Wish to lend a hand to homeless animals? Here are a few ways you can support animal rescues and shelters, which greatly benefit local communities, people, and animals.
Animal rescues and shelters are wonderful! They assist many animals and people, usually with very little funding and visibility. Give back by selecting one or more of the following methods to express your gratitude to the organizations that significantly improve the lives of people, animals, and your community.
Take in a pet
If you’ve been considering adopting a pet from a nearby shelter or rescue organization, this is a great option to consider. Look for available dogs and cats at your neighborhood rescue or shelter. Make sure you ask the organization you are thinking about adopting about their adoption procedure, and if it doesn’t feel right, find another adoption support group in your area.
Assist at home
Facilitate the work of rescues and shelters: Always wear collars and appropriate identification for your dogs and cats, such as ID tags and microchips. Upon bringing your dogs into your home, make sure they are neutered or spayed. Dogs should be leashed while they are outside of your property, and cats should be kept indoors where they can be kept safe (although it’s wonderful to take them for walks if they feel comfortable on a harness and leash or to provide them a catio for safe outdoor enrichment).
Assist your shelter in implementing improvements
An outmoded animal control ordinance or, in the case of municipal shelters, a meager budget could be impeding the work that your local shelter does. You may contribute by rallying support from your elected officials and working with shelter and rescue leaders to make necessary changes. If you see or hear anything at your local shelter that concerns you, follow our guidelines for addressing that concern in the most effective way.
Turn into a fan
Encourage your friends and family to like and follow the local animal shelters and rescue organizations on Facebook by inviting them to do the same. Participate by leaving comments and sharing posts.
Become inventive
Incorporate fabric, recycling, and creativity to provide much-needed entertainment for pets residing at local shelters and rescues. At adoption events hosted by shelters and rescues, you may play matchmaker by making eye-catching “Adopt-Me” jackets to highlight available pets. You can also build cage curtains to help shelter cats receive some solitude (and stay healthy).
Make your dreams come true.
Towels, toys, and other goods are always needed by shelters and rescue organizations. Look for wishlists on their websites; if none exists, give them a call to find out what’s in limited supply and offer to create an online wishlist for them.
Make a donation
All animal shelters and rescue groups have expenses to cover, and they will be appreciative of your kind financial contribution. Contributions can be utilized to assist with funding everyday operations, supplies, employee training, and modifications to animal housing, community engagement initiatives, enrichment for animals, and much more.
Offer assistance
Even if you are currently unable to acquire a pet, you may still improve the lives of local animals by volunteering at a shelter or rescue. Do you have any prior carpentry or electrical experience? Are you an expert at dog walking or marketing? These are all useful talents! Alternately, be willing to pick up new skills that are necessary, including trapping, neutering, and returning unwanted cats.
Take on the role of foster
One cannot overstate the importance of fosters. For animals that are unable to adjust to life in a shelter, those in need of medical attention, and abandoned kittens in need of a caregiver (or whose demands exceed what the frequently overworked shelter staff can supply), they can be lifesavers.
Numerous rescue organizations would not be able to accept as many animals if there was not a robust network of foster homes. Foster homes have the opportunity to serve as adoption ambassadors for friends, relatives, and coworkers who might not otherwise visit the shelter. Fostering is frequently a lot of fun for the resident pet if you already own pets.
Express gratitude
Spend a moment thanking the staff members of the rescue organizations or shelters in your community. Did you adopt a pet from one of them? Did they provide affordable spay/neuter? Perhaps they helped reunite you with your lost pet or provided behavioral advice that made it possible for your pet to stay in your home. Give them a shout-out on social media, drop off lunch or cookies for the staff and/or mention to municipal leadership what a value they bring to your community.
Raise awareness about unethical breeders and puppy mills.
You may raise awareness about unethical breeding even if you are unable to persuade someone to adopt a pet from a shelter.
Dogs may suffer from lifelong health issues as a result of cruel and abusive breeding practices prevalent in puppy mills and backyard breeders. Furthermore, they keep additional animals in need from finding loving homes and add to the congestion in shelters.
Regretfully, the Humane Society believes that puppy mills are operating in the US in excess of 10,000. Give someone who might be thinking about getting a dog some of these statistics and information to assist them decide on a better course of action.
Place bowls of water out.
Do any animals in your neighborhood appear to be homeless? Provide them with clean, fresh drinking water by setting out some water bowls and possibly some food.
Just be sure to replenish these often to prevent them from getting soiled or harboring water-borne illnesses!
To become an expert in animal rescue, enroll in a course or training program.
When it comes to animal rescue, it’s typically best to leave it to the professionals, but you can become an authority on your own! Training programs are offered by organizations all throughout the nation to provide you the abilities you need to handle a disaster.
Bird populations can benefit greatly from bird feeders, even though they may merely appear to be an attractive ornament or a self-serving method for birds to meet new companions.
Just be careful to maintain these areas tidy to prevent illness or disease from spreading to the birds! (And if you have cats outside, maybe skip this choice.)
Elect to have a plant-based diet.
Even if you’re not quite ready to give up meat and dairy and adopt a plant-based diet, you can still make deliberate decisions to consume less meat, dairy, and eggs.
Reducing our meat intake benefits the environment as well as lessening animal pain and cruelty.
Not sure where to begin? This is a list of over 500 vegan grocery ideas to add to your list. Or… get some vegetarian fast food.
To protect your pets, keep the earth clean.
As much as you should always clean up after your dog, you also need to make sure that your surroundings are pet-friendly!
Do your part to make the world a safer and more livable place for all of our animal companions by picking up litter on your walks and clearing out dangerous substances or objects from your house and yard.
Give your dogs an ID or microchip.
Getting your pets microchipped and wearing ID tags are essential precautions to take. ID tags and microchips make it far easier for a shelter to assist your cherished friend in finding their way home in the unlikely event that they become lost.
In addition, these days, there are some really adorable dog tags available.
Make future plans.
It’s critical to prepare not just for emergencies but also for the unthinkable. Although it’s difficult to consider, you’ll feel much better knowing that your best friend will be in capable hands.
First and foremost, you should prepare a “safe haven plan” in case you have to flee or become incapable and require assistance taking care of your pet. Think about who will look after your pet, where they can stay (such as at daycare centers or local vet offices), and whether there are any pet-friendly hotels in your area.
A pet trust or pet protection agreement that specifies who will be in charge of your pet can also be something you want to think about in the event that you become incapacitated or deceased. This ensures that your pet goes to a loving home and is not taken to a shelter or euthanized.