Day 11: Curse You, Sarah MacLachlan... I'm Emotionally Spent!

It's the holiday season, so of course we see an influx of those commercials.  You know the ones.  I'm talking specifically about the ASPCA commercials that show pictures of the forgotten, locked-up puppies, all the while playing some terribly depressing song that YANKS at your heartstrings with a minor key and brilliantly wistful lyrics.  Give me a sad, one-eyed puppy dog face, mix in some Sarah MacLachlan, and I'm done for.



Sometimes I think it's the vegan in me rearing its head.  Perhaps it's just the fact that I'm human-- whether omnivore or herbivore, chances are you've been moved by the ASPCA commercials at some point in your life.

I've always been a supporter of Humane Societies and animal rescue groups.  However, since I struck gold with my dear golden-haired Harper in June of 2009, I've become an even greater proponent of adopting an animal vs. buying purebred.  Don't get me wrong, I know some absolutely marvelous purebreds (my dear nephew-dog Cooper is most certainly the apple of my eye!).  But if you take the time to stroll through the cold gray aisles at your local animal shelter, there's a 125% chance that you'll feel the urge to take one of the animals home with you. 

And if I haven't made this point clear enough already, I will now.  Harper was truly a treasure-- an anomaly when it comes to rescued dogs.  Rescued animals often come with some baggage-- perhaps they don't trust humans, or maybe they've got some very real behavioral issues (and often, their "baggage" is for good reason; it's possible they've been abused/ mistreated in the past).  I was incredibly lucky to have found Harper-- she was housetrained, friendly, SMART, easily trainable, and trusting.  I'm not sure what her history was, but she was the perfect dog for me.

In the future, I'll definitely adopt another dog-- not now, I'm not ready.  But I urge any of you, if you're looking to make an animal addition to your home, to check with local animal rescue groups or animal shelters.  A couple excellent websites to check out are the ASPCA website and Petfinder (I actually found Harper via the Petfinder website, where she was listed under the "adoptable dogs" of Saginaw County Humane Society.) 

If you can't bring an animal into your house for some reason, consider other ways of helping animals in need:

• Volunteer at a local shelter by walking/ bathing/ feeding the animals.
• Donate unused toys to your local shelter to keep adoptable animals entertained!
• Donate newspapers to the shelter to be used for kennels.
• Volunteer your time to be a foster parent to an "in-between" animal-- it can be very rewarding :)
• Report any cases of known or suspected animal cruelty/ abuse.
• DONATE!  Cold hard cash is obviously one of the best ways to help your local shelter or rescue group.  Any and all donations, no matter how small or large, are useful.
• Spay/ neuter your animals!  This cannot be stressed enough.

These are just a few options.  You can contact your local shelter for more ways to help out. 

Please oh please-- SAVE the animals!  I personally can't bear to see one more ASPCA commercial.  Let's all do our part to get rid of the heartwrenching slideshows interspersed throughout our sitcoms.