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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

#GivingTuesday is for the Birds (and the Cats, Dogs...)

Today is Giving Tuesday, a new holiday apparently, where we put our money where our mouth is.  Last Thursday, Thanksgiving, we gave thanks for all of our blessings.  Today, we give thanks and pass it forward.

I'm thankful for Leo and Maggie this morning, both of whom still fit nicely in my lap together, and are helping me with this post.  I adopted them both as kittens from The Marshmallow Foundation in Detroit Lakes after my cat Gracie died at the ripe old age of 20.  They have already provided endless hours of laughter, snuggles, and warmth, and I'm sure will continue to do so for many years to come.

If you want to do your part on #GivingTuesday, but don't know who to give to, won't you consider an animal shelter?  Right now at Marshmallow, an upper respiratory infection is going around the cat room, which means lots of visits to veterinary clinics and lots of medical bills.  Cats Cradle in Fargo is another good option - they take the cats that would otherwise be euthanized and give them the care they need in order to find their "furever" homes.

If you don't want to give cash, there are lots of other ways to give.  Smile, an Amazon.com program, allows you to designate a charity of your choice, and every time you shop, a percentage of the money spent is donated to that charity.

Volunteering your time can make an enormous difference, where that time is spent transporting animals, helping keep the kennels clean, or fundraising.

Donating gently used blankets to a shelter means that a dog or cat has a warm comfy bed for the night.  Even better, if you have mad knot or crochet skills, make some soft mats out of that stash of yarn you have in the spare room!  Mats for Cats will give you some ideas on projects and ways to help.

So today, count your blessings, then count your pennies to see how many you can spare to help.  Every bit counts.

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