I love when people say they learn lessons from their children, because I quite agree. I've learned so much from my son.
The one lesson that stands out in my mind is how his love for animals transferred over to me.
It's not that I didn't love animals before my son was born because I did. But I had no experience having a pet, and to make matters worse my husband told tales about his childhood cat, Timmy, who would proudly bring home headless chipmunks for the family to see. Yuck.
So when our son began an all-out campaign to adopt a cat I was hesitant. I loved our cozy life with just the three of us, and couldn't imagine adding a furry creature to our home.
In the end my son won and I'll always be grateful to him that he did. Our first visit to our local no-kill shelter is a day I'll never forget because, like the Grinch, my heart grew three times that day.
First came our ginger cat, Max. Then a few months later Newton, our gorgeous tabby. Today at 12 years old they are like brothers, endlessly entertaining and always a joy to be around.
A few years later came Whitey, a beautiful gray and white feral cat someone obviously lost or left behind (he was already neutered.) Whitey begged at our back door to become part of our family and we willingly obliged. We had four magical years with that sweetie-pie.
Two years ago we adopted Smokey, our gorgeous Russian Blue. Rescued from the streets of Newark, Smokey was fostered and then brought to a craft show with other adoptable cats. Once I "met" her I knew she belonged in our home. She's bright, sweet and motherly to Max and Newton.
When our son entered high school he began volunteering at our shelter. He loved doing his part to get every animal adopted into a loving forever home.
Today I try to do whatever I can to spread awareness about the importance of shelter pet adoption, to advocate for animal rights and to put a stop to kill shelters.
That's why I'm thrilled to spread awareness about The Shelter Pet Project (#ShelterPetLove) and offer some ways you can get involved, too. Our furry friends need our help!
Each year approximately 3-4 million pets are adopted from shelter and rescue groups, but 2.4 million healthy and treatable pets still need our help to find a home each year.
I’m reaching out to you on behalf of The Shelter Pet Project, a collaborative effort between The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund®, and the Ad Council, to ask for your support.
The goal of The Shelter Pet Project is to make shelters and rescue groups the first place people turn when looking to get a new pet.
Actress Bellamy Young, who plays First Lady Mellie Grant on NBC’s “Scandal,” in partnership with the Shelter Pet Project, stars in a new online video featuring her adopted dog Bean and adopted cat Sadie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4hhORQZTbE
The video helps break down misconceptions surrounding shelter pets and spreads the word that pets in shelters are wonderful and lovable.
In the video, Bellamy says, “Adoption is very near and dear to my heart” and encourages those who are thinking about pet adoption to take the next step and experience a “love unlike anything you’ve ever known.”
Millions of people are looking to acquire a pet within the next year. Will you help us show potential adopters that they can provide loving homes for shelter and rescue pets?
Here are a few simple ways you can help:
Share the new “Meet My Shelter Pet” video featuring Bellamy Young:https://www.youtube.com/embed/
Write a blog post about The Shelter Pet Project: Encourage your readers to visit TheShelterPetProject.org, where they can “meet” shelter pets through an interactive experience, search for a dog or cat from a local shelter or rescue group, read adoption success stories, and learn valuable information about pet adoption.
Did you adopt/rescue your dog or cat? Share your #shelterpetlove. Share a photo or video of your shelter pet in a blog post and/or social media update. Tag posts with #shelterpetlove to encourage people to visitTheShelterPetProject.org to learn more about pet adoption. By sharing how your shelter pet enhances your life, you can show people who may be hesitant to pick a shelter pet just how rewarding it is to adopt.
Please tag The Shelter Pet Project on the appropriate channel (i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and use #shelterpetlove when sharing!
https://www.facebook.com/
https://twitter.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/
http://instagram.com/
Loved reading this post, Cathy. I support adopting shelter pets and couldn't be more in love with our rescued dog and cat. There are so many homeless pets just waiting to be adopted and I hope your post will help spread the word.
This is such a great cause. As an animal lover, my wish is that every dog and cat gets a loving home -- like yours 🙂