Ugh, puppy mills. These commercial breeding facilities are horrendous. The animals are kept in tiny wire cages, with little to no human interaction throughout their lives. They are rarely, if ever, seen medically and are forced to breed over and over again and watch as their babies are taken away from them and sold to pet stores. It is a supply-and-demand business, so the more people stop going to pet stores and choose to adopt instead, the quicker we can put an end to these puppy mills.

Ugh, puppy mills. These commercial breeding facilities are horrendous. The animals are kept in tiny wire cages, with little to no human interaction throughout their lives. They are rarely, if ever, seen medically and are forced to breed over and over again and watch as their babies are taken away from them and sold to pet stores. It is a supply-and-demand business, so the more people stop going to pet stores and choose to adopt instead, the quicker we can put an end to these puppy mills.

Special-needs rescues and older rescues have always had a close place in my heart, because those are the ones that tend to get looked over. That is why I love how North Shore Animal League America has their shelter set up.

Older animals are the best because, number one, a majority of the time, they are already house-trained; number two, you know exactly what kind of personality you are going to be getting with that animal; and number three, they are already full size, so no need to wonder how big they are going to get.

You have to walk through the kennel and check out the older animals before you can get to the puppies and kittens - and let me tell you, sometimes the adopters never make it to the puppies and kittens.

North Shore Animal League America is so dear to my heart not only for the amazing people that work there, the innovative life-saving programs they have, and the mission to rescue, nurture, and adopt but also for the hard work and dedication this organization has to the cause. They have saved over one million lives since their inception, and they are the world's largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization.

I like to call myself an "equal opportunist," as I love both dogs and cats, but over the last couple years, both Howard and I have become champions for cats. They are so independent and loving and playful and bring such happiness to our lives.