Are you driven to help your local shelter but not financially capable of doing as much? Well, there are several other ways you can help their cause, and we have listed a few below.
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1. Adopt a Pet
The best way to help shelter animals is to adopt one. Buying a pet from a breeder should not be the way to go, especially when so many animals need to be rescued.
Get a pet from dog rescues and give it a happy and loving home. This is the best way to help the shelter pets as they are waiting to find their forever home, and you can offer them one.
2. Volunteer
Another way you can help shelters is by volunteering them with the work. They are always looking for volunteers, and the more, the merrier. If you have some technical skills, you can do it for free for them. For example, you can help groom the shelter pets to keep them clean which will benefit their health and keep the shelter hygienic.
Buying quality products, especially for designer breed dogs is important for their coat health. You can help the shelter by offering to sponsor high quality products like best shampoo for poodles using which you can groom the dogs.
This will help them save money by hiring a professional, and they can use that money towards the welfare of the rescues. You can also encourage your family and friends to volunteer in a shelter.
3. Encourage Your Loved Ones to Adopt
If you know a friend or neighbor looking to get a pet, suggest that they adopt one from a shelter. Enlighten them with the condition of rescues and how they need a forever home too.
Getting a rescue ensures they will get a pet who will give them more love and appreciation as they know the value of it. The more rescues you can get adopted, the better.
4. Donate
Animal shelters have a hefty monthly bill to pay that they collect through charity and donations. If you are unable to adopt a pet, it is ok. There are many other ways you can help shelter animals.
You can always donate to a shelter and encourage your loved ones to do the same. You can help shelters conduct charity events and get more donations for them. This will help them cover some costs.
5. Help Spread the Word
Social media is a great tool to spread awareness. If your local shelter or rescue has a social media page, like and follow it. Also, forward it to your friend list to spread awareness. Help increase their reach, which helps them with donations and engagements.
6. Collect Donations from Your Neighborhood
If your neighborhood is pet friendly and there are any houses with pets, you can always ask them to donate their pet’s old toys, beds, blankets, and clothes. You can also ask homes without pets to donate old blankets and mattresses for the shelter.
7. Become a Foster
If you cannot adopt a pet, you can always foster a few until they find a permanent home. This helps the shelters immensely, as they are already overcrowded.
In fact, these shelters largely depend on such foster homes that take in several pets, reducing the load on shelters as they have a limit to which they could take in animals. This way, you make room for other rescues, saving more pet lives.
Animals who stay in foster homes are more ready to be adopted as they experience a homely environment. Also, foster homes are ideal for puppies and kittens as the infection rate in the shelter will be higher. Foster homes help these animals find their permanent homes.
8. Help at Your Home
You can also help the shelters from your home by using collars and proper IDs for your dogs and foster pets. You should get it spayed or neutered as soon as you foster the pet.
If it is a cat, keep it indoors where you can keep them safe. It is great to take them on walks, though, if they feel comfortable in harnesses and leashes. When walking the dogs, keep them on a leash, and if you let them play in the backyard, ensure it is properly fenced.
9. Convince People to Get their Pets Spayed or Neutered
Spaying or neutering pets is significant as it helps avoid accidents and unnecessary pregnancies in pets. There are already so many poets in shelters ready to be adopted. Adding more pets is not a great idea.
If you have a neighbor who seems skeptical about getting their pet spayed or neutered, understand why they are not doing it. You can address those issues directly with them and make them understand the importance of the procedure. Share the images and videos of shelters, so they know the reality.
Once you convince them, see that they get the procedure done. You can help them throughout the process, encouraging them to do it immediately. Try to spread this awareness as much as you can in your community.
10. Be Appreciative
Take a minute to express gratitude to the shelter workers caring for these animals. They oversee the hardships of these rescues, which could be heartbreaking to experience at times, and help them get over the past to offer them a better future.
They help reunite parents with their lost pets, find new homes for many abandoned pets or strays, and take care of their well-being while at the shelter. This is a challenging task that needs a lot of care and patience. A little appreciation from the community will motivate them to keep up the excellent work.
Final Thought
If you have the right intent to help your local shelter, then it is easy to find one way or the other to do it. It is important to join forces and consistently help them in their mission. If you decide to foster, try to do it as much as you can and help them find new homes for these foster pets.
These animals deserve to be in a home where they are loved and cherished, and these shelters are working towards it. The sense of fulfillment when you help an animal in need is addictive, and once you get a taste of it, you will be inspired to stay true to this mission and help an animal in need.
