Shelters & pets suffering

You don't have to look very hard these days to find stories of people leaving their pets behind in the homes they lose to foreclosure or shelters in dire need because donations have dropped off while their intake has increased. I scan pet news stories daily and it hurts to read story after story about pets suffering one way or another due to the current economic mess. There are simply too many to read!

Today, for example, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story about the Georgia SPCA. They're out of money. They're not out of pets though - they have about 30 dogs and more than 60 cats.

Now, stop think about your pets…the family members you love and share your life with. Can you imagine taking them to a shelter and walking away from them…forever? It's a terrifying thought for sure, and makes me cry to think of the number of beloved pets who are now cooped up in kennels because their people lost their homes. And what makes it worse is knowing what many shelters do when they are overcrowded or can’t find homes for cats and dogs in their care.

The real point of this post isn't just to stir up emotions and get everybody crying like I'm doing as I type this though! I'm going to ask…consider it begging if that helps…each of you to do something for a local shelter or rescue group. Money is the obvious gift, and always needed but it's not the only thing animal shelters are in need of. They always need blankets, toys, food, old newspapers, collars, leashes, etc. Find your local shelter's website and see what they need; many will post a list on the website. Chances are you have something in your house that you're not using that a shelter or rescue group desperately needs.

If each person who reads this can give something, anything, we can all make a difference. It may be a small thing to us but to the pets in the shelters we're giving to it could literally mean life or death. So please, please do something, no matter how small. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, some other holiday…or none of the above, please do something for the pets that desperately need help. Then do what I'm going to do right now…hug your pets and let them know how much you love them!

Material comes from The PetsitUSA.com