No Wait! More.

I changed my mind, I do want presents.

Just kidding. Though I did see a couple of writers' retreats that really turned my key. I'll have to save some pennies and earn them.

The two ladies who head up what I like to call The Little Dog Posse in our park warned me this morning that this is Dog Stealing Season. They went on to do a pretty wicked imitation of the kind of asshole who would steal a dog. "Here honey, look what I got you. Don't you just love him? And check out the cute sweater. He came with it!"

Not that I ever leave my dog alone outside because he's like the Christopher Lloyd of dogs but still, that's not cool. So let's look at some pet charities.


Greyhounds have a lot to recommend them even though they're not for every house. Their training makes them usually great on leash, they tend to be total couch potatoes and often have a spectacular sense of humor. They can also have dodgy digestive systems and their training enhances their prey drive and makes them uneasy with things like stairs sometimes but all of that you can work with. If you can't adopt one yourself you certainly can help them get out of the racing cycle and into a better life (see photo). Just a quick google search of the term "greyhound rescue" gives you all this. I usually support this particular one, though, because the greyhounds I know best are from that area.

My friend, Daniel J. Cartier, is donating all the proceeds of his Christmas album from now until the end of the year to supporting animal shelters in his area of Tennessee. It's a great album and he is a true and heartfelt dog lover. In 2010 one of his beloved trio of canine cuddlers passed away and I think this funding drive is a great way to honor her. Click through on his name up there and the details are on his home page.

Sean Casey Animal Rescue here in Brooklyn has produced some of the most wonderful freaks ever to grace our park. The much beloved and ball-crazy Bucephalus (pictured above) is from here. They rescue dogs, cats and exotic animals, too. I probably would have wound up with one of their tenants if Eddie hadn't appeared.

Another great organization in our area is BARC. I believe the late Teddy (at right) was one of theirs.

Blogher did a round up of good animal-related organizations to donate to as well. It's got everything from The Humane Society to a way to adopt a farm animal. (I assume this means you pay for someone else to get up before dawn every day to tend to your cow's requirements.)

I've been following Elayne Boosler on Twitter for a while now because I've always loved her stand up. She is also the president of a rescue organization called Tails of Joy. They've had some wonderful happy endings lately according to her tweets.

While we're on celebrities and their animal passions we can turn to Broadway Barks, a product of the passions of Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore. I'm hoping to attend one of their events soon.

Do you have a favorite animal charity? Please share it below. I know I've forgotten at least one important one to me because I can't find the link to the one that JRH works with. Please excuse the lack of cat-specific adoption choices. My experience with cats is they walk in the door and adopt you whether you like it or not.