Did you know that April is the ASPCA’s Prevention of Animal Cruelty month? I just learned about that myself.
I don’t know how people can be cruel to animals? It breaks my heart o hear about animals that were abused and neglected by it’s owners. Personally I think what ever pain a human inflicts on an animal that same pain should be inflicted on them. You know, like an “eye for an eye”.
Growing up our neighbor across the street used to drown kittens. He had barn cats and whenever one had kittens he would stuff them in a burlap sack and toss them into the creek to drown. I was just a young child at the time. I cannot even begin to tell you how incredibly angry that made me feel. When the old man passed away I was actually relieved because I knew future barn kittens would have a chance at life.
I have always had a soft spot in my heart for animals. It doesn’t matter if they are cute and fuzzy or slimy and creepy. Animals are living creatures and deserve to be treated with love and respect.
Years ago I was coming home from a family birthday party when I spotted a snapping turtle in the middle of a busy road. I could have easily kept driving, but my concious would not let me just drive by knowing that the next car that can zipping down the road could crush him. So I stopped on the side of the road, grabbed my umbrella, and pushed him across the road to safety. I couldn’t pick him up because he was snapping turtle and could have snapped a finger (or two) off if he nipped at my hand.
My parents knew all too well how much I loved to rescue animals (and bugs). I had a mini-zoo growing up with a hodge podge of critters that I rescued. Now as an adult I have four cats and a dog, all of which were rescued. Four from the animal shelter and one was a feral cat that we rescued as a kitten.
Around here there used to be a lot of stray cats and kittens. Sadly the kittens lives were short lived. Most were hit by cars as they sped through the parking lot. Others would crawl up inside the car engines to keep warm, only to get killed when the car was turned on. I still remember being out in the pouring rain with a couple of neighbors trying to rescue a kitten from inside a car engine. We were finally able to get it out of the car. Thankfully a neighbor adopted her.
One time I rescued a feral kitten from a water drain. I was out in the parking lot and I heard it meowing. When I saw that it was in the drain I called the non-emergency number for the Police department to find out what I could do. They sent the fire department over, who were able to retrieve it from the drain. When the kitten was rescued they handed it to me and I brought him home. Sadly we could not give that kitten a good home. He was an older feral (wild) kitten and DID NOT like people – at all! Not only would he viciously go after us (yes, he’d go after us) he would chase after our other cat, who was old and not as fast as he needed to be to escape the kitten’s wrath. We finally had to catch it in a large towel and set it free outside again. Thankfully a few month later an organization came to our complex and scooped up all the stray and feral cats and kittens and brought them to a cat sanctuary.
Velcro, our rescued feral kitten, was born on our neighbor’s balcony. Thankfully our neighbor knew that the kittens needed to be handled by humans right away or risk having more kittens in our complex who could not be adopted or find good homes. He took the whole litter (only four kittens survived) into his home. He allowed the mother cat to come into his home to feed them, then he forced her to leave. He did that until the kittens were old enough to be weaned from their mother’s milk.
Two of the kittens were given to good homes. Our neighbor who raised the kittens kept one. That left one fuzzy little orange and white kitten without a home. We decided to adopt him and give him a good home. We had an older cat and we thought he might like a friend. That is when Velcro became a part of our family. We named him Velcro because that was the sound you heard when you peeled him off the side of the couch (ha ha).
Here is a picture of Velcro (a little older then when we first rescued him) with my son who is now 11 years old.
Have you ever heard of AnnieWear? AnnieWear offers adorable clothing, toys and accessories for newborns to around size 7. A portion of AnnieWear sales is donated to animal resuce charities. AnnieWear is named after the company’s owner’s rescue dog, Annie.
AnnieWear is currently offering a special discount of 15% off purchases using the discount code BLOG2011.
Check out some of the adorable things available on the AnnieWear website.
You can also sign up for their newsletter to keep up-to-date on new product offerings.
To commemorate Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month, AnnieWear is joining the ASPCA in letting others know about animal cruelty. Did you know there is a link between animal cruelty and human abuse? I find that to be a very scary thought. That child that you see abusing a pet today could turn into a domestic abuser in the future. SCARY!
Each year, the ASPCA urges people across the country to join the cause and “Go Orange for Animals.” It is so very important that we teach children and encourage adults to be kind to ALL living creatures. Show your support to organizations that work to end cruelty.
If you witness animal abuse, or know if anyone who abuses animals, PLEASE report it to your local humane society.
Every little bit we do can help save animals!
To help teach your little ones more about helping furry friends please visit www.ASPCA.org/ASPCAKids.
To learn more about AnnieWear please visit www.AnnieWear.com. You can also following them on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/AnnieWear, and on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/AnnieWearOnline.
Kimberly
*This compensated post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network. Any opinions expressed are my own.
Kara Helen says
I had never heard of AnnieWear before, but am definitely going to use them for birthday and Christmas presents for kiddos. Would rather know that my money’s going to a company that supports a charity I love like animal rescues. Volunteering at a local shelter, I’d see all the poor animals who were brought in and I wanted to take them all home! One of our neighbors moved out and left their kitten behind. It took a month of tuna bribery, but I managed to convince it to come in with us – and she was pregnant!
Great post!
Lois says
Love the Annie Wear line! Ive bought several outfits recently for my friends new babies, its my choice for baby shower gifts. I love the blankets they are so cuddly. The fact that some of the proceeds goes to animal rescue makes the line even better.
Brandy says
I have never heard of AnnieWear. I have heard of how cruel people can be to animals. It makes my stomach turn! They are helpless and it makes me sad.
Katie says
I bought a shirt for my daughter 🙂 I, too, am sickened by people who abuse animals. We are monthly donors to the ASPCA and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and all of our cats have been rescues.