Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie have gone to the dogs. Literally. Starting today, billboards are going up across the Greater Chicagoland area and public service announcements will air on television featuring Buehrle and his wife promoting pet adoption. The Buehrles have partnered with Adopt-A-Pet.com. According to a press release from PRNewswire, we should be seeing light-hearted adoption-promoting billboards and television public service announcements featuring Buehrle and his wife. The television PSA shows them playing with their three dogs on the grass at U.S. Cellular Field. Funding for the billboards was provided by Nestle Purina.
The Buehrles are no strangers to pet adoption. They are active in companion-animal welfare issues. They founded Sox for Strays, a monthly pre-game adoption event where pets from local shelters and rescue organizations are brought to U.S. Cellular Field hoping to be adopted. They also are funding a new adoption and care center for Hope Animal Rescues, an Illinois-based rescue group. Buehrle said:
"Our dogs add so much to our lives, and our family wouldn't be complete without them. The shelters are filled with great pets, both mixed-breed and purebred. We recently adopted a purebred Viszla. You can pretty much find any kind of pet you want in a shelter."
This statement is right on target. Even former racing greyhounds, a passion of mine, have recently been showing up at shelters. Citywide pet adoption days are becoming more and more frequent. More and more dogs and cats are losing their homes as their owners lose their homes. Pets that survived disasters, like Hurriane Katrina, are in the care of no-kill shelters and rescue groups seeking good homes for these animals.
Adopt-a-Pet.com is one of North America's largest non-profit adoption websites. More than 9,,500 animal shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, pet rescue groups and pet adoption agencies advertise on the site. In the Chicago area, more than 200 animal shelters rely on Adopt-a-Pet.com to help them find homes for pets. Each month, the website displays photos of pets available for adoption with descriptions of the pet and personality. It is estimated that the site reaches more than 1.2 million people looking to adopt dogs and cats. Take a look at the website. Not only will you find photos of adoptable dogs and cats, but you'll find articles about the people who rescue these animals and helpful tips on adopting a dog or cat.
I can tell you from experience as someone who has adopted a total of four former racing greyhounds and also a mini lab/beagle mix that these animals know they have been rescued and they were grateful every day I had them.
It doesn't matter if you're a Sox fan, a Cubs fan, a Bears fan, a Blackhawks fan, if you're a fan of animals, the Buehrles' message will tug at your heart.
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