Charitable Gifts for the Pet Lovers on Your Shopping List

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During the holiday season, it's rewarding to give the animal aficionados in our lives something special to share with a furry companion. So what about combining a unique gift with a charitable giving opportunity? 

According to Harris Interactive and World Vision, 83 percent of Americans say they would prefer to receive a meaningful gift that would help someone else instead of a traditional gift such as clothing or electronics. However, the percentage of people giving charitable gifts as presents has fallen. Consider thinking outside of the box with a gift that will please both humans and animals. Here are some perfect opportunities: 

A Symbolic Gift from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) allows you to benefit needy animals while making the gift recipient feel great, too. The option you choose comes with an ASPCA greeting card, educational brochure and personalized Certificate of Appreciation, all sent to your gift recipient. Choices include Scholarships for Therapy Cats ($60);  Transport of an Animal Rescued from Cruelty or Disaster ($25); Hospitalization for Victims of Cruelty and Abuse and Pet Owners in Need of Financial Assistance ($50); and many more.

The Animal Rescue Site offers fun pet-themed gifts that earmark 3% to 50% of each purchase price to help needy animals through charities such as the Petfinder.com Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Rescue, the Humane Society of the United States and Rescue Bank. Gifts include The Paws Galore Cookie Baking Set ($7) with baking sheet and paw-shaped cookie cutters (perfect for making biscuits for dogs or humans!); Paws Galore Ultralite Rain Boots ($18) that offer a plethora of rainbow-hued paw prints and thick traction soles to get people and pooches through the most precarious puddles; and the Stainless Steel Travel Mug ($17) with a paw print design, "All-My-Children-Have-Paws" exclamation and a drip-proof seal to prevent spills on the way to the dog park.

Based in Kanab, Utah, Best Friends Animal Society is best known for their 3,700-acre sanctuary where approximately 1,700 animals receive medical help, socialization and love to help turn their lives around.  While searching for their forever homes, they live in a scenic, healing environment among human and animal friends. Best Friends makes it easy to send a tribute gift online to help the sanctuary and will send a card of acknowledgment to the person you designate.

Of course, there are many more options out there. So while planning your holiday purchases for animal lovers, consider a charitable one. A lot of friends, family and animals will undoubtedly appreciate the gesture.

Small NC Town Finally Opts Out on Opossum Drop

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Lowering a possum into a crowd of approximately 2,000 celebrators near New Year's Eve has been a tradition in Brasstown, N.C., for 21 years.  But after pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA), a recent court ruling prohibits the use of wild animals for pets or amusement, nixing the annual possum drop. According to FoxNews.com, the man behind this festivity—Clay Logan—describes it as "good, clean, family fun."

However, PETA begs to differ, saying it's "illegal and cruel." Logan counters that the possum is lowered in a plexiglass cage and eventually released into the woods.

PETA maintains that "Opossums are shy animals who are terrified of humans—their primary predator—and vulnerable to stress-related conditions because of captivity, including capture myopathy, which can result in death days or even weeks after release back into the wild."

Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred G. Morrison Jr., according to Peta.org, found that in North Carolina, citizens "are prohibited from capturing and using wild animals for pets or amusement" and that the "Wildlife Resources Commission has no authority to issue any permit to Logan for the unlawful public display of a native wild animal at the Opossum Drop event." 

Whatever your take on the situation, it is official that Logan's opossums have been dropped for the last time...for now. Logan maintains that he will find a way to continue the tradition—without breaking the law.