Growing up in Mississippi I have been around animals my entire life. When I was little I was raised around chickens, kittens, and of course dogs. I remember having a rabbit as well. One time my mother and I literally rescued the rabbit we saw on the street and took it home. The holidays are coming up and sometimes the best present to give is that of another life in the form of a pet.

If you think that you would like to adopt a pet for the holiday, here are some locations in and around Lake Charles that can help find a new pet for you or surprise someone special this holiday.

Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Animal Services and Adoption Center

5500- A Swift Plant Road

Hobo Hotel For Cats & Kittens

650 E. School Street

Sulphur Animal Control

Westlake, Louisiana

PetSmart

3130 E. Prien Lake Road

Not only will you have the chance to place a smile on your or someone else's face, but you'll also be able to give a home to a pet who was either abandoned or lost and doesn't have a home.

LOOK: Here are the best lake towns to live in

Many of the included towns jump out at the casual observer as popular summer-rental spots--the Ozarks' Branson, Missouri, or Arizona's Lake Havasu--it might surprise you to dive deeper into some quality-of-life offerings beyond the beach and vacation homes. You'll likely pick up some knowledge from a wide range of Americana: one of the last remaining 1950s-style drive-ins in the Midwest; a Florida town that started as a Civil War veteran retirement area; an island boasting some of the country's top public schools and wealth-earners right in the middle of a lake between Seattle and Bellevue; and even a California town containing much more than Johnny Cash's prison blues.

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