Houston Animal Rescuer Alaina Rosenblatt says there’s a reason to celebrate the beloved pet you will mourn at Rabbi Greene’s Yizkor Memorial Healing Service on Yom Kippur: They healed you.

“I have my own theory on why animals come and go in our lives, and what their connections are to us,” she says. “There is a reason animals are here. They have different roles to play in our lives, and when their time is finished, they leave. And I do believe you’ll see them again. This is a very real spiritual thing to me.”

Rosenblatt is the featured guest at the 5 p.m. Yizkor service and will talk about honoring pets’ memories and the meaning they bring to the humans who love them. Afterward, Rabbi Greene will invite participants to join in at least two acts of loving kindness — donating dog food, blankets, towels, sheets and other pet items; consider adopting, vetting or fostering one of Rosenblatt’s street rescues, or donating funds through The L’Chaim Center for tax exemption.

Rosenblatt has rescued hundreds of stray dogs from the streets of Houston, starting in her own Westbury neighborhood several years ago then gradually fanning out into some of the areas hardest hit by animal overpopulations, Sunnyside and the Third and Fifth Wards.

Noah, a badly scarred pitbull she rescued then adopted, now sits patiently at her side when anxiety strikes.

“He’s the kindest, most gentle soul,” she says. Another of her street finds, yappy little Charlotte, behaves like Rosenblatt says she feels inside.

“She reminds me to nurture myself. The more dogs I rescue, the more I understand the whole process.”

Her outreach also extends to the families she’s met in the impoverished neighborhoods where unwanted strays tend to congregate. She buys school clothes, backpacks, and toys for children who like to help her with rescues. When she can, she sends them to camp and takes them weekend football, basketball and baseball games.