by Noella Noelophile ®
What does your Christmas sound like? Ours contains quite a few woofs and meows.
And we’re looking forward to that happening again, tomorrow, December 21st.
Tomorrow at noon, in Long Beach, nonprofit Community Action Team visits four animal shelters, for “Operation Santa Paws”. And you’re invited to be a part of this!
Since 2001, community activist Justin Rudd has been organizing this annual event. From the start of December, selected locations collect pet food, treats and various other items to donate to shelters.
Then, on the Saturday before Christmas, volunteers show up bringing toys and treats. Everyone gets a chance to visit with abandoned and abused dogs and cats in Long Beach Animal Care Services, Long Beach spcaLA, Seal Beach Animal Care Center, and Orange County Animal Care Services, in Tustin.
There’s the opportunity to pet and play with selected animals in the shelters. Participants can feed one or two treats to the dogs, as well.
However, temptation is waiting to stick out a paw and mieuw or whimper.
We seem to fall in love about three times, every time we participate in “Operation Santa Paws”. Last year, a gorgeous Russian blue cat purred his way over to me and flopped on the floor, giving himself up completely to the pleasure of being petted and having his chin scratched.
(If we didn’t already have two feline family members who would literally have had “hissy fits” at the sight of another cat–! Thank goodness Seal Beach Animal Care Center, where he was living, is a no-kill shelter. I doubt we’ll see him this year; his sweet temper probably led to his getting a forever home and some devoted new pet humans for Christmas.)
Would you like to add a lot of love to your Christmas celebration? Plan on joining Justin Rudd and the volunteers at noon tomorrow, as the twentieth edition of Long Beach’s “Operation Santa Paws” gets started, or at any of the locations and times listed here.
And please consider bringing some treats or gifts for the pets waiting for their new homes? Here’s a link to the wish list.