Dear Animal Planet

Dear Animal Planet,

I'm a pet lover. I love all pets but I'm especially fond of dogs and cats. That doesn't rule out ferrets - some of my friends have ferrets and those little guys and gals are a delight. The one shown here is called Snotface and he's a bundle of laughs. I also hear that chickens are pets, these days. Of course, we shouldn't leave out horses, either.

If you really push me, I have to admit it's not just 'pets' that move me to tears, on a regular basis. It's all animals. It's donkeys and sheep and pigs and cows and wolves and bears and ... all creatures great and small. Well, except insects. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't dislike insects but I do. 

As a member of a growing online community of devoted animal lovers called BlogPaws, I get to see reports from all over the world on the ways people abuse and neglect animals. It's appalling and horrifying and downright criminal, although for the most part the humans who perpetrate this cruelty on innocent animals don't pay for their crimes. They just continue to do ... what they do. And, those in authority continue to pretend it doesn't concern them. 

In the U.S. we do try to bring these abusers to justice. Many, many people across the nation are working on legislation to make animal abuse a felony, with more jail time and more serious consequences than they get now. I so applaud and support them, as much as I can. Shouldn't animal abuse be a more serious offense than it is? Why isn't it just below child abuse? You see, I don't equate children with animals, even though my pets are my children. I do believe that those who abuse innocent creatures are also as likely to abuse people - women and children, mostly. And, studies prove that is true. Just look at  Okey's Promise.

I've been thinking... and that's the reason for this letter to you. I hope you see it. Our shelters and rescues, the world over but for this post, just here in the U.S., need your help. I know... if there is one group that is taking time and money and putting it to good use in the defense of animals, it's Animal Planet. But, what if there were additional ways you could help - that wouldn't cost all that much but which would go far in supporting our shelters - to allow them to do more, save more, and grow?

There is- It's called Pimp My Shelter.

Here's how it works: With BlogPaws, and many great sponsors (we have no doubt that between the two of us, we could get the right sponsors, including people like Ellen Degeneres and Rachael Rae, and all the support needed), Pimp My Shelter would travel the country in a van full of supplies and tools and ideas, and visit various shelters to help them ... in a dozen different ways. The van would be well-known. The show would be popular. People who know about it would submit requests for the van to visit their hometown and help their shelter.

Those people would be tasked with being the 'helping hands' on the day of the visit, and they would be asked to bring friends, so there could be a dozen or more people working together at one location, week after week, to paint, repair, fix, clean, and basically provide extra help to the shelter over a period of one day. Leading up to the day of the visit, we'd be in touch with the particular shelter to find out what their most important need is - it's not always money! It could be supplies, or blankets, or beds, or leashes, or someone to fix the back room. 

Can you set it? It's sort of like HGTV's backyard makeovers. 

Oh sure, there's a lot more to it. But, I don't want to take up too much of your time with this letter. I want to...present Pimp My Shelter to you in person.

Whadda ya think? Wanna talk? 

Comments

[Pup Fan]

Really great idea!

[Doreen]

I actually wrote to several production companies about 2 years ago with this idea. I sent my first letter to the production company for Extreme Home Makeover. Of course - no responses. I'm glad to see great minds think alike!

[Patrick Mahaney]

I love the Pimp My Shelter idea! It's kind of like "Tabitha's Salon Takeover".
I can put you in touch with show runners (people who present show ideas to networks, such as Animal Planet).
PM

[Ash]

Great idea, Yvonne! I'd watch the show for sure! I dream of being Ellen's Shelter Corespondent - where I would travel the country visiting different shelters each week and she'd play a short clip on her show so everyone could see the great things they're doing and learn from their successes to make their own local shelter even better! *drifts off into that daydream for awhile* Haha. Anyway, go get 'em!

(Housekeeping note: It's Rachel Ray, not Rae. Oh, and her puppy Isaboo is freakin' adorable!)

[Vicki Cook]

Great idea Yvonne - I love it. It could go right up there with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition! It's a win-win for the shelters, the animals and of course, for Animal Planet!

[AmyJo]

What a great concept. One other thing that would be great for shelters is to have some one take some really awesome pictures of the adoptable pets and posting them on sites like petfinder.com

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo