Seeing the helpless, sad faces of dogs and cats in shelters might be just about enough to shatter your heart into a million and one pieces.
If you're anything like me, you want to take every homeless animal home and nurse them back to health and happiness. However, if your home and schedule is anything like mine, there simply isn't enough space or time for each and every one of them.
So, what is a diehard animal lover to do if they aren't in a place to adopt?
As it turns out, there are plenty of things that we can all do to help local shelters and rescue organizations stay afloat, as well as help them get the animals into good homes.
These 10 ways to help homeless animals goes far beyond simply writing a check to the organization (although that is very much appreciated too). Let us know if we missed anything you do to help shelter animals in your community.
And please SHARE this potentially lifesaving list with your family and friends on Facebook!
Thumbnail source: Flickr
1. Sew "Adopt Me" Vests And Bandanas
When a dog goes out for a walk, no one will know she's up for adoption unless someone shouts it from the rooftops! These simple bandanas or vests might just be the ticket to getting these dogs adopted while they're out on a walk or at an event.
2. Help With Paperwork
If you're a lawyer, see if your local shelter needs help sorting through any legal documents. If you're an accountant, see if they need help keeping their books straight. If you're just good at paperwork, see if they need help with something in the office! Offer up some of your time and talent to keep the shelter up and running smoothly so that even more animals can find homes.
3. Take A Dog To An Obedience Class
If you've got some spare time, see if your shelter would appreciate it if you took one of their pups to an obedience class, as well-behaved pups are much more likely to get adopted than unruly ones.
4. Offer Up Your Gifts
If you're having a birthday party, ask guests to bring a gift for the shelter rather than for you. You could also set up a donation page online to collect "birthday money" for the shelter all month long.
5. Write Copy For Them
Shelters need adoption profiles and ads written up all the time. They also need digital designers to help with those ads. If you know anything about writing or advertising, take a bit of time from your day to write a bit of copy for the shelter.
6. Play With The Cats
Everyone knows about walking the shelter dogs, but cats need socialization, exercise, and love too! If you like cats, offer up your time to give a little love to the kitties at your shelter.
7. Take Higher Quality Pictures
So much happens online these days, and adoption is no different. With online adoption sites at the forefront, it's important that there are high-quality images of the animals at shelters. Some say it's love at first sight, and that first sighting may very well be online.
8. Post Adoptable Animals On Social Media
With Facebook, we've got hundreds of eyes on our posts every day. Why not use this power to help get an animal a loving forever home? Share the links to adoptable pets on your wall so that every one of your friends can see them. There might just be someone out there who is looking for their new best friend.
9. Scour The Internet
Search through Craigslist, eBay, and Freecycle to see if there is anything super cheap or for free that the shelter might be able to use. Keep an eye out for things like filing cabinets, printers, or furniture. You can also call around to see if stores near you are willing to donate anything like ink or paper for printers.
10. Transport Animals
Animals in rural shelters are often moved to rescue organizations where there are more folks looking to adopt, because these shelters often have high kill rates. If you could lend your car for an afternoon on some weekends, you could help save many precious lives. Get in touch with the rescue organizations in your area to coordinate.
Do you think you'll do any of these things for the animals in your area? Did we miss anything from our list? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with family and friends!
