How can I help out homeless dogs or cats without adopting one?

Question

I'm not rich and I can't adopt another pet, but I'd like to help out some of those pound animals in need. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Donate money or supplies (newspapers, paper towels, food, towels, blankets, etc) to your local shelter. You can also volunteer. I did it in high school 5 years ago, loved it and continue to whenever I can. thats a cheap way to help. They need help playing with dogs, cats, brushing them, taking them out, cleaning, anything will be appreciated!! It is also a lot of fun because those animals are so warm and love everything and everyone!!

Answer 2

There are several things that you can do. You can become a foster parent for animals, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. You'll be provided with food and vet care, so it's no money out of your pocket. If you don't have the room or can't do that, then find a shelter and volunteer at the adoption days! They are always needing people to help out, be it cleaning up messes (sounds worse than it is, it's easy and not too gross), walking the dogs that need it, talking up the animals to potential adoptors. You can also volunteer at the shelters, a lot of it is just interacting with the animals. Petting them, playing with them, getting a feel for how they are. It's important to help out, there are so many animals that need help. The only thing to remember is that when you go into the back of the shelter, where the animals are, be sure to remember that there are a lot of them. A lot! It's kinda terrible, because there are so many good animals that don't have homes. But if you can handle that, then go for it! Good for you!

Answer 3

Lots of great answers, donating time is a great way to help. Most animal shelter, humane societies, etc. have a lot of volunteers but one more never hurts. Another viable option is to find a local adoption agency as they very often have adoption days at local pet stores and you could assist in an actual adoption. You could also visit local veterans administrations and see if you could match an animal with a veteran that could use companionship. Often there are animal lovers that could afford the day to day expenses of owning an animal but simply cannot afford the adoption costs from a local shelter so maybe you could organize a foundation that could cover the cost of adoption. It will require some time and work but is easily done without expense to you. Seek corporate donations, hold fundraisers, find foundation grants (the internet is a great source, there are donors that give to animal specific charities or foundations), there are a whole bevy of ways to raise the money to match a needy animal with an owner to give them a chance. With your passion to do the right thing by the animals and a little hard work you can make a huge difference.Good Luck!

Answer 4

Volunteer at a shelter. They can always use more help. There's a lot of work to be done at an animal shelter, and some of it is a lot of fun! You can socialize dogs and cats so that they have a better chance of finding a loving forever-home. You can bathe and feed the animals. You can clean the facility.

You can also raise money to help homeless animals. Have a bake sale or a crafts sale, and donate all the proceeds to a local shelter. I have a very easy pattern for a little knitted kitty, and a lot of people have made and then sold the kitties to benefit animal shelters.

Raise awareness in your community. Get your friends and family to help out at a shelter. Speak about about the importance of spaying or neutering pets. That's really the root of the problem - too many people don't think that it's important to get their pets spayed/neutered, so there are always more and more unwanted animals. Even if you just convince one person to get their pet fixed, you've stopped potentially dozens of unwanted animals from ending up homeless on the streets.

Answer 5

Obviously you can volunteer to spend time with the animals. The other thing that you can do is go to the Shelter and ask if there are any administrative tasks such as sorting coupons or box tops that people turn in so discounts on food can be obtained. Help with Mail outs to people who regularly donate money. Find out if they have a program for pet blankets - you could make one with left over fabric - some shelters do this. You could also see if there is a group in your area that does foster to adopt programs - this is where an animal stays with you temporarily until it can be adopted and in this manner keeps it from being euthanized. You could check with your local Pet Store or Super Market and see if you could set up and monitor for a weekend a drive to collect food, bones, toys, litter, leashes, etc. for the shelter.

It doesn't take a lot of money - just time, compassion and the love of animals. And that is so easy to do because they give the best gift of all (that many humans can't accomplish) Animals give unconditional love.

Good luck and the local animals are blessed to have someone like you.

