Prendeville honored by Indianapolis mayor: Indy Pro Series driver Andrew Prendeville’s efforts to raise money for animal welfare programs have not gone unnoticed by the mayor of the racing capital of the world, Indianapolis.
Prendeville, driver of the RLR/Andersen Racing Best Friends Animal Society No. 5 in the Indy Pro Series, received a special recognition from Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who appointed Prendeville “an honorary citizen of the city of Indianapolis” recently.
“Few have earned more respect and gratitude from our citizens or have served our community more notably than Andrew Prendeville, ” the proclamation read.
Prendeville, 25, of Morristown, N.J., developed a program called “Racing Laps for Best Friends” that allows fans to make donations to Best Friends Animal Society through a Web site at racinglapsforbestfriends.com. Fans make monetary donations based on the number of laps Prendeville completes in his races. He competed in three races this year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 25, June 16 and June 17.
With headquarters in Kanab, Utah, Best Friends operates the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the United States. It is affiliated with animal shelters throughout the world, including Indianapolis Animal Care & Control, 2600 S. Harding St., Indianapolis.
As part of his promotional work prior to the Liberty Challenge in June, Prendeville was a guest on WXIN-TV’s “FOX59 Morning News.” He arranged to have Pacer, a golden retriever mix being cared for at Indianapolis Animal Care & Control, to be on the show with him in the hopes of finding Pacer a new home.
“Our interim administrator, Steve Talley, and all of us really appreciated Andrew thinking of us, and we told the mayor about it, ” said Adam Garrett, Indianapolis Animal Care & Control’s volunteer coordinator and public information officer. “It was great that Andrew was able to get Pacer on TV. He hasn’t found a new home here yet, but he’s been selected to be on our animal transport to Massachusetts this week.
“With their strong spay and neuter laws, some of the New England states don’t have enough strays for their shelters sometimes, so they periodically take some of ours and try to find new homes for them up there, ” Garrett said. “It’s a partnership we have with them. We try to work together, just like Best Friends does. Pacer will leave for New England on (July 5), and hopefully he’ll find a new home there. ”
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