All of us at Best Friend Pet Adoption are thankful for our many friends, volunteers, leaders, adopters, partners and donors who help us help the cats and dogs in our care.

If you're visiting our Web site, you no doubt have a love of animals. This Thanksgiving holiday, we urge all pet lovers to resist those intense gazes and vocal demands of pleading pets -- because there can be deadly consequences for animals during the holidays. Also make sure your guests know the pet rules and discourage them from feeding critters scraps from the table. The biggest hazards to pets on Thanksgiving include:

If you're looking for a way to celebrate Thanksgiving with your four-legged loved one, add a teaspoon of white turkey meat or broth to your pet's food to share the "Thanksgiving experience!" And be sure to spoil them safely -- with an extra hour of brushing, playtime or a brisk walk.

Some think giving a Yellow Lab puppy as a surprise holiday gift is a great idea. Others believe presenting the kids with a kitten under the Christmas tree is sound judgement.

We urge you to rethink any of these ideas. Giving animals as presents often ends up badly, as many times these pets are unwanted in the first place, then discarded at the local shelter.

Here's a better option if you would like to give the gift of a pet: Create a gift certificate stating that you will cover the cost of a future adoption. And please offer to cover adoption costs rather than the cost of buying a pet from a breeder or pet store. Include some information to help your friend or family member make a wise decision. This strategy allows the recipients of your gift to choose their own pet and to decide when they are ready to care for a pet. The recipients of your gift will appreciate being able to make these decisions themselves.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs are adopted from shelters and rescue organizations, like BFPA. No doubt about it: a puppy with a red bow on his or her collar is a great addition to any family. But older dogs need homes, too. Adopting the non-puppy may present challenges in the form of already-learned behaviors and medical expenses. However, there are some distinct advantages to adopting an older dog. Advantages that parents, in particular, should explore.

No Hourly Walks
Puppies require around the clock walks during the housetraining process. "The first year requires alot of time and supervision," says Joe Pulcinella, director of the Orange County Animal Shelter. Older dogs enjoy long walks and they can "hold it" during the work and school hours. Even stay-at-home parents have a difficult time juggling frequent puppy walks with children's nap, eating and Dora-the-Explorer schedules. Better still, "older dog" is almost always synonymous with "housebroken."

Here's a wonderful and unique holiday gift idea.

Pet portrait artist Emily Weinstein is reserving slots now to do paintings live or from photos at Historic Boylan Heights in Raleigh on Sun., Dec. 7th. The ArtWalk is from 1-5PM and there is no admission charge.

For more info on how to make a reservation, please click here. Emily will be donating a portion of her portrait fee to BFPA.

... or until your credit card explodes, whichever comes first!

BFPA has tee-shirts, accessories, gifts and other stuff, thanks to Cafe Press. For every item that you buy, BFPA will receive proceeds from merchandise sales.

Our lg. coffee mug will hold enough java to read the morning paper front-to-back without having a refill .... and our caps (available in tan and white) are perfect for hot days or just when you wanna look cool! We hope you'll check out our items available by strolling into the store (click that purple highlight) and buying some great items for yourself or as gifts to promote and help BFPA.

Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S.--and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals.

As a result, millions of healthy, loving cats, dogs, kittens and puppies face early death -- in a very cruel fashion at your local shelter -- as a form of animal control. Others are left to fend for themselves against automobiles, the elements, other animals and cruel humans.

What can you do to stop the suffering? How can you Pitch In ??

This baby can have babies of her own

A kitten can have her first litter at the age of five months, and just one litter means that five more good homes must be found. That is why there are so many strays, and why animal shelters and rescue groups are always full of cats.

Looking for an easy way to support our rescued cats and dogs? Next time you need an Internet search engine, click on the logo below. Type in "Best Friend Pet Adoption" in the "Who do you GoodSearch for?" window, then click "verify". The more people who use Good Search, the more money will be raised to help BFPA rescued dogs and cats.

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