'Tis the Season

Greetings, All, and a Happy Thanksgiving.

As usual, the holidays have arrived without my quite knowing how they sneak up on me each year. Maybe someday I will have everything planned in advance. While I'm waiting for that particular fantasy to come true, I figure I might as well jump into the spirit of the holiday season and try to spread a little goodwill.

Most of you know that I volunteer with H.A.L.O., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing emergency care for animals. The good news is that we have been successful in getting the word out. In the past few months, H.A.L.O., in cooperation with the Humane Society, has conducted three "trap, neuter, release" missions for feral cats. Many of these cats required additional medical treatment and were cared for post-surgery by volunteers. These missions are great, but what happens most often at H.A.L.O. is that people drop off wounded, sick or unwanted pets. Tomorrow, a beautiful little Shih-Tzu puppy will be placed in the home of my friend and co-worker. The puppy's original family is no longer able to care for him, and his new family is excited about his arrival. This was one was easy -- healthy, cute, purebred, well-cared-for -- lots of people want a pet like that.

Most are not so easy. This morning when I spoke to Stacey, she was on the way to a vet with a cat who had been attacked and seriously hurt by a dog. The surgery and meds will cost hundreds of dollars. This is a typical H.A.L.O. story. In the past 6 months Stacey and Sue have accumulated huge vet bills for the dogs and cats they have saved. So far, no animal has been turned away. But so far, no animal has been dropped off with anything in the way of financial support for the medical care needed.

With a little help from our friends, we can continue to provide care for any animal in need. Please consider making a small donation to H.A.L.O. to keep the lights on and the animals safe and healthy. Everything helps, and every donation is used to care for the animals. We promise not to share your info with anyone, ever.

Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving!
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Introducing The H.A.L.O. Chronicles

What do you do when you find an injured animal on the side of the road?

My friends Stacey and Sue were faced with this dilemma last New Year's Eve when the vehicle traveling ahead of them hit a German Shepherd and continued driving. The dog was thrown by the impact. Whether the offending driver had stopped or not, the question still remains. Who do you call?

There are few emergency animal rescue operations. Those that do exist are often overwhelmed, understaffed, and unable to respond to emergencies in a reasonable time. Stacey and Sue rescued the dog, took him to a 24 hour veterinarian, and finally reunited him with his owners. That story had a happy ending. Many do not.

In response, Stacey founded H.A.L.O., a nonprofit organization dedicated to becoming "The Planet's Animal Ambulance." H.A.L.O.'s mission is to network with other rescue operations to provide emergency care and transport in this kind of situation. I am very proud to be a member of H.A.L.O., and hope that you will join me in following the development of this worthy project.

I met Stacey in October 2007 at a weekend seminar that challenged us to let go of old excuses and see the possibilities in life. By Sunday evening, I knew that Stacey would take what we had learned and run with it. A few months later, she had founded H.A.L.O. (Healing Animals with Love Organization), and within weeks had connected with animal rescue groups across the country. She is currently enrolled at the University of South Florida and plans to enroll in veterinary school by 2010. Her goal is to provide free emergency services, and to develop a national network of emergency service providers.

We are proud to have our first animal ambulance, HALO-1. Stacey and other supporters have also attended a multitude of training sessions to prepare them for carrying out our mission.

While we have made connections nationwide, we must start locally. At this time, HALO-1 operates in Pinellas County. We will expand. Our long-term vision includes an institute where we can offer animal rescue training and veterinary care facilities.

We are working on a website. The current one is sparse, but we are in the process of developing a site that will provide complete information about H.A.L.O. Please bear with us, as we are all volunteers working at other full-time responsibilities.

Meanwhile, I invite you to follow the H.A.L.O. Chronicles blog to see what we are up to.

Helping us to get the word out will support the organization and provide care for animals in need.

Thanks for taking time to read this. Please pass the link to the H.A.L.O. blog along to you friends.