2023 Animal Stories Magazine

Page 5 2023 Animal Stories Lincoln Daily News February 22. 2023 For those who are leaning toward getting a pet, we encourage adoption from the local shelters. These are pets who desperately need your love and attention and will make great companions for days to come, if you just give them a chance. But, making the decision to adopt a pet is not to be taken lightly. It is a responsibility that you will take on and sometimes you will wonder if you made the right decision, but it the end, if you love your pet and your pet loves you back, it will be well worth the effort. To help you on the fencers, LDN turned to some experts in our community and asked them to give us an overview of what a person considering adoption should do ahead of bringing home that new fur baby, and what will be entailed in caring for the animal once it joins your family. LDN extends a very special thank you to Dr. Bill Armbruster of Green Prairie Animal Hospital and his wife Kay Armbruster of Cha- Dai Pet Motel. The two collaborated to give us an excellent look into preparing for pet ownership. Next we turned to the Humane Society of Logan County and asked for help in understanding the adoption process at the HSLC. LDN reporter Angela Reiners has put together a great piece that will illustrate how careful the HSLC is in placing pets with parents, and give you a heads up to what you need to do and know before you take that first step. While she was there, Reiners also asked for an update on the effort the HSLC is putting into expanding the shelter. The HSLC is hoping the community will get behind the planned expansion with financial support. After reading the article, if you feel inclined to help out, you will find information on how to make a donation to the HSLC building fund. The Animal Stories Pet Contest was a huge success this year, with more than 170 photos entered in five categories. Two staff members at LDN disqualified themselves from the judging because they had been the ones to receive and record all the photos and in many ways, they were glad that they did, because the judging was difficult. In each category the animals were amazing, and it would have been nice to give each one of the entries a prize. Though there were only five winners of the $50 gift cards courtesy of Farm and Home Supply, every photo submitted will be included in a massive picture page section of the 2023 Animal Stories Online Magazine. And, finally, we pay tribute to those beloved pets who have passed and now wait for us at the foot of the Rainbow Bridge. We encouraged our readers to remember their pets with a photo and a comment if they wished. For some it was a hard thing to do. One reader who submitted said that by the time she was done with her tribute, she had shed a few tears. That’s to be expected we think, because our pets are family, they are our children, our companions, sometimes our best listeners when we’re troubled, and our greatest comfort when we are in physical or emotional pain. We hope you enjoy the magazine this year, and we look forward to coming back next year with another great contest and more stories about the animals we love. Happy reading! Nila Smith