5 Way to Counter Animal Homelessness:

5 Way to Counter Animal Homelessness:

1. Support your local animal shelter. Not only will you inspire limitless loyalty from your rescue pet, you will enjoy your time with a remarkable animal. There's a place for dogs with distinguished breeding, but I promise a lovable mutt form the "pound" will fill your heart. Often, mixed breed dogs have better personalities and fewer health issues because they are not inbred.


2. Spay or nueter. Self explanitory.


3. Tag and microchip your pet. The last thing you, or anyone else wants, is for Fido to end up on the streets. If more people tagged their dogs, more could be returned.


4. Volunteer, fundraise, or donate to your animal shelter. They need your help!


5. Educate others about pet homelessness and pet responsibility. Together we can make a big difference!

A Dog Called Sky

So I have a story.

I have a dog named Sky. I'm not sure if his favorite food is chicken fat or bananas.

He's a pretty funny dude. He eats carrot peals like its his job.

Whenever I'm with Sky I can't help but laugh. He has this giant goofy face that always looks a little concerned, happy, and confused at the same time.

He loves people. And that's it. Completely. Totally. And unrelenting. And that's Sky.

The Weight of the World

After giving my speech, I took my place in the audience at a youth rally. The next keynote speaker rose and began his speech by saying that ours was the first generation in the history of mankind that had the ability to end global poverty. For a moment I had such a high, such a great feeling of purpose, dedication, and hope that I could hardly keep from running laps around the rally. What he said next sobered me up pretty quickly. "What a grave responsibility." He looked at the group with heavy eyes and no smile. He continued on to talk about our ipods and laptops and excessive spending. He went on to say that we were squandering our opportunity to save the world. I felt my shoulders slump back into their resolute, determined position. The way he said it made it sound daunting. Alleviating poverty would not be a success if achieved. It would be a failure if we did not achieve it. I found myself feeling slightly discouraged. After the speech I took a few moments just to think for myself. I sat there for a long time and finally something occurred to me. If we had the ability to eradicate poverty, it was because we had already achieved other things. We had learned effective farming methods, ways of getting water to rural regions, and improved health. We had the resources to educate children and the knowledge to cure diseases. The reason my generation, our generation, has so much potential is because for centuries humankind has been building on one anothers accomplishments. Because of what past generations have accomplished, our generation is in the position were we literally (arguably) can eradicate poverty. That's empowering. But, no matter the outcome of our work, we all have a responsibility to honor our impoverished neighbors. BUT the fact that we would honor this responsibility is, in fact, a gift. SO no matter what is accomplished or not accomplished, the generation can build on the accomplishments of our own. Hopefully we can eradicate poverty, but nothing could possibly diminish such an accomplishment. We all have a responsibility to one another, but everything we do is a gift.

A World Away

Our American and Ugandan volunteers may feel a world apart, but both are essential for NETwork's sucess. Pictured are some of our chapters in the US and Uganda. (Thanks Google for the map)

Sharing in a Simple Project

"Last wish from a little 12 year old boy dying of terminal cancer. He lives in Neola, Iowa. His last wish is to receive one million cards in the mail. I think we can make his wish come true if enough people pass the word. It is not too much to ask for a 12 year old boy. One million cards. Let your fellow employees know and your churches and school children. We need to take the time to do this for this little boy.

Let's make his last wish come true.

His name and addressas published in the Ottumwa Courier newspaper is:

Max Low.

c/o Greg and Bambi Low.

P.O. Box 111

Neola, Iowa 51559"

This was sent to me via e-mail. I am sharing it with you now.

Being a teenager is hard. College, tuition- these are impending time bombs ticking from the time you meet your guidance counselor freshman year. Of course college is always the goal, the dream, the target in the sky. Of course from the very beginning everyone says, "I'm so ready to get out on my own, so ready to find my own way." We beg for Independence. If its denied, sometimes we take it anyway. We argue, we defy, we oppose, sometimes for no other reason than to show ourselves and those around us that we are capable of doing these things.

But we try. So hard. Everyday. We crave people telling us we're doing it, making it, being our best self. We try so hard and sometimes this trying is exhausting, overwhelming, confusing.

People say these are the best times of our life and sometimes we believe them- when we're with our friends on something that feels like an adventure. When we laugh so hard that nothing else seems to matter and when we wake up to find we were smiling the entire time we were asleep.

But usually we hope this isn't true. Because we 15, 16, 17. Because we hope to live to be 85, 86, 87. Because we don't want the best times of our life to be over before our life is even 1/4 gone.

And somehow I think we all understand, realize that the best times in our life, they're always before us. Because the best day of our life should be the one we are living at that moment. Because each day truly is a wonder, each night an escape and each new day more wonderful than the last.

An Ocean Away

Bridging the gap from your school to Uganda, can be simple by working through NETwork Against Malaria. Its phenomenal to see how far away your efforts travel in the fight against poverty and malaria.

This picture shows the distance between a fifth grade class from South Eastern Illinois who raised funds for bednets and the Ugandan children who received these nets a continent away.

Go the distance!