I know most people believe that animal shelter’s just have “bad dogs and cats” but that is not the case. Your local animal shelter may need your help and if you are fond of animals, this is a great exercise in philanthropy. Volunteering or finding other ways to support your local animal shelter can ensure that these organizations are able to keep running and will also help abandoned or orphaned pets to find new homes.
Everyone can help, not just by donating money, but there are plenty of other ways that every person can get involved with your local animal shelter and provide help and comfort to not only the extraordinary people who work there but the animals that wind up inside cages and pens. Some animal shelters have only dogs and cats, while others cater to livestock and other types of animals.
Volunteer at your local animal shelter. By volunteering you are helping these animals get their walks that they need every day for exercise. You will also help clean their cages that are now left to be their home. As a volunteer you will also feed and water all the pets that inhabit the animal shelter. By doing all of this for the animals, you are providing them with the love that was taken from them when they were dumped or lost by their previous owners. All of the pets that live in the animal shelter need all of the love, food and exercise that they deserve.
Volunteering might also mean going with the animals to a local pet store for a display. You can play with the animals, feed them and show them off to potential owners. This is one of the most rewarding parts of volunteering for your local animal shelter because you get to watch as each animal finds itself a home.
Make an annual donation to your local animal shelter. You might not realize that small donations are just as important as large ones. Even a ten-dollar donation to your local animal shelter can buy an extra bag of feed, and these organizations are entirely non-profit. They have to raise funds to feed, house, vaccinate, neuter and advertise all of the animals they help.
I have always looked for the local animal shelters that don’t put down the animals (unless they are sick) and I make a small donation to each every year. It doesn’t have to be hundreds of dollars — even pennies help.
Adopt a pet from your local animal shelter. When deciding that a new pet is for you and your family consider buying your next cat or dog at your local animal shelter. There is not only older dogs and cats, but young puppies, and kittens. There are also bunny rabbits, gerbils and other small pets at the animal shelters that are looking for a good home like yours.
The animals here are even cheaper that buying yourself a new pet and the money spent on your new pet goes right back to helping the other animals that are left in the shelters. This money buys them new food, crates, bowls and cleaning supplies. It also pays for the animals to be spayed and neutered and even their shots and medications they might need to stay healthy.
Not every organization is going to ask you for money and only money. Your local animal shelter needs your help in volunteering and getting these pets into good homes. No animal deserves not to have a good home.
