Last night Ted revealed to me that he recently donated to the Humane Society. I was shocked, not because he gave to a charity, but because he parted with his money on his own. My husband is an extremely giving man, except for when his Scottish Cheap Gene rears its ugly head and he decides we can’t use the heater in our house. Ted’s Scottish Cheap Gene, or SCG, is something that gets stronger the longer we’re married. I’ve learned to ignore his dissertations on why using space heaters in our bedroom for one hour each night is better for our health and our wallet. There are times in a marriage when you give your partner the benefit of the doubt, and there are times when you put your foot down and insist that keeping a house at 68º when it’s freezing outside is a human right.
So it was understandable that I was caught off guard when I learned that Ted had given away his money, freely and without any prodding or cojoling. Apparently, when he picked up the mail a couple of days ago, he read a mailer from the Humane Society that told a story about how some dog had sat faithfully by his owner’s deathbed until he died, and then the dog went blind from grief, and then the Humane Society stepped in and took that poor, orphaned, blind dog into one of their shelters and found him a new home where he eats bon-bons and sleeps on a queen bed all day, and how TED’S DONATION could help save starving puppies and adorable kittens all over the world. (I’m sure the fact that the donation was a tax write-off must have occurred to the part of Ted’s brain that is governed by the SCG, but still, kittens.)
I may be a cynical bastard, but Ted’s willingness to get caught up in emotional marketing about animals struck me as being incredibly sweet. I myself am a total sucker for animals, which is why we have four. FOUR. We have two dogs and two cats, which may be used in the future as evidence that we’re completely insane. Though I consider two of them to be sort-of-rescued, one from going to a shelter and one from natural selection (ahem, Lewis), two of our animals were officially adopted. We adopted our ex-racing greyhound Maggie from a great local group, Golden State Greyhounds. Our cat Emma actually came from the Humane Society in Berkeley, California. So it makes sense that we would feel strong ties to the Humane Society, as well as other animal rights and adoption groups. Visit this link to see photos of our two adopted animals.
If you’re thinking of buying a puppy this Christmas for yourself or a loved one, I urge you to consider adopting an animal instead. I won’t get all preachy about it, but there are so many unwanted animals who really are wonderful companions. I can’t imagine our life without any one of our animals. And if you do really think you just couldn’t do without a puppy, just make sure the establishment you get it from doesn’t buy from puppy mills.
To find the nearest Humane Society near you, go to Pets911 and enter your zip code. If you would like to donate to the Humane Society of the United States, you can do it here for the holiday season, or go here to give year-round.
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