I can't tell you how many times that ad has thrown me through about 4093 different emotions in a mere thirty seconds. So, when we were asked to help promote its incredible cause, it was a no brainer.

Iams Home 4 The Holidays is attempting to get 1.5 million animals adopted before January 4, 2010. Sound crazy? It's not. Last year they surpassed their goal of 1 million animals in just three months including Rumi, adopted by the program's 2009 ambassador Hilary Swank.


You see, there are around eight million homeless animals right now in the United States and close to half of them are scheduled to be euthanized due to overcrowding. If you're planning on bringing a pet into your home over the holidays, please consider adopting from your local shelter. You'll receive a complimentary IH4TH kit folder and DVD with tips on introducing a new pet to your home. You should also know that over 25% of dogs in shelters are purebreds.

For the rest of us, we can help by spreading the word and keeping informed. There's a shiny new badge available that we're sporting in our right sidebar and you can follow the campaign on Twitter, Facebook and of course through IH4TH.com.

You can also vote daily for your favourite shelter through Feed Pets In Need which provides these organizations with the food they need to keep caring for so many homeless animals.

Mike Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, founded IH4TH with support by Iams in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County. Since then the program has grown worldwide helping over 3 million pets find homes within the past decade. The 2008 IH4TH ambassador was Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives.