Are you in need of a New Year’s resolution? It’s that time of year again when we choose to participate in activities to better ourselves or to do something to help others. Why not make your resolution to help the animals this coming year! Below, you can find several different ways that you can help shelter and rescue animals, whether it be by bringing one into your home or simply giving back.
Adopt a shelter pet. Bring home a new furry family member and give a loving animal a forever home! There are endless sizes, colors, breeds, and personalities to choose from, and all animals are checked for behavior and health issues before being put up for adoption so you’ll have peace of mind!
- Donate to a shelter. Whether it’s time, money, or supplies, donations to your local shelter can help out more than you know. Shelters are always desperate for help and one small donation or several donations a year can make a great impact!
- Educate yourself on animal welfare. Education is key to making a difference in the lives of animals, so read up about present issues and become an animal advocate.
- Switch to cruelty-free products. Learn which brands test their products on animals, and switch to alternative brands! Testing on animals can leave them with chemical burns, poisoning, permanent brain damage, and blindness. You could be a major part of the movement that ends animal testing by simply using a different cosmetic brand!
- Volunteer some of your time. If getting active is one of your goals for the New Year, you can take dogs at your local shelter on walks and get your own exercise in at the same time! Dogs are typically confined to small spaces and shelters need the help of volunteers to get the animals the exercise they need. Or, you can sign up at Doobert.com as a transporter and relay-drive rescue animals to new homes and shelters!
- Set up a donation drive. One of the best ways of bringing people together is through a collective goal! Make some colorful, eye-catching signs with a list of accepted items, and set up a donation box where the community can drop off items that can be donated to your local shelter.
- Foster an animal this coming year. Fostering an animal can be very rewarding, as you are giving an animal a temporary home while a loving family is being found, an animal is recovering from an injury or illness, or an animal needs to be socialized. Whether you try it once or consistently have animals taking shelter in your home, fostering is great solution if you want to help animals but cannot adopt!
What will be your new years resolution? Let us know! For more ideas to help the animals, check out: http://www.humanesociety.org/action/55_actions_to_help_animals.html
