Confidence Saved the Cat

We all love cute little puppies and kittens. But we have to think about what's going to happen to them when they grow up. It's our responsibility to spay and neuter our pets.
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You know the old saying, "curiosity killed the cat." I wish that were the case. But in fact, it's not curiosity. It's euthanasia. Euthanasia is estimated to kill five million cats and dogs each year -- it's awful, and I'm determined to do something about it.

That's my passion -- getting cats and dogs and all animals out of shelters alive and happy. The pet food industry has been very good to me and my family, and I'm determined to give something back. Our pet lovers' community website, Zootoo.com, is committed to shining a spotlight on animal shelters and the thousands of devoted citizens -- mainly shelter managers, their loyal staff, and tons of volunteers -- who work so hard caring for homeless animals and trying to find them a loving, forever home.

There are so many shelters in need of help, so many animals whose survival depends on us, that it's easy to get discouraged. We cannot afford to let that happen. Discouragement is a recipe for defeat. Confidence paves the way to victory.

Confidence is more than just a word. It's a state of mind. Very often, it is the difference between success and failure. Imagine if a majority of Americans today had confidence that things will be just fine, that we will come out of the current economic crisis as we always have, stronger than ever. Confidence would encourage consumers to buy, and manufacturers to produce, and investors to invest. Confidence works!

If we are confident we can save millions of animals from euthanasia, we will! It's not hard. It just takes the will to succeed and the belief that we can.

I am confident that we can get shelters and their communities working together to solve this problem.

Let's face it. We, America's pet lovers, cause this problem. We all love cute little puppies and kittens. But we have to think about what's going to happen to them when they grow up. It's our responsibility to spay and neuter our pets. It's our responsibility to make sure every shelter has an up-to-date spay and neuter facility or the local veterinarians in that community step up to the plate and take that responsibility on behalf of their community. It's our responsibility not to support puppy mills and other people who breed pets indiscriminately for profit. We need to take action with the confidence that everything we do, individually and collectively, will make a difference.

I've been an entrepreneur my whole life. And I absolutely believe that the key to my success has been confidence, because confidence is contagious. When you believe, it's much easier to convince others to believe. Your confidence can encourage public officials to pay attention, and local businesses to donate services and supplies, including veterinarians and pet food manufacturers. I want to encourage pet lovers to volunteer at their local shelter.

If you are confident that you can make a difference in saving the lives of homeless pets, others will help you make that difference. Let's do it together, for the animals and get our shelters and communities working together to resolve this problem.

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