Charitable Gift Giving

Back in October, I was happy to receive a comment on the “About Us” page of this blog from Debbie Eades, the author of EVERY RESCUED DOG HAS A TALE: Stories from the Dog Rescue Railroad. It’s both a heartbreaking and heartwarming story about dogs on death row who are saved by the “Dog Rescue Railroad”, a network of wonderful volunteers who help dogs who have been abused and abandoned find loving homes. And ALL PROFITS go directly to help rural animal shelters and dog rescues around the country to ensure that more dogs will have a happy ending.

A book like this is especially important around Christmas time, because this is the time of year when many well-meaning parents will buy their children a dog. They become excited about the companionship and the fun times they’ll have playing with the dog. But sadly, too often they don’t think about the responsibility of owning a dog, and they decide the dog “doesn’t work out”, whether it’s because the dog is in a house where the kids are too young, or the dog has habits that the family doesn’t like, or the family simply doesn’t want to take the responsbility of feeding, walking, and getting medical treatment for the dog.

And so tragically, too many of these wonderful dogs get thrown out like an old sweater, ending up in shelters and ultimately euthanized. Ms. Eades book is a great gift for any animal lover, and should be required reading for anyone who’s thinking of buying a dog. It is also a great way to teach a child of the realities of Man’s Best Friend in the world, and that dog ownership is not simply owning another toy, it’s taking responsibility and care for one of God’s creatures–one that lives, breathes, feels love, and feels pain.

You can visit Ms. Eades’ site at http://everyrescueddog.homestead.com/ for more information on this important cause.