News flash: January 24 is Change a Pet’s Life Day, and in my opinion, it ought to be a national holiday. Close the banks, hold the mail, and only essential workers need to show up for work. Everybody else gets a paid day off to make the world better for pets, including Jessica Rabbit and Cocomelon who, like all of our nuggets, have returned the favor and changed our lives forever.
I wish I had a magic wand or Aladdin’s Lamp so I could change life for every animal on the planet. But alas, I don’t, which means we all have to work hard and have great ideas to get the job done.
You might think this is too big a task and wonder where to begin. The good news is that regardless of your situation in life, you can make a difference for pets. The key is to find what works for you.
First, adopt! If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, then sponsor or donate. And if you can’t afford to donate, volunteer. You can also change a pet’s life by helping educate your community, family, and friends about issues from cruelty to spay/neuter to veterinary care.
This year is off to a promising start for pets. Here in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill into law on December 15. The bill, which passed in May, will ban the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits statewide, effective December 2024. I wish it were going into effect sooner — like today! — but it’s a big step forward nevertheless and will spare thousands of animals tremendous suffering. (Although puppy mills get the most notoriety, there are hundreds of equally awful kitten mills in this country too!)
This historic event happened because compassionate citizens like you contacted legislators, donated to organizations fighting for the bill, wrote letters to the editor, and volunteered to do whatever local groups needed to make this change for pets. Six states have now banned the sale of pets in pet stores: California, Maine, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, and New York. Other states are working toward this goal, including Connecticut and my home state of Pennsylvania. And many cities large and small, from Carmel, Indiana, to Washington, D.C., have enacted bans, too. Wherever you live, I urge you to find out the status of similar legislation in your community. Then do whatever you can to help eliminate pet factories everywhere.
