Tag Archives: Alone Is Scary

Alone No More

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Alone is scaryOctober is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month and today a beautiful story unfolded about one dog who has been living in a nightmare and how he has been saved.

Today my daughter went to look at a property to possibly purchase. There were some abandoned buildings on the land, and as my daughter and the realtor were looking things over, a skinny dog came out of one of the buildings, whimpering.

He came right up to her crying. The little hair he had left on his back was teeming with fleas. He was starved and limping. He looked up at her with big brown eyes, desperately begging for help. The buildings weren’t the only thing abandoned on this property—the owner had left his dog as well.

She scooped him up and drove him to New Beginnings Animal Shelter, also Niceville Animal Clinic, for help.  The poor dog needed everything. Vaccinations, heart worm, flea and tick treatment—a grooming. She didn’t have money to pay for everything at the moment, but the Niceville Animal Clinic didn’t let that stop this canine from getting help. Each of them chipped in to help cover the costs, greatly reducing the final bill.

Tonight, this abandoned dog has hope. He is back at my daughter’s apartment while his owner is sought. If in 10 days he hasn’t been claimed, he is hers. For now this little beagle has a full stomach, relief from the fleas that covered him and a safe place.

Alone is scary, but for this dog, the nightmare is finally over.

This month the Horror Writers Association has been participating in the Alone Is Scary campaign to support the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month.

 

Alone Is Scary: What We CAN Do

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20151007_160143In the past, whenever I see adopt-a-shelter pet info I have felt helpless. We are full up on pets right now, and I don’t think we could responsibly take on anymore.

We don’t have an excess of money or time either, so volunteering and donating are out. I assumed it meant I could no longer help. Then I saw this graphic posted at New Beginnings Animal Shelter in Niceville.

I had a personal epiphany. No, I don’t have time to volunteer, piles of money to donate or the room for any more animals… but… I can still help.

I can campaign for supply drives, I can designate a portion of my book sales, I can share information. I can and have adopted New Beginnings Animal Shelter, a no kill shelter in Niceville.

A few days ago I talked about October being the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. To support this, the Horror Writers Association launched the “Alone Is Scary” campaign.

The statistics for animal life expectancy in kill shelters are scary. From the SPCA website:

  • Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.
  • Each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats).

No kill shelters like New Beginnings are fighting against the tide to save the animals already in the system and to prevent them from ever needing adoption by educating about spay/neuter programs.

There’s a lot I can’t do to help out, but thanks to this small card posted at New Beginnings, I realize there are still ways I can help.

Alone is Scary: Adopt-a-Dog Month

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Pippin, adopted by my daughter, is one of the lucky few to have a home.

Pippin, adopted by my daughter, is one of the lucky few to have a home.

The Horror Writers Association, the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, recently announced the launch of its “Alone Is Scary” campaign to support the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month.

From now until Nov. 7, the HWA’s successful Horror Selfies website (www.horrorselfies.com) will seek submissions featuring pets in costume, pets “reading” horror, and/or pets with signs supporting local animal shelters. Accepted submissions will be featured on the site and distributed via the HWA’s social media accounts.

Previous Horror Selfies campaigns generated nearly 20 million impressions, and included participation from Stephen King (Finders Keepers), Peter Straub (A Dark Matter) and Craig Engler (Z Nation).

All approved selfie submissions are entered into a random drawing for one of the HWA’s largest prizes ever. ChiZine Publications (CZP), recipient of the 2014 Bram Stoker Award® Specialty Press Award, has donated a prize package featuring every ebook the press has published. With 100+ titles, the ebook prize package is worth over $1,000.

In conjunction with the Horror Selfies contest, HWA chapters across the United States are working with local animal shelters to host events to promote Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. Events vary by location, and may include book raffles, author signings, costume contests, and more. These events are designed to collect much-needed donations for the animal shelter and to encourage community support. At the end of the month, one participating shelter will be randomly selected to receive a $250 Petco gift card.

“Hundreds of our members have adopted rescue animals. Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and other wonderful animal companions,” said HWA President Lisa Morton, who is an active volunteer at a Los Angeles animal shelter. “We may write your nightmares, but horror writers are, by and large, compassionate souls. When we approached the ChiZine team with the concept, Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi [co-publishers at CZP] immediately wanted to help out. We expect ‘Alone Is Scary’ to rival any other HWA campaign to date. ”

The selfie contest began October 1 and ends November 7, 2015 12:00 EST. Visit www.horrorselfies.com for official contest rules. The animal shelter events are scheduled through the month of October. More information is available at www.horror.org.

You can see my selfie with Pippin, my daughter’s rescue, here.