SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. – Sitting holding two little puppies that just got rescued from China, with her own baby on the way, Joanna Krupa can’t help but remember how her love of animals started with a simple lesson in humanity.
“My mom always taught my sister and I to not only love our family and friends but to care for one another, not only human beings but also the animals,” Krupa said.
Krupa is an international model who also has appeared on reality TV shows, but her platform’s purpose came to fruition 15 years ago when she learned about a festival happening halfway across the world.
“I never thought such cruelty can go on in the world,” Krupa said.
She is talking about the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which happens every year on the summer solstice in China. The festival is a particularly gruesome display of the dog meat trade, where 10,000 dogs are killed and eaten.
“They basically skin them alive, beat them to death, boil them alive, just because it’s a festival. Every June this happens," said Krupa. "Thousands of animals get tortured because they feel the more torture to the animal is the more adrenaline, (and) the better the meat.”
She began using modeling to spread awareness, teaming up with PETA for various campaigns. She even starting her own animal rescue organization, Angels for Animal Rescue.
Krupa eventually found Animal Hope and Wellness in Sherman Oaks, a rescue that specifically helps dogs that have been severely abused, like Stark. He was hung from meat hooks in China. He barely made it out of there alive, losing a limb, but he is safe now at Animal Hope and Wellness.
The rescue most recently found a puppy burned and abandoned in a dumpster in Coachella. Krupa and actress Shannon Doherty each donated $5,000, bringing the total reward the shelter was offering to $20,000 to catch the culprit responsible for abusing and abandoning the dog.
As she is beginning her motherhood journey, recently announcing her pregnancy, Joanna has big plans for her child and his or her place in the animal welfare world.
“I will be taking my little babies to the doggie shelter. They will be picking up poop after doggies they will learn how to come and volunteer. We will drop off blankets and dog food. I will never take them to the zoo. I just really want my children to understand that animals are important. Just because they don’t have a voice does not make them any less important than humans,” Krupa said.
She plans to teach her baby about humanity and morality. Krupa believes that mankind's true moral test is its treatment of those at its mercy, animals.
“I think I’ve opened up a lot of eyes to people that follow me and understand the cruelty that goes on in the world,” Krupa said.
She frequently posted on Instagram about Hope, in fact many of her social media posts are animal related. When it comes to social media, and her following of more than a million people, she takes it seriously because she knows it has serious power.
“Followers and fans really do follow what you do and if somebody is really passionate about an organization people do follow and sometimes you educate them. A lot of times people don’t understand what goes on in the world, I certainly didn’t 15 years ago,” Krupa said.
