencies as time and finances allow. Please e-mail your request. All others, please contact the website, and Ms. Branigan will contact you regarding her availability and fees