About Robert Shapiro

Social Tees Animal Rescue
Robert Shapiro founded Social Tees Animal Rescue in 1991. Why is it called “Social Tees” if we rescue animals? Good question! Social Tees started out as a company that made tee shirts featuring messages to raise awareness about social issues like race, literacy, poverty, and more. A longtime animal lover and reptile expert, Shapiro also made Social Tees a no-kill, not-for-profit animal shelter. Our awesome shirts (check ‘em out HERE!) are sold at fundraisers run by schools, churches, human rights organizations, and many other groups on missions to improve their communities. Other clients include the National Organization for Women, the United Nations, Planned Parenthood, and MTV. You can also find Social Tees’s full line in retail stores nationwide. A portion of all proceeds goes to important causes and organizations such as Amnesty International, AIDS research, and animal rights.

Reptiles
In addition to dogs and cats, Shapiro rescues, rehabilitates, and places hundreds of small common and exotic reptiles each year. If you’re the proud owner of a reptile and would like FREE ADVICE on how to make sure it stays happy and healthy, call or visit him anytime!!

Shapiro’s rescue work has been featured on National Geographic, Animal Planet, The Discovery Channel, “NY1″ (as the New Yorker of the Week), and “To Tell the Truth.”

Personal Projects
Shapiro is passionate about the environment. He is working on a number of personal projects that will help kids, grownups, and families have more fun (and less stress!) by learning about the world around them. He is also working on a few projects that will help make it easier for families and individuals to find a pet that matches their lifestyle. The goal is always to get more animals adopted from kill shelters and to prevent more from ending up at them in the first place.

Cool Accomplishments
1. Wrote a textbook covering all 6000 known species of reptiles at the age of 19
2. Illustrated a book of Faberge Eggs for Forbes Magazine (Doubleday) while attending Parson’s School of Design
3. Was a nationally ranked handball player
4. Wrote an article about how to live a more fulfilling life by finding your personal definition of “enough stuff” that was published in Scholastic Parent & Child magazine in 2012
5. Invented a fire safety device, a “Modular Atrophy Prevention Machine” for rehabilitating bed-ridden hospital patients, and a mechanism that will prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel, all three of which he holds patents for
6. Completed a children’s book about saving turtles

Stuff He Loves
Animals (of course), playing handball, the New York Times, long distance cycling, Brussels sprouts, crossword puzzles, Broadway Danny Rose, slicing garlic, his cat named Oskar, train rides, and heat.