Gimme Shelter this Christmas

'As most of us prepare to enjoy the warmth of home and family this holiday season, thousands of "backyard" dogs will be forced to endure the winter chill without shelter and at the end of a chain. Most suffer day and night, every day and night, through the cold snaps or storms of a long winter. These dogs have no choice as they shake with cold on their chains and in their pens, going without the comfort or warmth that we may take for granted. With your help as an "Angel for Animals" doghouse sponsor, volunteers can bring shelter to hundreds more desperately needy backyard dogs. As a sponsor, you'll receive a special mention on PETA's "Angel for Animals" Web site and a certificate with "before" and "after" photos that show exactly what a difference your gift has made. Most importantly, your sponsorship will be put to work helping us give much-needed shelter to a backyard dog, shelter that will last for years.'

This year, I put my mom's Christmas lights on her house. I shudder at the thought of her teetering on top of a ladder. Anyway, in an effort to show her appreciation, she, in my name, donated a Christmas basket to a needy Native American family with stockings for the kids. Weird, I must be growing up because it was one of the best gifts I have received in a long time. I bring this up because, at $205, the shelter sponsorship is a little steep. So, why not collect from the office, family or give the sponsorship in someone else's name as a Christmas (or holiday), Birthday or Thank you gift? For those people in your life that seem to have everything, it might be just the perfect idea. I think the key here is that this a permanent home for an animal tethered to a chain with little to no human contact. They give to the neediest dogs. I only put the lights up about a week ago, but I have thought about the family several times. It will pop into your mind that a dog with no shelter will be comfortable because of you should you decide to sponsor and really it is a very satisfying feeling and I don't even have a before and after shot posted on a website. Think about it.