Tools will not work if they are not used .....

What a perfect morning in the woods!   Cool enough at long last to banish the mosquitoes but still balmy enough not to need to bundle up.    The leaves are late turning this year, so the woods still have that lovely, shady old growth feel where one half expects to find Jethro Tull piping for the folk from Middle Earth.
Best of all of course is that right now it is such a comfort to be able to go to the woods with the three good dogs I am still blessed to have.  We are gradually settling into a new way of living .. one that does not include Andy and Kitty Bear ... and it is important for me to remember that it is a shared loss among us all.
I would like to thank everyone who has emailed their sympathies.   I am sometimes surprised by how many folks read my little scribblings ... and it IS a comfort to hear from those who understand that there is no such thing as "just a dog" or "just a cat".
Now that the Thanksgiving feasting is done (at least here in Canada :), most of us are starting to think about the next lovely holiday season.  And that of course has me thinking once again about the Home for the Holidays adoption program. 
The ads will start up soon ... and already there are seven Nova Scotia rescues and shelters signed up.  
How did it work last year?   Hmmm.   While it was wonderful that so many groups did sign up, I really don't think that everyone took the best advantage of the free tools that were offered.    I did not hear one PSA or see one in the paper anywhere :(
Nor did I see one single website with a program logo so that potential adopters who had seen the television ads could make any kind of personal connection with the rescue or shelter!
The reason I have a workshop full of tools is so that I can tackle any job that needs doing, rather than have to hire someone, eh?    This afternoon, I am sprucing up my baby barn with a few new battens and a fresh coat of paint.  I won't have to go shopping .... everything I need is already in the workshop. 
To say that the Home for the Holidays program is not effective without using all the tools is akin to a certain shelter claiming that Petfinder doesn't work without actually using it properly.  
What time is it?   It is always time to remember that free pet adoption tools only work when they are used!