Adopt-A-Shelter-Pet Month

I was doing a little light reading today, and came across some interesting estimates made by the ASPCA. For just cats alone, there are a projected 70 million strays living in the United States at any given time. But that's not even the shocking revelation. A fertile cat can produce up to 2 litters a year with an average of 5 kittens per litter. Assuming that half of the strays are female, the number becomes staggering to consider.

Then let's consider the consequences. 7 out of 10 cats in shelters are killed because homes cannot be found. The number improves only slightly for dogs. It's 5 out of 10 and only 10% of animals received into shelters are spayed and neutered. Believe it or not, even after all this effort, it still remains that there are literally millions of dogs and cats put to death each and every year in our country because of over population.

We can do something about this people. In fact, the ASPCA is chock full of ideas, and many of them don't include animal ownership, it that's not your deal. You can advocate politically, start a food bank, volunteer at a shelter, start a neighborhood watch group, or simply make a feel-good donation that will allow them to continue their good work on your behalf.

What else can you do? As the title of this post suggests, you can adopt. Please follow this link to visit the ASPCA national data base of available dogs and cats. If you're considering buying a puppy, you can reconsider, adopt, and save a life. If you are considering breeding your pet, you can change your mind, because no birth = no kill. Please follow this link to find a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in your area. You can do what I did, foster a shelter pet then find a good home for it, or adopt one of your own from the many specific breed rescues around the country. My little man, Dexter, came from IMPS, and my life has been indescribably transformed for the better. Dexter's adoption remains one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, and he repays me in ways I can't begin to describe.

It's Adopt-a-shelter-pet-month. If everyone in the country able to do so, even just those who are easily able to take action, simply made a donation, how many animals would benefit? How many animal lives would be saved? How much suffering reduced? Please just click over and have a look yourself. I'm sure you will find some way you can help that fits with your lifestyle and circumstance, for the animals and with my thanks.