October is chock-full of holidays celebrating animals, including:
Adopt-a Dog Month sponsored by American Humane Association and Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month sponsored by the ASPCA , both established to help promote adopting dogs from local shelters.
National Animal Safety and Protection Month was created by the PALS Foundation to promote safe handling and caring for both domestic and wild animals.
National Pit Bull Awareness Day has been expanded to include the entire month of October to educate the public and change the negative image of pit bulls.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is promoting several pet-related holidays during October, including National Pet Wellness Month, National Pet Obesity Awareness Day on October 7, and National Veterinary Technician Week from October 16-22.
In addition, there are a number of other weeks and days dedicated to celebrating specific kinds of animals, and we will be highlighting some of those holidays on this blog throughout October.
A special heart-tug for me is National Black Dog Day on October 1. Some statistics show black dogs at shelters are passed over more often than dogs of other colors. Here's a fun article at DogTime listing ten fun reasons to adopt a black dog.
My doggie household usually includes at least one or more black dogs. If they are a BIG black dog, so much the better! October's doggie host on this blog was a black dog--meet Ace!
My doggie household usually includes at least one or more black dogs. If they are a BIG black dog, so much the better! October's doggie host on this blog was a black dog--meet Ace!
Ace was my first shelter dog. A Border Collie mix with golden eyes that mesmerized me, and I knew instantly he was smarter than most people.
Ace approached life with an attitude all his own. This incident never fails to amuse my grandchildren and describes Ace perfectly.
We walked every day through our neighborhood and knew most of the other dogs. However, at one corner, a little dog came charging to the fence, barking. He followed us around the corner, yapping incessantly.
Ace glanced at me, doing a mental eye roll at the annoyance. However, he didn’t react until we reached the end of the corner yard. As the little dog bounced at the fence, still yapping, Ace paused and lifted his leg.
His aim was perfect. The little dog backed away and shook his now wet face–quiet for the first time since he had spotted us.
And Ace sauntered away, a grin on his face.
(Excerpt from I Want to Have the Heart of a Dog, by Genie Gabriel)
No comments:
Post a Comment