Recently, I, along with a number of other Portland bloggers, received an email from Corey from Portland Daily Photo about his “Blogging for Good” project. He asked us to write a blog post this week about a local nonprofit organization or cause that we support or admire. As you may or may not know (you should) I am a crazy dog lady (as is evidenced below by Ross and my Christmas card this year). My extreme love of dogs (ok, cats are cool too) led me to write about The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland.

Yes, that would be a Franklin the Puggle sweater Christmas card. My lovely and talented designer husband Ross made it. You should hire him to design things for you (cough, shameless plug, cough).

Anyways, back to dogs and cats in need. The Animal Refuge League’s mission is to “provide temporary care and shelter for stray, abandoned and relinquished animals, and to place as many as possible into responsible and caring homes. The Animal Refuge League also works to create awareness and support for the humane treatment of all animals and to end animal overpopulation through education and the promotion of spaying and neutering.”

Ross and I adopted a rescue pup, our sweet little Franklin, almost five years ago. Though he never spent any time in a shelter, I love knowing that we gave him a home when he didn’t have one. It is my personal belief that adopting animals from shelters and rescues is the most responsible and loving choice you can make. Sure expensive pure bred puppies are tempting (damn it if I don’t love pug puppies more than anything in the world), but there is nothing more rewarding than giving an abandoned animal a loving home.

To learn how you can support the Refuge League, click here. They need volunteers, food and supplies, and cash donations to support their mission. You can also become a member by donating every month. I just sponsored a cage, so I know that for one month a dog has a warm and safe place to call home.

Ok, if that guilt trip didn’t do it for you, have a look at this face. He means business!