Terrifying Tonks Tuesday

It's Tonks Tuesday, and it's kind of a terrifying one. After all, look at the kind of stuff poor Tonks has to deal with year round.

This here sort of morbid human indeed has a number of Halloween goodies that stay out year round, including that there pillow. And that topic takes us right to today's contribution to the April A to Z Challenge.

This year, my A to Z theme is "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things", and today we've reached the letter O. While I yet again had a number of options to go with for this letter, I ended up landing on my O standing for October. After all, that allowed me to scribble up and share a doodle like this:

October offers a lot of things I quite appreciate in life, including the one and only Halloween, pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns (or, even better, cat-o'-lanterns), horror stories, autumn leaves, crisp air, and all of that wonderful stuff. All things considered, October is my favorite month of the year.

You've probably seen drawings with similar characters as above. Though that there is a new doodle, it is concept art for a book I've been writing for what seems like an eternity. It involves none other than the Headless Horseman as well as a calico cat, and I've mentioned it before, and I've also shared a number of doodles related to it. Also, the calico kitty previously mentioned and in the doodle above is my angel Rosie.

Wishing you all a not too terrifying Tuesday!

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Tip of the Day

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. For this reason, we're going to have a bit of a series of tips on how to recognize potential cases of cruelty, as well as what we can do to help. Today, we're going to start by giving a simple overview of what cruelty can look like. First, of course physical abuse toward an animal is cruelty. Neglect is another form of cruelty, and can include situations such as when an animal is left outdoors in extreme or unlivable conditions with no shelter, food, or water. In a similar line of thought is hoarding, which can include too large of an animal population for the space provided, extremely unsanitary conditions, and lack of nutritional, medical, and other basic care for the animals. Another example of neglect and cruelty to animals is abandoning an animal, such as in a vacated home or outdoors. Other examples of cruelty to animals include leaving an animal alone in a hot, or even cold, car, as well as any form of dog fighting.

There are, sadly, a great many examples of animal cruelty and neglect. Since animals can't speak for themselves, it is of course important that we all be aware of what cruelty is, and what forms it can take. Our vigilance and diligence may be the only way for some innocent, helpless animals out there to receive the help and care they need. So, do make sure that you are aware of the sad yet true facts of animal cruelty and neglect. This way, you can know it when you see it, and can thereby seek help for the afflicted animal or animals. Tomorrow, we will discuss some of the ways we can address situations of cruelty and neglect that we might witness.