I have taken in 2 stray dogs, 8 stray cats, 1 rescue hedgehog, a seriously abused and starved Arabian horse, a runt cow that was going to get put to sleep and a few baby birds/mice/squirrels, etc. I just know there is a sign on me somewhere that clearly reads "sucker" for animals!!! less

I have taken in 2 stray dogs, 8 stray cats, 1 rescue hedgehog, a seriously abused and starved Arabian horse, a runt cow that was going to get put to sleep and a few baby birds/mice/squirrels, etc. I just know there is a sign on me somewhere that clearly reads "sucker" for animals!!! less

Awe, thank you Ma. Kira just told me about this thread.

As you well know, I love animals. I take in all kinds and help nurse them to health. I usually end up with them as pets, but sometimes they need to be released back into the wild or they need a new home. I've had racoons, wild bunnies, cats (pregnant ones too), dogs, fish, and the list goes on. I have a huge soft spot for animals. They just make your day so much better.

I've donated time and money to animal shelters. They always need someone to walk the dogs and just play with them in general. Most of them are funded by donations, so donating whatever you can really helps. less

All of my pets have been rescues except for the turtle and fish I had as a kid. And I've rehomed several animals who were in bad situations. I literally took them out from underneath their owners and gave them to someone else who wanted them and wanted to take care of them. It was nasty, but it was necessary. less

I have a love of bunnies. I used to have six of them at one time. They're my favorite animal. Many people don't realize how much upkeep bunnies can be and how sensitive they are. If you come at them too quickly or upset them they can give themselves heart attacks since they are prey animals and that's their defense mechanism.

Anyhow, bunnies happen to also be super cute. A lot of people buy them for children (especially at Easter time!) not realizing that they are NOT good for kids and that they require so much attention and work. Most of the time (from statistics) these impulse buy bunnies end up neglected or even let loose in the wild to die.

When I was younger and had more time on my hands, I went to all the pet stores that carried bunnies around Easter time and even just during regular times and tried to educate them on selling bunnies. Many stores had them in incorrect cages (the wire ones will cause problems for the padded feet bunnies have) and allowed people to put their hands in the bunnies' cage which spooked them out. I got a few pet stores to stop selling them around Easter and a few to stop selling them completely. The ones that continued to sell them were willing to give pamphlets on the proper care of bunnies to those that were interested in buying a bunny. I always felt really good about being able to do that. I'd say that was a good ten years ago and the stores that stopped selling them still don't to this day.

I also donated money (as much as possible) to one of the bunny foundations that took care of bunnies that were given up after Easter was over and reality sunk in as well as bunnies that were used for scientific testing.

I donated to PETA for a while, but I get annoyed with them throwing red paint on people and such. They're a bit extreme, even if their motivations are good. Now I donate to less extreme animal rights groups. I still use PETA as a resource to learn about animal ingredients to avoid since I'm a vegetarian (another thing I do out of my love for animals), but I don't fully support them due to their over the top methods. If anyone is interested in supporting cruelty free companies or avoiding animal products though, the PETA website has tons of good info.

If you want to do the best thing possible for animals - go vegetarian! Vegan is even better if you can. Buy from companies that don't test on animals or use animal byproducts. The more people that refuse to use animal based products, the sooner companies will stop using them. And the more people protest the bad treatment of food animals, the sooner those animals will have a better life. Not to mention the health benefits. (Check out The China Study if you don't believe me.) less