If you are aware of the millions of unwanted pets dying in shelters every day due to a lack of room, love and care you may feel that heroic calling to volunteer and do your part to work towards the final solution that will save the lives of dogs and cats across America. With all the commercials with sad eyed puppies and kittens behind bars, what can you really do to pitch in and help raise the quality of life of shelter pets and help bring an end to pet homelessness?
Adopt
It may sound obvious, but one of the best things you can do is adopt your next furry friend from a shelter. Bringing a new pet into your life will enhance your own life tremendously. Science now openly states that having a furry pet in the home lowers blood pressure and increases endorphins that relieve stress, uplift your mood and gives you that highly sought after feeling of love! When you adopt a pet from a shelter, you are rescue his life as well as the next pet in line. When your dog or cat leaves his kennel or cage for the last time, a new pet takes his place until he finds a home, keeping him off of the euthanasia table!
Foster
If you want to adopt, but don’t want any long term commitments, fostering is the next best thing. Being a foster home for a homeless pet is perfect for people who want to test their abilities to care for and train a dog or how a cat will fit into their lifestyle. A foster home is a temporary living situation for an animal in your home in which you care for him, train him and play with him at no major financial costs to you. Pets that need foster homes are usually special needs in one way or another, such as behavioral problems in dogs or perhaps recovering from a surgery and medication needs to be given. It gets the animal out of the shelter life, which is very stressful and extremely scary for any animal, and lets him live with a real family or person until his new permanent family comes along.
Dog Walker/Cat Socializer
Donate your time to a shelter with some hands-on help. The only cost to you is your time and transportation to get to the shelter. Almost any and all shelters are always begging for help as a dog walker or someone to socialize with and play with cats. As a dog walker, you will get to take adoptable dogs outdoors for a walk to potty and get some exercise. They spend almost all day, every day in their small kennels. You are a hero in their eyes when you grab a leash and head outdoors so they can feel the sun, sniff fresh air and feel the grass between their paws. Kitties are no different, and get bored easily when left in their cages or play rooms for long periods of time with no interaction. As a cat socializer, you will get to play with cats and kittens, pet and cuddle them and help keep them sane in the shelter system!
Donations
Caring for hundreds of dogs and cats every month is not cheap, nor is it easy for a nonprofit organization to handle on the financial end. Very few animal shelters are given any money from their local governments, despite the fact that they take in the city’s, town’s, or county’s stray and aggressive animals. Instead, they rely on private parties, like you, to help provide the funds they need to give medical care, food, and housing needs including heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer for all these unwanted, homeless, abused and neglected pets. You can give any amount you wish, either a one time donation or on a regular basis. Most shelters provide more than one way to donate, including online donations, in person or at a variety of events. If you don’t feel comfortable donating cash, that’s okay! You can donate supplies like paper towels, dog and cat food, cat litter and even pet toys!
Social Media
If you can’t adopt, foster donate money or time, there is still hope for you if you want to get involved with an animal shelter! A variety of shelters and rescue groups are very active on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. On these sites they will post adoptable dogs, dogs needing rescued, transported or help in behavior or medical problems. You can share these photos and calls for help. Someone you know may see it and be the angel some homeless pet truly needs!
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