From early in the morning till late at night, Linda Blair lovingly cares for the dogs that live at her WorldHeart Foundation in Acton.
Over the years, her life's savings have, you could say, "gone to the dogs" ... but in a good way, for animal welfare. But as she looks ahead, she knows she needs fellow animal lovers in her corner, so she can keep helping dogs like Goober, and Peedunkle, and the other dogs waiting for good homes.
"There's not enough volunteers. There's not enough financial aid at all and I think one of the biggest things people say is, 'But you're Linda Blair. You're rich and famous.' Famous, yes. Oh yeah. That I know. But rich? No," said Linda.
Linda would like to get some acting work -- not to feed her ego -- to feed her dogs!
"If I got some good work, that would help," said Linda. "Love to work."
"So all your money is going right back to the animals?"
"Oh, heck yeah it is," said Linda.
One of the resident dogs, Thomas Beckett, was just left somewhere tied up. "Thomas Beckett was really shy," said Linda.
Linda has also rescued pit bulls that were abused by their former owners.
"I have dogs that had embedded collars, they had graffiti on them. My golly," said Blair.
When Bindi here was found in Orange County last year, she had open wounds on her back.
"Bindi needs a home," said Linda. "Bindi had acid thrown on her back."
Linda has seen it all. After Hurricane Katrina, she helped get hundreds of dogs out of Louisiana and into better surroundings. She felt the love firsthand. And she was thrilled when Sugar got a home. Sweet! Hannah Montana is another one of the dogs ready to be adopted at Linda's Acton foundation.
Linda's experience back then helped shape what she is doing today.
"Probably Native Americans had a lot of effect on me, having respect for all life," said Linda. "I work for animal and human welfare. I'm just trying to make a difference on this planet."
