accomplishment ACE Adopt the Internet Day advocate AKC ALIVE Andrea Arden APDT attention aversives Be the Change for Animals beagle beds Bianca bibliophile birthday blessings blog hop BlogPaws board and train Boston Terrier bullied by the blog C-WAGS C.L.A.S.S. call to action CCPDT CDSP certification Certified Pet Dog Trainer change chapter 1 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Christmas Cincinnati click and treat clicker expo clicker training coming when called commitment common sense communication competion coupon cpdt CPDT-KA craft crisis response Dads Daisy decisions dog shows dog training dominance Easter economy emotions empathy equine Face of Crisis facebook family focus food Fortunate Fido Frames of Mind fraud Gardner giving goals group class harness holy week house guest humanity Husker Ian Dunbar individuals instinct integral internet Jade Jean Donaldson joy K9 Chaplains K9 Comfort Dogs Karen Pryor Ken McCort Lake Township Lana Mitchell learning learning theory leash aggression life experience lifestyle training living positively mama beagle Meagan Melissa Alexander minature horse Morgan Specter Mr. Chewy mule Nevada Humane Society Never Shock a Puppy normal Northern Illinois University Open House openminded opportunity pack theory Parents of Murdered Children party Patricia McConnell peace personality pet blogger challenge Pet Blogger Hop Pets without Parents Philadelphia polite greetings POMC positive reinforcement positive reinforcement clicker training precious priorities product review puppies puppy class Rainbow Bridge Rally Obedience relationships relaxing research review rewards routine safe versus dangerous service dogs SPA sports stress success Sue Ailsby Sweet Spots Doggy Ice Cream TDInc. teacher technology The Clicked Retriever therapy dogs thinking time tools tornado toys training plan training tip travel tricks twitter unconditional love video work in progress

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Blog the Change for Animals

Today marks another day to blog the change for animals.  This is a day for animal bloggers to share our thoughts and our blog space regarding helping animals.  I thought a long time about this post.  How can I, with my relatively small number of followers (blog, Twitter, Facebook), make a significant change for animals?  How can I, with my economically affected, somewhat limited income help animals?  How can I, with my own animals, my family, and a small business, find the time to positively influence how animals live?

I came to an epiphany this morning -- none of that matters.  What does matter is my willingness to try, my ability to help even one animal, my perseverance and hope in the indomitable human spirit and our capacity to love and care for others. 

So, my blog the change for animals message is simple and concise -- take that first step.  It doesn't matter if it's a small step, a baby step, or a giant step -- just take it.  Adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue, secure your animals in your vehicle when transporting them and tell your friend to do the same, take a training class, donate a training class for another family adopting a dog, be a dog walker or a lap for kitties for animals without families yet, donate food, litter, toys, blankets, beds -- whatever is needed, donate to the "Never Shock a Puppy" initiative to help buy safe, humane collars for dogs, transport an animal in its journey to a forever home, donate to the breed rescue of your choice, volunteer to write a newsletter article, edit a newsletter, stuff envelopes, or donate a prize for a fundraiser, spend time with children teaching them about safety around animals, kindness to animals, and exemplify being the change not only for animals, but also for children too!  There are infinite ways to be the change -- one is going to work for you, right where you are in your life at this particular moment in time.  So take that first step and start being the change for animals.

A couple weeks ago we received a call that changed our lives.  A local rescue called to tell us about a pregnant beagle that was found wandering in a parking lot.  We have not fostered dogs in the past for a variety of reasons, so the call was not about us fostering her, but about helping them to find a foster home for her and her yet-to-be-born puppies.  It was a call to step out of our comfort zone.  No one knew it at the time, but it was.  It became very clear, very quickly that it was our call to get out of the boat and to do what is good, right, and necessary and be the foster family for this mama beagle and her puppies.  Lucy (formerly known as "Daisy") has been with us a week and will forever be with us in our hearts.  We know she will be adopted to a loving family once her puppies are weaned and we are excited at the prospect of giving them this wonderful, loving dog.  We are impatiently awaiting the arrival of her puppies so we can love them, work with them, and prepare them for lives with their forever families.  We are honored and humbled by all this means not only to us, but especially to the mama and her puppies.  We took that first step -- will you take it with us by finding what you are meant to do to be the change for animals?

5 comments:

FiveSibesMom said...

Great blog! Came over to visit from BtC. Lucy sounds like a sweetheart! I so agree with you, if everyone does a little something, it all adds up to a whole lot of everything that brings awareness to, and benefits, the animals. Happy Friday!

Pup Fan said...

Fantastic post! A good reminder that being the change doesn't have to be an overwhelming concept... you are making a huge change for Mama Beagle and it's amazing. :)

Unknown said...

You message in this post is wonderful: every little bit can make a big change! Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Deborah Flick said...

A little something everyday can make a huge difference in the quality of life for our animals. Thank you for the reminder.

Kristine said...

Thanks for this great post! I wondered a lot of the same things when I thought about what to post today. I think your message is wonderful.

It's one of my life list goals to start a dog rescue. Right now it's not possible, but maybe we can take the first step.