and was gone a decade ago? Was it only a decade ago that a blackberry was a mere summer fruit? That green was, well, a color?

APPS: There's an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade's gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom's house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)

CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she's probably emailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.

CELLPHONES: Cellphones are now used by more than 85 per cent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines entirely. On the downside, they've made cheating on a spouse more difficult - just ask Tiger Woods.

FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it's a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Who to friend on Facebook?

FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama - second in national obesity rankings - introduced a tax on overweight state workers.

GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie - when was it? Just Google it.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD: An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything. It's at our fingertips, but is it accurate?

IPODS: An icon of the digital age, it's hard to believe this portable media player was first launched in 2001. Six years later the 100 millionth iPod was sold.

TEXTING: R u still rding this sty? Hope u r. This is the decade we started communicating in the shorthand of text messages. Get used to it: Email is so '00s.

YOUTUBE: Let's end this list and go kill some time by watching ... YouTube videos! The video-sharing site was born in 2005.

     So with all the changes during the last ten years, why were changes not made when it comes to animals? Did I just write "changes during the last ten years"?

    Oh heck, let's try the last 149 years! The first American Humane Society was opened in 1866. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was born. Nine days later the first anti-animal cruelty law was approved by the New York legislature.  

     When the ASPCA was first formed, stray dogs were rounded up each day by the hundreds, placed into a cage, and dropped into the East River to drown. In 1894 the humane society took over animal control duties in New York, and created animal shelters and promoted the practice of animal rescue within the city. 

      By 1888, 37 of the 38 U.S. states had passed animal cruelty prevention laws and humane societies and animal shelters were opening across the nation. 

     So in a nutshell, in the last 149 YEARS pets have been murdered and people keep breeding them! There is no central data reporting system for U.S. animal shelters and rescues. Estimates can only be based on information provided for studies. It is estimated that at least 2 to 4 MILLION homeless pets are killed each year in America's shelters.    

     Due to education and social media the number of pets killed each year has decreased. But more work is still needed. While 2 to 4 million healthy pets are not adopted each year, only about 30 percent in homes come from shelters or rescues. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home. More than SEVEN animals per minute are killed in shelters unnecessarily. That means more than 9,000 animals per day.  

    How can we wake people up? It is obvious that what has been done in the last 149 years has NOT worked.

     A recent visitor to Pet Pals said he wants to breed his mixed breed (Rott & Pit Bull) dog because people want the puppies. Yea, and we all live in a dream world. May the year 2015 stop people from being so ignorant!

We can start to end our own heartache over animal abuse and murder by speaking out against it and educating others.

-Linda York, Pet Pals, Inc.