Be Kind To Animals
Celebrate Be Kind to Animals Week
Be Kind to Animals Week is May 5 -11 this year and we could not think of a better subject to blog about! Certainly it seems like common
sense to be kind to animals but in reality life isn’t always like that. We (those of us who work here and you, our clients) all share a common love for animals and we can explore ways that we can be kind to animals all year round.
American Humane brought Be Kind to Animals week to light. This commemoration is the oldest of its kind and is the longest running humane education program in the country. You can check out American Humane here.
How can you promote kindness to animals?
Promoting kindness to animals is easy. You can pledge to adopt your next animal from a shelter. You can commit to supporting local or national humane organizations financially. Pledge to volunteer your time at a local animal organization. Shelters always need more hands.
Support your local shelters
Did you know that volunteers staff many animal welfare organizations here in San Antonio? These volunteers do what they do from the bottom of their hearts. Say thank you to these hardworking volunteers by doing something nice for them. More importantly, help them in their efforts. 
We support Helotes Humane Society throughout the year by donating food and supplies that we take in. Our annual Angel Tree at Christmas raises funds and we gather donated items for the animals in their care. Working at a shelter or shelter environment takes its toll on volunteers and employees alike. It means a lot to have the support of the community behind the work they are doing.
What if you want to be kind from the sidelines?
So, what if you want to be kind to animals but you feel as though you are unable to actually “do” something to make a difference? Believe it or not, you can actually stop doing some things and that can help animals. You can “not” support businesses that are not humane. For instance, if you are planning to go a zoo or an aquarium, visit only certified ones. Our zoo here in San Antonio is certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Furthermore, you can also choose to buy cruelty-free products.
Cruelty Free products are kind to animals
Buying cruelty-free is becoming easier than ever. There are even Humane Certified eggs at HEB! Many mainstream stores carry cruelty-free produc
ts. To determine if products you use are tested on animals simply look at the label. Products that are cruelty free will often say “Not tested on animals” or display the leaping bunny logo. For more information visit the Leaping Bunny website.
You can also take a stand against animals being harmed in the making of movies. Do not watch any that do not have the American Humane “No Animals Were Harmed” at the end of movie credits. This means that no animals were harmed in the making of the movie.
Teaching the next generation to be kind
While all of these things are important none are more so than teaching the next generation that kindness matters. Compassion towards animals can be something that we teach our children so that each generation gets better and the plight of animals gets better as well. For all of you who are reading this who have picked up strays, you know that your compassion changed the world for the animal you helped. For each person who picked up an animal, there is someone out there who threw that animal away. This is what we strive to change.
Committed to kindness
We updated our Mission Statement for our practice this year as well as our Core Values and our Vision and they all revolve around kindness. Let me share them with you.
Our mission is to treat every patient as our own through compassionate, customized medical care while providing an atmosphere in which our clients feel like family. We accomplish this by
- Providing a low stress experience for our patients
- Personalized client service and education
- Staff education and development
- Utilizing the latest technologies
Our core values include:
RESPECT: We promise to treat others the way we want to be treated.
INTEGRITY: We promise to do the right thing even when no one is watching. We are accountable, honest and humble and will earn the trust of our clients, co-workers and our patients.
PASSION: We care for our patients as if they were our own pets. We are dedicated to veterinary medicine because we want to help make a difference in the lives of our patients.
EMPATHY: We are mindful and compassionate with clients and patients and their individual situations. We recognize that being able to experience the feelings of another is crucial in our field.
Join us in realizing our vision
Our vision for the future is to foster a sense of unity where our team and our clients work together to provide the best possible care for our patients. We want to foster a harmonious team and support the health of pets in our community. Our vision at Hill Country Animal Hospital is continuous quality improvement. We want to continue changing and improving to keep up with the expanding needs of our clients; ever changing needs of our patients and the advances in veterinary medicine.
Our team commits to these kindness-based principles and we want you to know. Our doctors and staff want kindness for our patients, our clients and each other. Spreading kindness is the path to be on. We also hope we can spread the idea of kindness for all animals. We can make the future brighter for animals by teaching children today about kindness and compassion and by practicing kindness and compassion ourselves.