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'Tis the Season...Almost

© Lesli Richardson

Well, we're rapidly descending into holiday season. Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.), then the winter holidays -- where your belief system determines just which holiday(s) you eat your way through.

The holidays usually bring out the best in people. For food banks and other charities, this is the make or break time of year. While you are in a giving mood, please don't forget those unfortunate animals who don't have a "forever home." Every year as winter approaches, abandoned cats and dogs face death and starvation as weather deteriorates.

If you are considering getting your kids a pet for a gift, do not wait until Christmas. First of all, make sure it's the right thing for your family at this time. A pet is a lifetime (its lifetime) commitment. It's not a last-minute decision to be taken lightly. And rather than giving in to the cute faces in the pet shop windows, think about giving an animal the greatest gift of all -- rescue from a possible death at a shelter.

Start looking now. Besides, many shelters put moratoriums on adoptions around the holidays to prevent just such a bad outcome. Spend some time to find the right animal for your family. And even if you can't afford a pet or fit one into your schedule right now, volunteer at your local shelter as a dog walker or cat cuddler, cleaning cages or stuffing enevlopes -- whatever they need done.

Many shelters also have sponsorship programs where you can pay to have an animal altered and pay for its care until it's adopted by someone who can keep it.

Whatever you decide to do, getting your kids involved now is a great way to teach them responsibility and selflessness -- two things greatly lacking in too many people nowadays. Getting involved with a local shelter or other animal charity allows children to make a difference that they can actually see; it's not a coin dropped into a kettle that disappears out of sight. It's a tangible act of kindness that is immediately repaid by an animal's affection.

Woof.

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