Watch and listen for Christmas kittens and puppies that are kept outdoors in bad weather, under porches or tied to trees. Take action to save them. You may be the only one who sees or hears.

They watch through the windows, cold or wet or both, and no one cares

You can tell if families want their new Christmas puppies or kittens. They get to stay in houses. But sometimes a gift is unwanted—especially an energetic, wiggly, clumsy gift that may not be perfectly housetrained. They won’t get house privileges. If they are lucky, they may get to sleep in a weather-tight garage or outbuilding. The unlucky ones may get tied to porches or trees. Or they may just get put out the door to wander and watch through windows.

A few days ago, they played with their littermates and were loved by mother cat or dog. But now they could be at risk for death from exposure, especially with winter storms roaring. Don’t let that happen. If you see or hear these tiny victims of Christmas, you must take action. Call the authorities, or go directly to the home and offer to help with shelter and food. You can offer to re-home the unwanted pet. Yes, you might step out of your comfort zone. But if you woke up tomorrow to find a tragedy, how would you feel about doing nothing?