All of our animal children have been rescued in one way or another--an African Grey abandoned by his original owner, a feral kitten that had been repeatedly attacked and injured who is now quite happily a pampered, indoor cat, and, of course, our dogs...

Rescue shelter dogs make the best companions. We are the proud moms of two such magnificent souls, Sadie and Jake, both pictured above. Jakey was abandoned by an abusive owner and had completely given up on life by the time I found him slumped down on the floor of a Pennsylvania shelter in 1996. He was unresponsive and morose, unlike most of the dogs clamoring in their small kennels to attract some attention their way. All he needed was unconditional love...and he gave it in return in abundance. He overcame the emotional trauma of his previous life and, though he required almost constant care from medical conditions that resulted from years of abuse and neglect, he touched my heart and spirit in ways no other living being ever had or ever could.

We adopted his sister, Sadie, from a shelter in Las Vegas in 2000, the spring after Jakey's passing. At only a year and a half old, she had already been abandoned at the shelter three times prior and, to this day, we can not fathom why. Naturally, she seemed skeptical about us at first. After all, no home had been permanent for her before and her last residence left her wounded with bite marks from other large dogs that had attacked her. Those injuries have long since healed and Sadie is the most exuberantly happy--and comical--dog you could ever meet. She loves to play and dance and cuddle and, like her brother, she has learned love and trust and affection. We couldn't love either of them more if they were our own human children.

But millions of other companion animals around the world are in need of permanent, loving homes. Please visit your local shelter today and see how you can help. If you're in Northwest Washington, the Alternative Humane Society of Whatcom County, a no-kill organization, is currently in need of animal foster homes, event volunteers and more, as well as adoptive parents for many wonderful animals. You can find them at http://www.alternativehumanesociety.org ...donate, volunteer or simply join their mailing list and support upcoming events and fundraisers.