Month: November 2015

It’s sometimes easy to get into a rut. A rut where everything can feel the same, to the point where it’s easier to do nothing than to get up and get motivated to find something to do.

• I’m bored
• I’m too tired
• It’s too late
• It’s too early
• I have no-one to do anything with
• I’ll start tomorrow
• I can’t think of anything to do
• I don’t have the money
• I don’t have the time

It’s unfortunate that so many people actually live their daily lives by the philosophy that they’re in a rut – but it’s not impossible to get out of one.

One of the best ways to de-rut?

• Think about YOUR blessings
• Be thankful for every one of them
• Promise not to take advantage of them
• Use your blessings to make a difference

What does that mean?

Okay, so you’re bored. But (BUT), you have the luxury of being able to get up, get out, get a drink or grab a bite to eat. If you’re cold, you can go in. If you’re hot, you can open a window. If you’re hurt, you can go to a doctor. If you’re tired, you can rest in comfort and in safety. If you’re anxious, you can go for a walk. If you’re itchy, you can use a back-scratcher.

You get where I’m going with this, right?

• Most animals in need do not have even the most simple luxuries you might take for granted.

The point?

No matter what YOUR rut, YOU can do something to change it. It might not be the change you desire on every level, but you CAN do something to change it.

• You can be thankful for what you have right now, and use those blessings to make a difference.

YOU are blessed. No matter what your situation is today, right now, you have the option to turn it around. And that’s a lot.

That’s more than most animals in need have, or hope to have.

If you can change the world for YOU, you can go one step farther, and change the world for an animal in need.

Today, and every day, take a moment to count YOUR blessings, and then use your blessings to make a difference for an animal in need who needs YOU to be their blessing.

Be thankful, be grateful, be appreciative, and live. And then take THAT and make it MORE for an animal in need.  It matters.

Happy Thanksgiving.

It’s a fact of life. Every living being dies. And whether they are two-legged or four, passings are deeply felt and loss greatly impacts.

Is one loss more important than another? No. Although, in the Animal Advocacy world, some losses can be more impacting.

This past week, Ambassador Amy Deosaran passed away. Even in Animal Welfare circles, her passions may not have been familiar to everyone.

But that’s okay. It doesn’t matter.

What matters is that this was an individual completely devoted to saving and bettering the lives of animals. She was making a difference.

Every day hundreds of thousands of individuals champion in some form or another to save and better the lives of animals.

The world is a big one, and it would be wonderful to have Animal Advocates in every tiny, quiet corner of the world where silently, daily, animals are suffering at the hands of other humans. Sadly, so sadly, we don’t have that – yet.

But what we do have, in every country, are people just like Amy, just like me, just like YOU, championing for animals every opportunity we get.

And that’s the point: EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE GET.

How many opportunities DO we get to save or better a life, before our own number of opportunities expire?

No-one knows.

But here’s what we DO know:

• Everyone has opportunities.
• Everyone has the option on how to use those opportunities.
• Everyone can JUST DO SOMETHING.

There is so much abuse and neglect. So much. So when we lose a true champion for the animals, not only does that impact the Animal Advocacy community, it impacts the animals that were being championed for.

It takes time to fill in that loss with other Animal Advocates. And time isn’t always on the side of those animals waiting for relief, for hope…for us.

So, how many opportunities DO we get to save or better a life, before our own number of opportunities expire?

No-one knows.

Which makes it even more important to not waste the opportunities YOU have, every day, to save or better the lives of animals in need.

• Be a champion
• How you act on YOUR opportunities matter
• Where there may be no opportunity, CREATE one.
• Make an impact, and when the day comes when you can no longer champion, make your loss worth it.
• Be remembered for something absolutely amazing.

JUST DO SOMETHING. Every day.

There are hundreds of us out there.  Champions for animals in need from all walks of life, living life on different levels, in different time zones, of different nationalities.

Animals don’t care what color you are, or what kind of money you make, or even if you have money. So many of their lives are impacted by the addition, or deletion, of care and kindness from human beings.  Kindness: Such a simple thing. Such a powerful thing. So easy to give, and easier for some to take away.

For those that give – we do it in so many ways. Big or small, no effort is ever wasted when it comes to saving or bettering a life.

For many of us, it isn’t any effort at all to jump on the computer and, in between all the other things we do, take time to share and network for animals in need.  So many animals pass by our emails and various other social media accounts – the numbers of animals in need are staggering and sometimes it feels like shoveling shit against the tide. There aren’t enough hours in the day to help every animal who needs it. But there ARE enough hours in the day to help make a difference – and so we do.

Sometimes we don’t always know who gets saved versus who does not. So, when we do have that golden opportunity to actually be a part of a journey from beginning to end, it’s quite a magical feeling.

Do you remember Eloise?  Many people do, because of that one small Facebook post that came our way, and stuck with us.   Because we tirelessly, relentlessly networked for her from morning until night, every day – every day.  Too big of an effort for some – really. What does it take to hit the Share or Retweet button?

Sharing saves lives. Eloise is proof positive of that.

It has been wonderful watching Eloise go from shelter, to rescue, to her forever home.  The start of her journey was a difficult one – so many are. But Eloise, now lovingly renamed Sophie, has a home. She has security. She has safety. She has love. She has a family. No dog could ask for more. No dog should need to.

We may not talk about Eloise too much on social media any more. It’s not because I don’t think of her – because I do. It’s not because I don’t hear about her anymore – because I do. It’s not because I don’t love her – because I do.

It’s because Eloise is safe, and healthy, and happy. She no longer needs someone to make an effort for her life.

Eloise is living her life.

I recently received some more pictures of this happy, content and loved little lady. I think it’s important to show what sharing, tweeting, networking, calling and well, making an effort can actually do.  All efforts matter.  I am sure Eloise would agree.

JUST DO SOMETHING – it counted for Eloise, and it counts for all the other Eloises still waiting.

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