Be an Angel This Holiday Season

The lonely dog sitting on a patch of dirt in the bitter cold with a heavy chain pulling at his or her neck isn't enjoying life—that dog is miserable, just as you or I would be if we were left out in the ice, snow, and freezing temperatures of winter. The season is a long, cruel test of endurance for many dogs whose owners fail to allow them indoors as a loving part of their family or even provide them with adequate shelter from the elements. Many of these neglected dogs would be helped enormously if only they had a guardian angel—someone who would help give them some measure of relief from nature's worst.

Well, it turns out that it's actually quite easy to be that angel! Helping a dog get through the bitter cold, rain, sleet, and snow of winter—as well as the sweltering days of summer—is as easy as becoming a sponsor of PETA's "Angels for Animals" doghouse program. This simple act of holiday compassion can make a world of difference to a dog in need.

Since the inception of the "Angels for Animals" program, PETA fieldworkers have delivered more than 5,500 doghouses to dogs in desperate need, often the first real shelter that many of them have ever had.

PETA's fieldworkers go into some of the most impoverished areas in Virginia and North Carolina to help improve the lives of neglected "backyard dogs." While they always try to convince guardians to let their dogs live indoors as every family member deserves, if the guardians can't be persuaded, then the team does everything that it can to help improve the dogs' living conditions.

With temperatures dropping fast, far too many dogs still need an angel like you right now! I can think of no better feeling this holiday season than the one that comes from improving the life of a vulnerable animal—can you?