Dear Santa Claws,

I hope you are happy and well, and that things up in the North Pole aren’t too cold. I hope you haven’t been too stressed out by the holiday preparations; and even though I am sure that Mrs. Claws is a great canner, I hope you are taking advantage of all of that fresh, raw meat up there. I know I would! But that’s not what I’m writing to you about.

To answer your first question, yes I have been a good boy. A very, very, very good boy. And no, this letter has nothing to do with what I want for Xmas or anything. I don’t need any new toys or border-collie bling, I am truly happy with everything I have.

Dear Santa Claws, I am writing to you to help you help my furry friends around the world.

Some of my friends – like Asian Elephants, Meerkats and Orangutans – and their families may not be around for much longer. Their environments are being destroyed by big, human industry around them, and to tell the truth they are dying out. It makes me whimper. Instead of presents, if you could adopt an endangered friend of mine it would make a huge difference! When you adopt an animal, you’ll have a stuffed animal, reusable gift bag, and personalized adoption certificate that you can wrap up into a gift. A letter that identifies you as the gift-giver will show everyone that you, dear Santa Claws, left the prezzie. How great is that?

On a sadder note, some of my brothers and sisters are being raised, right this minute, in really terrible circumstances. Their humans are not taking care of them, and they suffer emotional, physical and mental abuse – like dog fighting, puppy mills, and euthanasia. No living creature deserves to be hurt, and Santan Claws you can help us! A donation to The Humane Society of the United States will help the world’s leading animal advocacy organization work to protect all animals across the nation and worldwide. Of course when you donate you’ll have something to wrap: a profile and photo of an animal that has been saved by donations like yours. Included will also be a subscription of the HSUS All Animals magazine (filled with great pet info – not always as entertaining as mine, but from the horse’s mouth anyhow.).

At this point I’d like to put a little wag in your step! Our good friends at Petco have an established foundation, and every year they run a fundraiser to support thier good work. Santa Claws, their calenders are now available on line and in stores for a donation of only $5.99. We certainly encourage you to consider rounding up with an additional donation of $10 or $20. 100% of the proceeds from this calendar will benefit animals in need.

And finally, nothing says I love you and Happy Holidays like keeping us healthy and happy. My friends at PetWellbeing.com have a whole variety of natural products to treat and prevent, and good dog they have helped alot of my pals. My human and I love them.

So, dear Santa Claws, you can consider this letter a wish list of sorts. I wish all my pals around the world a healthy, safe,happy holiday season. I know you can help!

Thanks for reading this, Buster

PS If you happen to have any extra Northern Rawhide still kicking around, I would be much obliged when you swing this-a-way. Yap!

Photo Credit: sayheypatrick