"Adopt a Shelter Pet" stamps

I love the Post Office. I'm just going to say that right up front. I know people who complain about the United States Postal Service, but I adore them. I write a lot of letters, enjoy sending packages, and really really love getting mail--and the USPS has never let me down. Well, no, once I think a letter I sent didn't get to its destination, but I've written hundreds of letters in my life, so a < 1% fail rate is okay by me. While the lines always move slowly at Post Offices, it's worth it to me to be able to send mail wherever I want. It's actually amazing to me: if I want to send a letter to someone in California, from Boston, it often only takes 3-4 days. They allow you to rent out PO Boxes cheaply. When you move, they'll forward your mail for free for a year! The post office is so cool!

My love for the USPS knows no bounds anyway, but ESPECIALLY this past spring, when they released their "Adopt a Shelter Pet" stamps. Every year, the USPS does a "social awareness" stamp line, be it for cancer, literacy, or children's health awareness--and this year, they are drawing attention to the need to adopt animals from shelters. (You can read the USPS press release about the line here, where the Postmaster General mentions how the awareness campaign aims to "encourage pet adoption and promote humane and responsible pet care.")
I've been using them since they first came out this spring, and I'm way more excited about them than the fruit or vegetable lines they had a couple years ago (and that's saying a lot, since I was really excited about those). (Guys, I can't help it: I really like stamps and mail.)

Not only do I love them just because they're stamps, but also because the stripy orange cat on the bottom right looks like Fritz, one of the three (former shelter) cats with whom the boyfriend and I live:
If you are interested in increasing awareness of shelter animals and supporting the post office (I love both of these things!), you can buy these stamps at your local post office or online. Do it sooner rather than later, because with unstable economies, you never know when stamp prices may change!