One of the wonderful things about living in the western world is the abundance of "things" that we have the good fortune of having. While we all like getting presents at Christmas time, it's probably safe to say that most of us have more "stuff" than we really need.

Some years ago, the team at VetShopAustralia decided that rather than sending presents (more "stuff") to customers and suppliers, we would instead make a gift to a poor or underprivilaged community in the name of our staff, customers and suppliers.

We chose the "Smiles" program operated by World Vision (worldvision.com.au), as it is focused on helping the poorest of the poor, with items that are sustainable, and help break the brutal cycle of poverty. As animal lovers, we choose gifts of farm animals, which help the communities by providing not just food, but also wool, milk & eggs to sell and donkeys and cattle to help till the earth and cart goods.

World Vision also provides the communities with animal husbandry training and support, so that we know that these animals will not just be appreciated, but well cared for as well.

Although the economic conditions have been tough this year, we are proud to say that we have been able to maintain our tradition of giving "just a little bit more" each year. This year, our selected gift was a Stable full of animals (click here to view). This gift will go to a community in Australia's close neighbour, East Timor and comprises of two donkeys, two cows, two goats, four ducks, and six chickens with chicken feed.

We hope our contribution will go some way to helping the families in this community. Click here to read more about the work of World Vision in East Timor.

On behalf of everyone here at VetShopAustralia, we wish you, your family, friends, and of course pets, a safe and merry Christmas!