There has been a lot going on in the world of animals and pet owners! Everytime I open the newspaper or log onto a news website there is an article about a brave little animal that survived euthanasia or a change in animal rights legislation! It is so good to see the growing interest in preventing animal abuse and animal activism!!! (shown at right is "Andrea" the cat who's story is mentioned further into the blog)

The new animal shelter on west fulton st in fulton county that received donations in 2007 has finished it's contruction and has been insulated. Great news for fulton county! It will definitely help with the over abundance of animals on the street and the spaying and neutering problem.

One of the things I am most excited about is that it is actually possible to become A KILL SHELTER FREE NATION by 2015!!!! Corporate funds have increasingly gone towards animal causes and have contributed 30 million so far. By 2015 we will have an estimated 70 million. Most of that money will go to spaying and nuetering due to the costs of this procedure most often being too expensive for pet owners. This will then serve as an alternative to euthanization and we will no longer use that method for population control! I cannot stress this piece of advice enough to new pet owners..please do whatever you can to make sure your pet is spayed and neutered so that we can prevent further killings of innocent animals!

I'm not sure how many have heard the inspiring story about a cat named "Andrea" who survived two euthanization attempts in a Utah shelter but if you haven't it is likely to break your heart. Andrea had such a will to live that she survived two attempts of the shelter taking her life. The second time the shelter thought they had succeeded and put her in a bag in a freezer. They soon found that she had thrown up on herself and was still alive. It is sad to think that they would put this innocent animal through two attempts or any attempts at all. Her story grew rapidly and had a happy ending! she was adopted. :) It is stories like hers that should open America's eyes to the need to eliminate kill shelters. They are hideous options to controlling populations and our society is too civil to partake in it. Let her be an inspiration to be a voice for these animals and to join organizations that fight the concept of kill shelters!!

I will be competing in the Miss Fulton County pageant which is a preliminary to the Miss America pageant and throughout my entire pageant career my platform has been preventing animal abuse and neglect. People will often ask me why my platform is not "preventing child abuse" or " preventing abusive relationships". My answer is always that my platform already includes all of that. If we can recognize the relationship between animal abuse and violence in general we are protecting all. One of my major goals is to help my community and beyond to understand the correlation between animal abuse and all other kinds of violence. Ninety- nine percet of criminals in our jails have abused an animal before commiting a crime of another nature that landed them in prison. Anti- social personality disorder is usually to blame for animal abuse ad all crimes against humanity. Some of the most important traits to recognize in this disorder is disregard to all lawful regulations and having no remorse towards the violent crimes they have committed. It really is a scary disorder that exists in the world and our communities need to be aware of it's dangers. The famous "Buster's Law" was named after a tabby cat that was set on fire by a 16 yearold named chester williamson. In Chester's life since, there has been a lengthy list of crimes and in his past before hurting "Buster" a lengthy list of animal abuse incidents. :/ This is just one of many examples!

Lastly I'd just like to say that if you ever see an animal being abused or are suspicious please do not be afraid to be their voice! It is important to report anonomously for your own safety because people who abuse animals intentionally are usually dangerous. Some animals will never know love, kindness, comfort or companionship but you may be the only reason they do.

SPREAD THE WORD! We can accomplish both a kill shelter free nation and preventing violence in our communities! Thanks so much for reading!

Danielle <3