Adopt an animal in need of a home.

My friend Kamaniya is a big supporter of animal protection education as am I, but I find Kamaniya always reminds me to say something about it.

This blog is inspired by the articles on Kamaniya's blog (see blog from last week) about the nightmare of puppy mills and the heartless, cruel treatment these "purebred" animals receive before being put on sale at your local pet store for hundreds of dollars in profit. It is much better to go to a shelter and adopt an animal that has been abandoned and desperately needs a safe home. The idea is to put the puppy mills out of business.

If having your heart set on a certain breed animal is what keeps you from taking a shelter animal, then please consider adopting from breed specific rescue groups. They have them for every breed cat, dog and horses. If you want a siamese cat, just google "siamese rescue" and you will find many organizations that have siamese cats waiting for your love and care. Some of these rescue organizations are in all different parts of the country.... but call them anyway because they may know of a cat closer to you.

Here are a few links just to give you an idea of what is out there.... if you want poodle or a german shepard, there are rescue organizations out there waiting for your call.

http://www.lab-rescue.org/ http://www.nycsiamese.org/
http://www.pugrescue.com/

Another way to adopt a dog is to call the guide dog organizations... there are always a few dogs who "fail" the guide dog training and who are then considered "useless" -- my friend Mike adopted a labrador who "failed" because she was too friendly and wouldnt stop wagging her tail. These dogs are smart, come pretrained, so they are perfect additions to your family. Any adoption fee goes to help support the guide dog organization. Also, guide dogs are generally retired after 8 years -- the blind person trades the dog in for a younger dog -- so there are also older dogs who have put in years of service who are in need of homes where they can live out their last years and be spoiled by a loving family.

Always be responsible about adopting an animal. make sure you will be able to make room in your life for this animal, have the time to spend with the animal and the money to pay for food and veterinary bills. Dont get an animal and then leave it tied up in the yard because you dont like dog hair on the furniture . Dont get a cat and then abandon it because it shredded your couch. dont get an animal and expect to leave the animal alone every weekend because you have to go to your weekend beach house. Dont get rid of the cat because your current boyfriend is allergic to the cat... get rid of the boyfriend or tell him to find a way to deal with it. I had an allergist once who told me to get rid of my 2 cats --- I got a new allergist and I am fine (so are the cats).

A sentient being is something to be loved and respected.