Answer 6

Look around at local shelters. Find out if any are "no-kill" shelters or even private type. If you find ones that are, and espically the "no-kill" then see if they run as non-profit if you want. Maybe they qualify with charity if you donate and really need to write it off. Although a little late for this year it is something to consider doing if you make chartiable donations. The other thing is if they aren't why not donate to them anyway? I know you "aren't rich" but a few dollars can go a long way. Talk to friends about it and see if you can't get a few of them to donate a dollar or two as well. That little amount of money as it seems will add up quickly for a private shelter. Now in cases like the Humane society and such they also really do need the money as well, but they are big groups and are the most likely to get help. So if you truly want to help then being willing to help that small shelter as well.

Answer 7

There are hundreds and thousands of rescue groups out there that can always use volunteers. You can spend a few hours a week at the local pet store screening prospective adopters. You could offer to foster rescued animals until they've been adopted - often times, the rescue groups will even pay for their food, litter, and vet visits. You can volunteer by making signs, mailings, brochures, etc. You can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want. Many of these types of groups take in animals from the local animal shelters.

Personally, I prefer this to the shelter...there's nothing like getting close to an animal only to have it be put down at the shelter. That won't happen with rescue groups. You may get close to an animal, but when it leaves, you'll know it's going to a good home!

Answer 8

Most animal shelter, humane societies, etc. have a lot of volunteers but one more never hurts. Another viable option is to find a local adoption agency as they very often have adoption days at local pet stores and you could assist in an actual adoption. You could also visit local veterans administrations and see if you could match an animal with a veteran that could use companionship. Often there are animal lovers that could afford the day to day expenses of owning an animal but simply cannot afford the adoption costs from a local shelter so maybe you could organize a foundation that could cover the cost of adoption. It will require some time and work but is easily done without expense to you. Seek corporate donations, hold fundraisers, find foundation grants (the internet is a great source, there are donors that give to animal specific charities or foundations), there are a whole bevy of ways to raise the money to match a needy animal with an owner to give them a chance. With your passion to do the right thing by the animals and a little hard work you can make a huge difference.Good Luck!

Answer 9

I know what you mean! I have 2 birds, 2 cats and a dog. I love them all but can't take another. It's very hard to walk away and say no, but we all know when it's for the best to just stop adopting and start helping. Maybe you could volunteer at the animal shelter, maybe take some of the pets to the mall to see if you can help some find homes. Donate food, litter, or money for supplies and care. Perhaps you could do a fund raiser like an ugly dog contest or something to raise money for them and donate it to the local shelters. Good Luck! =)

Answer 10

Shelters are always looking for people to give of their time. Sometimes it can be as simple as spending a few hours just playing with some of the animals. The animals spend much of their time locked in their kennels and playtime is important for keeping them healthy and socialized.
Shelters also need volunteers for fund-raising, adoption days, foster care, web site maintenance, etc. Talk to your local shelter to see how you can help.

Most shelters take donations of many household goods including any towels and blankets, even laundry detergent and cleaning supplies, you may have around the house.

If you decide you would like to adopt but are worried about the cost, many shelters offer special adoption programs for older pets. In some cases, they offer free food and medical care for the life of the animal. For most shelters, the animals will be 7 years or older. This will not only help with your financial concerns but provides a loving home to an older animal that has an exponentially lower chance of adoption than animals 2 years or younger.

Answer 11

You could volunteer at a local shelter, or donate used items that they may need such as carpet, blankets or towels.

You could also inquire if your local shelter has a foster program and you could volunteer to give temporary care to young kittens or puppies, or older animals who need temporary care until they are ready to be adopted. The shelter will give you all of the food and supplies you need and you will not have to buy a thing. All you have to provide is a temporary home for the animal(s). THis is a very good way to help an animal. Often animals who were in foster care are more adoptable when they return to the shelter because they've been in home enviornment.

Good Luck; it's great that you want to help out!