How to Help Your Local Animal Shelter

Seems your work schedule is not allowing you to be a part of animal shelter but you’re eager to help them. There are certain things, which you can do to help those shelter homes. You need not be an animal expert or some super star to help them, but just doing those little things you will be a special part of your local shelter.

Give Your Time

We all know time is precious but sparing a few hours a week for a local shelter is a great contribution from you. Animal shelters usually need help for cleaning and caring for animals along with maintaining the facility in good condition. In order to help them, you can call your local animal shelters and ask them if they require any volunteers.  

Power Shelters with Your Skills

Are you talented in any skill like painting, photography or creating video or digital marketing?  Volunteer your talent to animal shelter and see how you help them in different ways. You can take photos of animals in the shelter and upload them on free sites of adoption or government organization to help people adopt from the shelter. If your local animal shelter has website, you can provide your digital marketing skills here. Help them go viral and bring in more people to adopt pets from the shelter or help to bring in communities, who can provide funds to shelters.

Gifting Old items

Has that stack full of some dog or cat items and thinking to throw them away? Stop! You can generously donate those old dog bowls, lease or toys to animal shelters. This will cut down their cost on such items and your old items get a new place to serve other animals. Usually, rescue centers require:

• Pet beds
• Toy
• Water and food bowls
• Brushes and grooming materials
• Leases and collars
• And sometimes may be pet clothes

Donate Food and Litter Boxes

Animal shelters and rescue centers usually are short off pet food and cat litter daily. With so many animals, there is usually a shortage of litter boxes. You can donate them pet food buying in bulk from an online pet stores. Can buy for them:

• Wet and dry dog food
• Wet and dry cat food
• Clumping cat litter
• Dog and cat treats
• Non-clay cat litter (for kittens and post-operative cats)

Donate Preventive Treatments

Due to huge animal population in shelter, sometimes they are not able to provide the basic preventive treatments like flea and tick treatments, heartwormers and many times even vaccines. You can either get vaccination done for puppies through local vet or donate flea and tick control products for dogs and cats. You can purchase these pet supplies online at affordable rates.  

A Place in Your Home

Be a proud foster pet parent. Fostering a pet is a wonderful experience, and additionally you are helping your local shelter without stepping out of your door. You can go for either fostering a dog or a cat.

Households – Good Stuff to Donate

Normally, rescue centers and animals shelters require cleaning stuff for maintaining facility apart from pet supplies. Check the things, which you can donate them.

• Old newspapers
• Hand sanitizer
• Old towels and blankets
• Office supplies
• Paper towels and toilet paper rolls
• Cleaning supplies such as detergent cakes, washing liquids, floor-cleaning solution and others are essential requirements of animal shelters.
• You can even call your local shelter and ask what things they require so that you can buy accordingly.

Wedding or a Ceremony

Are you getting married or organizing a huge party? Keep some share for animal shelter. Cutting down some amount on the lavish food, you can donate that share to rescue center. Those costliest gift items for your wedding like clocks and vases would just collect dust over time. Rather have your local rescue center set up a registry page so guests can donate rather than purchasing a customary wedding gift. This would be something different from a normal wedding and an experience to remember for lifetime.

Throw a party

Surprise local shelter and your friends by throwing a party at local animal shelter, which is out-of-the-box idea. It would be a time of enjoyment and merriment for both animal shelter people as well as animals. Organizing an event at shelter and donating the earnings to animal shelter is also a rewarding experience. Organize any event such as a dog walk, a party in a pot, a super bowl party or a jazz brunch – these all are great ways to raise money and make new friends. With each year adding, and as the word spreads out, more people would show interest and join the event. Eventually, your small starting would become a big fund-raising caravan.

So, be a part of animal shelter in your own way helping through unique ways. Enjoy helping shelter homes and do share your experiences with us.