"I'll Be Home For Christmas....if only in my dreams" is a well loved, well sung traditional Christmas ballad that has stirred our hearts and sent our thoughts "home" to those we love, those we miss, and those we hold most dear for many years, and in many different circumstances.
No matter the hustle, the bustle, the stress and frustration we all feel in abundance at this time of the year, our hearts and minds long for that Christmas Eve fire, with the Yule log blazing, the tree decorated and sparkling with what seems like a million lights, presents stacked high underneath just begging to be opened on Christmas morning, delicious smells of favorite foods and treats wafting from the kitchen....and the most important thing of all, our loved ones gathered around us, forming one of those Norman Rockwell portraits that we all love to believe Christmas looks like in every home and heart.
But the sad reality is this: there are so many who won't have much or maybe any of these wonderful reminders of the Christmas season, nor will their hearts be filled with Holiday cheer and good wishes. Instead, they will spend this day and night wondering where the next meal will come from, wondering if they can even remember what turkey and ham and other tasty dishes even taste like. They may not have a tree, nor presents, nor even a loved one to hold them tight and wish them good cheer and God's blessings.
They may have two legs, or four legs, or no legs. Life isn't measured out evenly for all of us. Some will have everything, some will have none. Some will be wrapped in fur, but not an expensive mink....no, they will be wrapped in the fur they were born in and not much else to keep them warm this Holiday season. You see, their night tonight will be filled not with the wonder of the Christmas star. Rather, their night will be filled with the wonder of whether they will live to see Christmas day. They won't have a warm living room with a fire, they will be surrounded by a metal cage and maybe, if they are one of the lucky ones, a thin small blanket to lay their worried head upon as they contemplate how many hours they have left on this earth.
This Christmas season, please do not SHOP....please do not purchase a puppy for a child that may or may not want it, appreciate it, nor a family willing to commit to a lifetime of raising, training, caring for and loving that puppy through its lifetime. Many animals who will be sitting in cages in shelters this Christmas eve, contemplating the fate that awaits them, were once "Christmas Puppies" that have outgrown their puppy cuteness - maybe chewed a shoe once too often, or had an "accident' on the living room rug. And now, they sit alone, unloved, unwanted in a cold 3x3 metal cage, wondering what they did wrong and why they aren't loved anymore.
When we commit to a puppy, or a human, to love and cherish them, we must take that commitment seriously and know that it IS for a lifetime. They aren't toys, or tinsel or shiny wrapping paper that, once used, are easily tossed and disgarded, with no more value and worth.
Please, spay and neuter your animals, please don't shop....commit to adopt and love for a lifetime. Help us break the awful syndrome of unwanted puppies and litters of dogs and cats.
This Christmas, let's make this Christmas standard a standard in our hearts and homes. Let's help these animals waiting desperately in metal cages to be saved from euthanization. Let's give them that 2nd chance to have a real home and family....for a lifetime. Let's give them a reason to have hope and to sing with all of us, "I'll Be HOME (forever) for Christmas....not only in my dreams, but for a lifetime!"
Angels Among Us Pet Rescue wishes all of you, along with me, the very Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years! Join us in 2014 in "Rescuing ONE Until There Are NONE"!
