I’ve always loved Ellen DeGeneres. And now I love her even more…

Ellen is working with the United States Post office on their “Stamps to the Rescue” campaign. The stamps, which will go on sale April 30, feature photos of five dogs and five cats taken by veteran stamp photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce. These animals come from a shelter in New Milford, CT., and for them, the story ends well; they’ve all been adopted out to good homes.

Sadly, however, not all shelter stories have such a happy ending. About eight million dogs and cats end up in shelters every year. Only about half of them will make it out alive. Yet many of these animals would make wonderful, loving companions – if they were only given the chance.

Stamps to the Rescue aims to raise awareness about this. “These stamps continue a Postal Service tradition of bringing attention to serious social issues of the day … one letter at a time,” says Postmaster General John E. Potter. “This campaign will increase public awareness about sheltered pets, and our hope is that it will encourage pet adoption and promote humane and responsible pet care.”

As for Ellen, she introduced the stamps on her show in March. And Halo, Purely for Pets, a holistic pet care company she co-owns, is donating a million meals to shelter animals across the country to promote the campaign and to bring greater attention to the cause.

“This is a subject that I am extremely passionate about. By working together, we can find good homes for millions of adoptable, homeless and abandoned pets,” said DeGeneres. “And until they get adopted, I’m happy to say that Halo and I are giving one million meals to shelter pets that are waiting for you.”

You can find out more about the campaign, by visiting www.stampstotherescue.com. And even though the stamps won’t be available for another few weeks, you can pre-order them from the website.

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