Random Acts Of Kindness: Week #4

This past weekend my husband and I were driving around town, just hanging out and going to random places, when he said he wanted to go check out Petco. We don't even have a pet. I'm all for exploration of our town's businesses, but there was nothing in there we could have possibly needed and I told him that. He said fine, let's go adopt a kitten. Now I don't know where he got that silly notion in his head, especially since he's a dog person, but he's what led me to this week's random act of kindness.

Adopt an animal from your local animal shelter.

This isn't ideal for everyone, just like it isn't for my husband and I. We'd have to pay a $250 pet fee if we wanted an animal, that's on top of an adopting / license fee, getting everything it needs, making sure it's up-to-date on shots and everything else they come with. We're still struggling to get money for a car and all the baby stuff we have to get before November, so clearly my husband must have been drunk when he made this suggestion because it's not feasible for us. So for those in the same boat, how about you donate your time at the animal shelter. I don't actually know if there are any shelters in our area, but I wouldn't mind going to Petco and spending time with the lovable kittens there.

The fact of the matter is that every day another animal goes without a family to love him or her. It might have a place to stay, but it doesn't have companionship or the things it needs. They live in a cage and have limited exercise time. Whether you want to believe it or not, animals have feelings too. They can bring their owners a lot of joy and happiness. So I've scoured the internet to bring you some of the cutest cats and dogs, just in case you need any more persuasion in the matter of adopting one.

My mom tried to dress up her dog once. Patty, the dog, decided that she wouldn't play a part in this dress up game her owner was trying to force upon her. So when my mom initially got her into the sweater she'd bought, Patty absolutely refused to let anyone near her long enough to take it off. She also started snapping at people. I don't know how the removal process of that sweater took place. My best guess is that my mom ambushed her while she was sleeping and too lethargic to fight back.

75% of the animals my family had over the years were adopted. My favorite was one who came up to my father off the streets. He was just a kitten at the time and when my dad said he wanted to keep him, I wanted to punch my dad in the face. We already had two dogs and three cats. We did not need sixth. But my dad wanted him anyway, because he was so cute. I didn't like the kitten at all and I wanted nothing to do with him. Every time he would walk into my room I would pick him up and walk him to another part of the house and then run away quickly so I could slam the my bedroom door before he returned. I got to name him though, because everyone thought I would grow more fond of him if I picked out his name.

Oliver. I named him Oliver after Oliver Wood from the Harry Potter series. My parents were, unfortunately, right. I got incredibly attached to Oliver. He would sleep with me at night, often times curling up on my chest and purring that happy kitty sound. Oliver was a year and a half when he had to be put down because of health problems. I had never really cried for an animal we lost before that, but Oliver and I had a special bond. He liked me even though I hated him in the beginning. I guess he grew on me, that crazy, homeless kitten.

Hey, turtles need love too! And they're adoptable.

Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to at least go visit and cuddle up to your local animal shelter cuties. Imagine if you were locked up all the time. It wouldn't be fun if it happened to you, so don't think it's fun for them. Go out and adopt an animal today. They won't talk back to you and don't care if you spend all day watching Friends reruns. And they're great at helping you finish your dinner, whether you want their help or not.