Happy Easter!

If you celebrate the holiday, we hope you have a very happy and blessed Easter! If you do not celebrate it, have a wonderful Sunday! Either way, we do hope you enjoyed Toby's Easter selfies, which were admittedly taken last year.

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For reasons I've mentioned over the last couple of days, I'm a couple letters behind on the April A to Z Challenge. Though there's usually a small hiatus from the A to Z Challenge on Sundays, I'm sharing an alphabetical doodle today anyway.

As I've mentioned a few times plus one, for this year's April A to Z Challenge, since I love to write and am working on a series of books, I'm sharing A to Z doodles relating to my stories. Much like my usual doodles and weekly poems, the stories I write are weird, wacky, and star lots of animals. That leads us to today's letter, which is L. Honestly, what I have to share for the letter L is a bit timely for this Easter Sunday, at least to my brain.

L is for Lazarus

If you know a little about Easter, and if you know the story behind Lazarus, then maybe you'll get why I quite like how this backlogged doodle now falls on Easter. That said, the orange tabby there is Lazarus. He is named that for a reason. Let's just say that while most cats have nine lives, Lazarus has, well, lots more. Oh, and Lazarus is a library cat, as was briefly mentioned in our recent doodle for the letter I.

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Tip of the Day

Today's tip is an Easter-inspired one, and it is to always think twice before ever giving anyone an animal as a gift. This could include giving a bunny to a child for Easter, as well as giving a puppy as a Christmas gift, or a kitty as a birthday gift. Caring for any animal will of course take time, effort, knowledge, and preparation. What's more, some animals, such as rabbits, have special dietary or other needs. This is why taking on an animal as a pet should be done with forethought and preparation by the pet's new owner. Giving a child a rabbit for Easter, therefore, could lead to a rabbit ending up in a situation with lack of proper care, and an overwhelmed child or parents. The same goes for giving any animal as a gift, especially if the recipient has not made the proper preparations or does not have the resources to care for a pet. So, never forget that giving an animal a proper home with proper care is something that should always be discussed, researched, and for which the owner should sufficiently be prepared. We have no doubt that all of you reading this already know this.

The above being said, it's worth noting that if a responsible pet owner expresses a desire to receive a pet as a gift, that is a bit of a different story. Someone whom you know well, who is already a proven kind and caring pet owner, and who wants another animal, is someone who could more reasonably receive an animal as a gift. We bet there are plenty of wonderful pet owners out there who have received a best friend in this manner. The important thing is to think such a decision through wisely, and to consider whether an animal will for certain receive the proper care it needs and deserves from a potential recipient.