It’s National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week.
I’ve been a frequent volunteer at animal shelters, and have always had at least one rescue dog at my side for my entire adult life. (At one point, that number grew to three, but let’s not talk about that.)
A few suggestions to both celebrate the beautiful work that animal shelters do, and to attempt to put them out of business. (If you ask them, they’d love it if there wasn’t a need for them.)
- Spay and neuter your pets. Help reduce the sheer volume of unwanted animals in this country.
- Donate your resources to an animal shelter. If you have even a small amount of spare time, volunteer at a shelter. You can help walk dogs, play with puppies, socialize kittens, whatever. If you lack time but have money, write them a check.
- Adopt, don’t shop. There is no need for breeding programs. If you want a specific breed, there’s a breed rescue for just about every one. I promise you, the love you receive in return will change your life.
To illustrate that last point, here’s a open letter I wrote to our soon to be 7-year-old rescue hound. I wrote it about a year after we got him.
Dear Seamus,
Not sure what had you so excited this morning, but thank you for coming to the door so excited to see me that I couldn’t get past you down the hall. There’s something about coming home to total, unconditional love that really starts a guy’s day right.
There's something about coming home to total, unconditional love that really starts a guy's day right. Share on XBut that’s the kind of dog you are, isn’t it? You’ve done some amazing things in the last year and a half. You’ve taken the household cat person and turned her into a dog lover. She swears if we ever separate, she’s going to fight me for custody.
You’ve adapted to the craziness that is our schedule – the weirdness of having both of us home most of the time, with random disappearances of one or the other. You know what day my daughter shows up and you’re visibly excited on those days. You’ve become accustomed to going back to bed after our oh-dark-thirty morning walks.
You seem to know when we need a good laugh, or just someone beside us. You’ve protected us from countless UPS drivers, pizza delivery folks, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Thanks, mutt.
Love,
John