Our Story
Against All Oddz is not just an animal sanctuary. It is not just a rescue. Nor is it just a legal-based animal advocacy resource center. While it is all of those things, founder and attorney Matthew Albert says it is more than just that. It is a state of mind. The two core tenets of Against All Oddz are the sanctity of life and the power of redemption. We believe in empowering people, empowering animals, and empowering people through the gift of animals.
Founded in 2015 as a rescue, Against All Oddz, a 501c3 New York state registered not-for-profit agency, took the next step by purchasing 30 acres of land in Darien Center, NY. From there, we have built structures to rescue and rehabilitate animals. With the legal background of our founder and members, Against All Oddz’s niche and focus is dogs ensnared in the legal system and providing those animals with both legal representation and rehabilitative assistance. We have also served as consultants to other attorneys to advocate for animals and now have a sanctuary and place of refuge for courts to place animals from their cases as a humane alternative to euthanasia. From that standpoint, Against All Oddz is the first of its kind in the United States to have such a holistic approach to dealing with court case dogs.
However, Against All Oddz does not just take on all court case dogs. We serve as a rescue of last resort and have assisted other animal rescues that have nowhere else to place dogs. Dogs that have run out of options and places to go. With that in mind, our biggest obstacle is developing an infrastructure to deal with the ever-rising demand. We try and assist everyone that calls us with an issue whether that be by linking an owner up with a certified trainer in their area, finding legal representation for an animal, and everything in between. We are in desperate need of fosters and/or volunteers to handle the ever-growing demand for our services.
Meet Our Team
Matt Albert
As the founder of Against All Oddz, Matthew Albert is a grizzled veteran of animal rights. He started his journey in 2007 at the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, where, as a prosecutor, he oversaw a countywide anti-animal cruelty task force centered around breaking up dog fighting rings. Upon going to private practice, Albert continued to fight for animals in pursuing civil rights claims where dogs were shot by police officers during search warrants. In fact, Albert filed and won a litany of lawsuits against the Buffalo Police Department, a rogue outfit that shot more dogs than any other police department of its size in the nation. Because of these lawsuits, dog shootings by police have practically become eradicated in both Buffalo and beyond.
During this time, Albert also volunteered for numerous dog and cat rescues and ultimately became a vegan. When founding Against All Oddz, Albert’s vision and goal was to combine elements of both law and rescue in making the world more friendly towards our four-legged friends. To this effect, Against All Oddz has many dogs from court cases that were both litigated by Albert or an attorney working for him, and then placed into Against All Oddz’s care accordingly. His ultimate goal through Against All Oddz is to help pass legislation and laws that would ban and criminalize factory farming as well puppy mills.
Christine Townsend
Christine Townsend has been a Director for Against All Oddz since 2019. Prior to that, she has been involved in animal rescue for 25+ years. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, she began rescuing stray cats from Buffalo’s East and West side neighborhoods. She would vet them and find loving homes for them. It was not long before she began fostering pregnant cats, and then kittens, for a local animal shelter. She grew up with cats and dogs and as soon as she had a house of her own, she adopted her first boxer, Cleo, from a local shelter.
Cleo joined Christine and her little cat family. It wasn’t long before she adopted her second boxer, Dominic, from Second Chance Boxer Rescue. Then there was Winston, the flashy fawn boxer. He stole her heart and her shoes. The original boxer bunch made their way to the rainbow bridge, but not before showing a very loyal and sassy Boston terrier, Frieda, the ropes. Before Frieda passed away, she was the leader of the current pack, which consists of Bentley(her deaf boy) and Avery, both boxers and adopted from Second Chance Boxer Rescue. Frieda also helped train the Shih Tzu, Milo, how to be the good boy he is today.
Today, Bentley, Avery, and Milo share their house with several rescue cats and Christine’s teenage daughter, Cassandra. Cassandra has grown up in the rescue world. She has learned from a young age how good it feels to help animals in need and is also a junior of AAO. Cassandra’s favorite part is fostering kittens, especially bottle feeding and socializing the hard-to-handle ones. Christine is a Registered Nurse full time and performs a variety of work behind the scenes with AAO. When she is able to take a break from her rescued crew at home, she enjoys spending time at the sanctuary with the dogs. As a mutual friend of Matt and Kim, Christine enjoys working to help Against All Oddz Animal Alliance grow and to continue rescuing those that others can’t.