Every week I have to wrack my brain to come up with something to write about for this column. Unlike a handful of people in the newsroom, I don’t have kids or Godkids to talk about, but I do have a cat I adopted from JCARL back in January.
I won’t talk about him much here — I’ve done that plenty in the past (by the way, the whole cat-walking thing didn’t turn out too well) — but, due to recent events at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, I have to take a second to advocate for shelter animals.
When I headed over to JCARL in January to play a little cat roulette (there were literally dozens of felines vying for my attention), one gray, tiger-striped kitten would not shut up not matter how much I held him. I figured I’d feel the worst leaving him, so I filled out a little paperwork, handed over $20 and Oscar was mine.
“Oscar” is more of a middle name or sorts in the sense that he only hears it when he’s in trouble. Otherwise, he’s just “baby” or “cat.” Either way, he’s the most (decently) well-behaved companion a girl living on her own could have.
Earlier this week, the Animal Rescure League of Iowa posted a status update on their Facebook page saying they’d recently rescused an excess of kittens from a home, as well as being overrun by adoptable dogs. While their promotion of the situation has led to countless adoptions, they still have plenty or furry, four-legged friends waiting to find homes.
Through Sunday, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (and all of their satellite locations, according to their Facebook page), will be offering both cats and dogs for adoption for just $25.
I encourage you to take a second and evaluate whether you have the room in both your home and your heart to help alleviate the Rescue League’s excess of pets and bring one home with you for good. If you don’t (which I totally understand, pets require quite a bit of both time and money), I encourage you to donate a bit of your time with the League.
Of the volunteers I’ve chatted with and witnessed at work, namely from Berg Middle School’s student council, it’s clear just how rewarding spending an hour or two helping out with the cats and dogs (and the occasional bunny or parakeet) at the Rescue League can be. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t think of a better way to donate my time.