I have a confession. I want all the dogs in all the world. I would quite happily fill my house with every rescue dog under the sun and love them and kiss them until they were blue in the face. However, living in a city environment means that practically speaking, I do not have the space or the finances for all the rescue dogs in the world. That doesn’t mean that us City Dog Owners can’t help in our own special way.
Here our our top 10 ways to give back to Homeless Pets
1)Donate Food– Whether it is organizing a food drive at your local pet shop or community hall or simply donating a few extra bags of kibble, animal shelters and rescue groups are constantly looking for food and treats
2) Donate Supplies– old towels, pee pads, leads and collars, and pet beds may not be of use to your every growing puppy so why not donate them to your local animal shelter instead of throwing them out?
3)Offer your expertise– any good at photography? handy with a paintbrush? offer your services to your local shelter and see how they can use your unique talents to help the animals. You never know what they need
4) Get Social– simply sharing pictures of dogs and cats in need on social media could be the difference between a dog finding a potential home and being stuck in a shelter. You just don’t know how much your friends are going to fall in love with the tiny 3 legged chihuahua cross that just appeared on the shelter instagram page
5) Got a car?– consider helping as a rescue transport volunteer. Sometimes it is as simple as taking a dog in foster to a vets or clinic, and other times, helping on the “rescue rail road” by driving longer distances to help a pup get to a new home further away
6)Walk or play? -from dog walking to playing with kittens. All pets in shelters need a little one on one time and there are so many volunteer positions available to do just that
7)Volunteer at adoption events– some rescues organize events where they always have adoptable animals. Volunteers are always needed at these to help with the animals, hand out leaflets and answer the publics questions
8)Donate Money– If you don’t have any spare time, money is always appreciated by rescue groups. It might seem like the least personal way of helping but rescue groups always appreciate finacial assistance
9)Foster– fostering is a great way of alleviating the high stress environment of a shelter for some dogs. It is not a permanent commitment and you usually only have the pet while it is recovering from surgery/illness or as a puppy
10) Organize an event– whether it be a black tie gala or a bake sale, every penny raised and donated to your local animal rescue will make a difference to animals in need
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Great ideas! There are so many ways to help homeless animals besides adopting them.
I love your post, these are all great ideas & so helpful to any shelter in a community. Most shelters never have enough volunteers or fosters. All of these tips can be so helpful!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing. I love walking the dogs at my local shelter.
Such great ways to contribute & help these pets in need. I feel the same way; if it were feasible I’d save them all. It breaks my heart to see so many amazing animals homeless in shelters – it’s a great feeling to be able to give back.
I don’t have a lot of time or money but I do try to give back to the rescue I adopted Gretel from. I often donate goods to help their pets and that they can include in raffle prizes. There are a lot of homeless people in our city that have pets too. When I see them I usually give them a few dollars to help feed their dog or cat. As a dog Mom I usually have treats in my purse so, at the very least, I give them a couple of tasty morsels.
Love the idea of having treats in my pocket for homeless hounds. Great suggestion.
I used to donate food and treats to homeless shelters and soup kitchens as often the people that come in have pets
LOVE this post! I’m like you, I’d take every darn one of them home if I could, but since I cannot – I like to know that I can do my share to help – and these are fantastic ideas. Thanks so much for posting and spreading the word! 🙂
Thanks so much Anne. Keep up the amazing work
Lots of great suggestions. We have done a number of these.
Keep up the awesome work
These are all great ways to give back to homeless pets. Thanks for sharing these ideas!
You are most welcome Kia. Glad you liked it
These are all so great. I am the same like you, if I could I would have all the little dogs that needed a home, at this point 8 is my limit for now. This post can make a different for a lot of pets if people decide to help out, just by doing 1 of the 10!
Small steps to a big change
Thank you for sharing ways to help homeless animals. I blog for my local cat shelter and spend time twice a month at the shelter socializing the kitties. Like you, I’d adopt all the kitties if I could, but of course that’s not possible. It feels good to be able to help the adoptable kitties, though 🙂
whoop whoop. Great job.
What a great way to help and give back
Awesome ways to help! I am thinking of volunteering in some way for my local rescue 🙂
Do It Do It Do It 🙂