Parade, pets - who could resist? The Beverly Hills Pet Care Foundation is hoping everyone takes notice and gets the message to adopt a homeless pet, and to have all pets spayed or neutered!
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On New Year’s Day, the Rose Parade made its way through the city streets of Pasadena and included marching bands, equestrian teams, floats.
One float in particular caught my attention. Sponsored by the Beverly Hills Pet Care Foundation, it was covered with larger-than-life dogs and cats, along with real people holding pets available for adoption, with the theme “Follow the Stars – Adopt a Pet”. The goal was to encourage everyone to adopt a homeless pet when deciding to add a furry member to the family.
That is a great message to start the new year, and a wonderful way to say it – on a beautiful float covered in flowers. In fact, that float was so gorgeous that it won the Lathrop K. Leishman Award for the most beautiful float entered by a noncommercial sponsor.
The creative “Adopt a Pet” design had another goal – to encourage everyone to have their female pets spayed and their male pets neutered. It is estimated that more than five million pet animals are euthanized every year in America simply because there are too many of them and nowhere near enough homes.
Finding homes for these puppies and kittens is important, but just as critical is preventing the birth of unwanted puppies and kittens who wind up in shelters all across the country. Occasionally owners will assure me they were able to find homes for their pets’ litters, but they don’t realize that every home they find for one of their puppies or kittens is a home that then is not available to a homeless animal in a shelter.
You may think it’s a little late to make a New Year’s resolution, but I’m hoping you will consider this one: resolve to have your pet spayed or neutered within the next two months. Puppy and kitten season will be here before you know it, and animal shelters will once again receive more baby pets than they can house, much less find homes for. Call your veterinarian today to schedule an appointment.
Spaying or neutering will help your pet stay healthier, and you’ll make sure that you’re not part of the problem but now part of the solution. Now that’s a resolution that makes a great new year for everyone, when you’re speaking of pets.
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