Actually an Artist

Other than allergies, of course. But seriously, why would you only ever say “I’m only going to have ____ or ____??? Like, life is long, animals are individuals, and we learn new things about ourselves and them every encounter/relationship we have.

NOW PEOPLE, on the other hand… Well, that’s not the question du jour.

In my area, SE Kentucky, every animal shelter is overflowing and more and more animals are being dumped every day. It’s heartbreaking. We humans have created this animal crisis by domesticating and transporting animals and introducing invasive species… Take New Zealand for example. Lots of native species did not evolve to withstand rats, cats, and dogs, so every year there’s literally a cat-killing FESTIVAL. Breaks my heart. I support protecting native species, but not in a celebratory manner. Frankly, we all bear the weight of that mistake and sin.

In my family, we only have two cats. I’m seriously considering another one… Or two. It’s crazy, but honestly we LOVE animals and the overcrowding situation is dire. And really, it is all of our responsibilities. In the past, we’ve worked with the shelter to trap and fix cats. Mostly though, we caught opossums 😑 and eventually had to stop after we had our baby because we couldn’t keep up with it. I think if we don’t get another cat, I’ll lobby hard to restart our fixing efforts, because the cycle has got to be broken. We want a dog, a lot, however we’re currently going out of town to visit my parents on a regular basis, and we just can’t bring a dog (my parents have birds… and they rent, so another animal is absolutely not possible when we visit), and no way would I leave a dog alone with only a pet sitter checking in a few times. And we probably can’t afford more extensive pet sitting when we travel. Anyone want to fund a doggie for us? Just kidding, sort of. Instead of a dog, we bought a wet/dry vacuum because toddlers are MESSY EATERS. And we’d had enough on our hands and knees wiping up all the food she threw every time. So I’ve lobbied for a dog to ‘help out’ as it were. My husband agrees in theory, though, ironically if you know us in person, he’s more practically minded on these matters. I think it’s because he grew up with lots of cats and dogs. His parents had 8 cats and a great dane when I met him and them. Sooooo there might be some childhood resentment towards a lot of animals… (don’t get me started on all that though 😹😇). Anyway, if you want to help animals, I’m including some local organizations I know of personally in my area, but just know all the shelters ‘down south’ here are in need, and do whatever small action you can to help ANYONE and ANYTHING less fortunate than you. It’s the only way we’re going to survive the impending political 🔴 doom headed this way 😟.

Please feel free to uplift your local animal shelters in the comments below ⬇️ ⬇️!