Diane Birch Performs at Fourth Annual North Shore Animal League Gala

On November 5, Diane Birch performed at the North Shore Animal League's Fourth Annual DogCatemy Celebrity Gala, which celebrates the bond between pets and their owners. Here, the talented 26-year-old pianist and self-proclaimed animal lover recalls the events of the star-filled evening, including its unique awards ceremony.

On Thursday night, I was invited to perform for the North Shore Animal League's annual gala at Cipriani on Wall Street in NYC. Being a huge animal lover, I was really happy to be involved. NSAL is the world's largest no-kill rescue and adoption organization that helps find loving homes for around 20,000 homeless pets every year! Geraldo Rivera was the host of the evening and even brought his dogs along. Martha Stewart was also in attendance with her very cute bulldogs!

The room was filled with various celebs, hundreds of animal lovers, super cute dogs and their (at times freakishly devoted) owners! :-) The doggie outfits were highly entertaining, though at times a little on the "OMG I can't believe that poor dog has to wear that" side!

After walking my first red (green, in this case) carpet, I got to meet a bunch of adorable pets, which sadly made me realize even more that being on tour is the worst possible scenario for a pet. Personally, I'm a pug lover and have been wanting one for ages, but alas, they're not the most travel-friendly dogs as they're a bit heavy for a bag. I'm not so sure I'm really the dog-in-a-purse type gal anyway!

After a couple of moving speeches about the great work that the North Shore Animal League undertake each year, and an award-giving ceremony (Best Dogumentary, Best Pawformance, Best Tail Waggin' Comedy, Best Reel Life Tail and Best in Show) that show animals and their owners on-screen in a range of video submissions (ranging from the heart-breaking to the hilarious), it was time for some music, which I was ready to make happen. The short-but-sweet set was loads of fun and 'Valentino' even got Howard Stern bopping along!

If anyone is thinking about getting a pet, PLEASE adopt and check out North Shore Animal League. It's a seriously great organization doing really wonderful things for animals!