Merry Christmas!
To all my friends, family, readers, and minions,
This year we have made a donation to the World Wildlife Fund for y’alls gift. A hundred years from now there will still be pandas and polar bears in the wild (hopefully). You’re welcome.
Merry Christmas!
That Clever Chick
I love the Animal Trustees of Austin
All you people are probably up-to-date on the current saga of my life, including the face that my computer has a virus and all my wonderful photos are unreachable, and that I have several animals around my house. Those two facts are why this post is being written today. I really love the Animal Trustees of Austin, and I will tell you why.
If you are unaware, the Animal Trustees is a low cost spay/neuter service, as well as a clinic for basic animal services (like shots and flea prevention, not medical issues where you’d need a vet). I’m always surprised at the number of people I know who have never even heard of this place. I’m not sure how I heard of it to begin with, but they have saved me tons of money over the years.
That’s my dear puppy, Flapjack. Recently, we had to take him to the Animal Trustees for the following items: heart worm test, 6 months of heart worm medication, 6 months of flea prevention, and nail trim. All of this cost about $130. That sounds like a lot, but my vet would have cost at least $220, at the least. The heart worm test is a one-time deal, and my sweet baby came back clean! Hooray! Taking that into account, since the other expenses are over 6 months, it’s about $18 per month to have my dog, medically. We’re not talking about food or anything. It would be $30 per month if I went to my vet for the basics.
We also got Flapjack and our cat Mushroom fixed there, and they did a wonderful job. You can tell they really care about all the animals, and everyone I’ve talked to has been extremely knowledgeable.
There are 2 separate sections: the wellness clinic, and the spay/neuter clinic. Their website has more details about what they offer, and when to show up. They don’t schedule appointments, so you have to show up, with your animal, ready to wait. Cats MUST be in crates, or they have cardboard carriers for $5. Seriously though, get a cat carrier at the thrift store. I see them all the time. Bleach the hell out of it before you put your pet into it, and I would throw away any bedding in it, just to be on the safe side, but otherwise there should be no worries.
I don’t know what else to write, that isn’t already written more articulately on their site. They are located off I-35 North and Cameron Road, and parking is limited, so try to get there early, and bring the smallest vehicle you own. Also bring a book or something to entertain yourself, because you may have to wait for awhile.
This place provides low cost spay and neuter services partly funded by donations, and with the goal of ending overpopulation of animals. Donating to this place would be a wonderful Christmas gift for the animal lover on your gift list. It’s way better than another ceramic kitten figurine, and you don’t have to wrap it. Yay for anti-shopping!!
Anti-Shopping Christmas Guide
Today is “cyber-Monday”. I guess that’s something of a big deal, because it’s all over yahoo! news, and my facebook page. So in response to all the shopping pressure, and because I am like a stubborn mule that likes to go against the flow of normality, I am posting my anti-shopping recommendations.
I don’t hate shopping. That’s the problem. I love shopping especially for all the people I care about, and if I had millions of dollars they would all be getting random gifts from me year-round, just because I saw something they would like. Unfortunately, I shop for myself whenever I am shopping for others, so I usually double what I would be spending, if not more. Due to all of the costs, as well as travel associated with this time of year, Hubby and I had started to completely hate Christmas. We wanted to reverse this trend, and feel good about the money we’re spending, as well as control the amount. This is how anti-shopping was born.
We are giving charitable donations in the names of all our friends and family this year, and giving them cards to let them know. I have done a bit of this in the past, and here are some of the websites I’ve used:
1) World Vision – this charity allows you to donate in tons of different ways. You can sponsor a child, buy a goat or flock of chickens for a village, or help build a well to provide clean drinking water. They also have a shop where you can buy cool little things, and the proceeds go to the charity.
2) Defenders of Wildlife – this site allows you to sponsor dozens of different animals in order to help protect their habitat, and advocate for their protection. You can adopt sea turtles, wolves, penguins and many others, and the gift recipient gets a plush toy, which is super sute.
3) Local Charities – does the person on your gift list volunteer somewhere? Do they have a pet cause, like homelessness, gay rights, or child welfare? Find a charity in your city so the gift can help close to home.
4) Animal Trustees of Austin - Speaking of local, this is a great organiztion that provides low cost spay, neuter, and basic medical services for animals in Austin.
5) Town Lake Animal Shelter - Town Lake does not turn away any animals, and is dependent on charitable donations to care for all of them. This is not a no-kill shelter, but from what I understand they are trying to transition in that direction.
6) The Human Fund - The link I’ve provided here goes to a video by the founder of the Human Fund, explaining their mission and goals. I think this one is already pretty well-known, so I’ll let the video speak for itself.
There is always the Red Cross, and several other well known national charities most people would be very happy to help support. The issues we run into with our family, is that we don’t know what they already own, or what they’d want for the most part, and it gets frustrating. For the young kids we will still be buying toys (mostly Batman related, of course), but for the adults I will be making handmade cards to let them know what donation we made in their name. This way I can have fun crafting, and yet I don’t have to wrap tons of stuff. That’s win, win in my book.
PS. You can always shop your little heart out at my Etsy store also: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thatcleverchick I’m basically a charity case.
