Animal shelters are always in need of the following kinds of support:

• Forever homes/adopters
• Foster homes/foster parents
• Sponsors/Donors (of supplies/resources/funds/skills)
• Volunteers (for various activities e.g. dog-walking, fundraising, event management etc.)
• Networkers (i.e. those who network and share orphans from adoption albums so that they can be seen as widely as possible, and blessed with homes and a family)

If you are willing to help, approach a shelter to assist with some of these tasks:

1. Help walk dogs so that they can get some exercise.
2. Help socialise the animals – interact with them in the allocated play areas. Depending on shelter rules, you should be able to play with kittens and puppies or with the adult cats and dogs.
3. Sponsor a shelter dog or cat – i.e. contribute towards an animal’s food and/or vet bills for a specific time period.
4. Adopt or foster a shelter dog or cat.
5. Donate blankets, food, leashes, treats or specified toys. It is useful to ask the shelter what they specifically need before you purchase items. NOTE: Shelters often use specific food in order to keep tummies stable and immune systems strong.
6. Encourage friends and family to adopt and foster, rather than to buy cats and dogs. With an over-population of pets and thousands being put to sleep yearly, it is vital that our society first aims to clear the unwanted animals in shelters before supporting the breeding/supply of yet more pets.
7. Join or LIKE the Facebook (and other social media) pages of animal shelters so that you can stay in touch with key issues, educational information and fun activities – in turn, this allows you to educate and inform friends and family re pet care and welfare matters.
8. If you have a specific skill, it is a good idea to offer your services. For example, constructing shelters, painting or fund raising via your corporate contacts.
9. Encourage your child’s school to invite shelter representatives to educate the children about pet-care and animal welfare. Knowledge around sterilization and adoption is vital. Schools could even spearhead a charity drive to raise money or collect items for a chosen shelter.

#AdoptDon’tShop #ShelterDogsAndCatsRock

Thank you to Chantelle Murray from Paws R US animal shelter for assisting in putting this checklist together.