At least three million healthy, treatable and lovable pets are put down each year in the U.S., simply for lack of homes. In covering this staggering breach of trust which companion animals have placed in us, I wrote in a previous post, the thought of such persistent and gratuitous waste of precious lives makes my own mind race and my heart sick. And I know I'm not alone. I also know this is a reality which God grieves as well, having created each and every one of those individual lives and accompanying personalities. He's asked us to care for them and delight in them just as He does, not subject them to the ultimate abandonment.
Perhaps you can relate. And perhaps you too have wondered what can be done, urgently, to prevent one more dog or cat, no different than the ones beloved in our own homes, from suffering the same fate (see the touching video "In Hope, An Animal Shelter Story" by Brightlion). Well, even a tragedy on this staggering a scale can only be overcome by one life being rescued at a time. And while no doubt many of us are already involved in the heroic effort, we all intuitively know the rest of mainstream society needs to be on board.
To that end, The Shelter Pet Project is nothing short of a cultural breakthrough for the shelter and rescue movement. It's a joint effort of the Ad Council, The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund, "in partnership with all the entire animal welfare community," enabling pro-adoption advertisements to be sent to 33,000 media outlets throughout the country. The ads include the two below, which as you can see are very accessible and playful (see behind the scenes for more). Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, further writes:
The thrust of the campaign is that pets land in shelters through no fault of their own, but instead because of a human circumstance—allergies, a divorce, a relocation, financial hardship, or just plain selfishness. The advertising theme turns the misperception of shelters on its head, and then urges would-be pet parents to make shelters their first stop.
Please stop by the very interactive The Shelter Pet Project website, watch the ads, read their factsheet and spread the word! This is a development which we can all be thrilled about, and thank God for. To everyone out there who has already adopted a companion animal from a shelter or rescue, my heartfelt commendations to you. And to anyone considering taking in a pet, please consider adopting a precious life which needs a home ...
If you'd like to read more about companion animals, please see Not One Sparrow's blog where any number of issues are discussed and pets and their owners are highlighted, from the serious to the playful and hilarious. Earlier this year we even hosted a series on shelter and rescue, which began with the post "The Worst Put-Down," and went on to feature the no-kill movement as well as excellent posts from Christians active in shelter management and rescue efforts, even a look at how the current economy is contributing to pet relinquishment.
Ben DeVries lives with his wife Cheryl, four-month-old son Jadon and three cats in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He blogs at Not One Sparrow, a Christian voice for animals and welcomes personal communication at ben@notonesparrow.com. (Article originally posted at Not One Sparrow; images and video courtesy & copyright The Shelter Pet Project.)
