This blog was originally posted on Doomsday, 2012
It’s approaching noon December 21, 2012. In north Texas there’s not a cloud in the sky. No comets or asteroids are looming in the sky. The United States Geological Survey hasn’t seen signs that Yellowstone is going to blow or the crust will shift. We have another 12 hours, but my bet is, it’s not the end of the world for the world.
However, today is the end of the world for at least 10,000 cats and dogs in animal shelters around the U.S. That’s right. Every day animal shelters euthanize approximately that many unwanted pets for lack of space. Just prior to Christmas some shelters put down all remaining pets because they don’t have the manpower to care for them over the holidays.
Christmas is a holiday a joy and new life. Hanukkah is a time of promised kept. Please consider contacting your city shelter or a nonprofit rescue group and offer to foster a cat or dog. Don’t worry about falling in love. You will. But when the time comes and your foster goes to another home, you’ll know you saved not just any life, but that baby’s life. What a treasure. And it would have been lost forever without you.
I never name my fosters and that helps me from becoming quite so attached. I have the vet techs come of with a name. I\’ve noticed whenever I name my foster kitties anything beside a descriptive name (Tabby, Sam-short for Siamese, Spot, Tiger-for a tabby), I wind up keeping him. That’s how I wound up with Cosmo, Groucho and George.
Some people simply can’t let their foster pets go. Hey, it\’s not the end of the world. You will just have a new family member and more love to share.There’s no shame in being a foster failure. That’s how I ended up keeping Nixie.
If you can’t foster, but you’re considering adding a cat or dog to your family, please go to the shelter or a rescue group to adopt. Even if you bring home a new pet from a no-kill group, you’re saving a life. With the vacancy created by your new companion, the rescue can take in another homeless cat or dog who would otherwise be put to sleep.
Remember black cats and dogs and older (especially senior) pets stand little chance of adoption. When you see those gorgeous green, golden or brown eyes (who are clad) in black fur, or with whitening muzzles, please open your heart and home to them. Without you, they likely have no chance to live at all.
If it’s after December 21, and you can still read this, we can say happily say for us they Mayans were wrong. But remember, for all those homeless pets alone in shelters who have used up all their days on death row, today is their Armageddon.
Whatever holiday you observe, please celebrate life by saving a life.
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