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Like many animal lovers, you probably want to do more for the animals in your local shelter, but this may not be easy. Adopting one may be out of the question because of your personal circumstances. Even so, you can still do something for shelter animals without taking one into your home. Below are five ways to help without taking on the responsibility of adoption.
Consider spending some time at the shelter. Most shelters can use help with tasks like cleaning cages and feeding animals. In addition, animals that are waiting to be adopted need to be socialized to get them ready for their new families. To help with this, you can volunteer to walk dogs or to pet cats. Dogs will need walking and cats will need human interaction. In both cases, your efforts can be good for an animal’s psychological and physical health.
The best way to volunteer is to contact your local shelter and ask whether they need help and where they need help.
Shelters may be able to use specialized skills like the ability to design a website. Websites are important since this is one way for shelters to show the animals they have for adoption.
If you are unable to offer cash, consider donating any items you have that a shelter may need. Shelters often find themselves lacking essentials like bowls, kennels and leashes.
Sharing animal profiles on social media lets your followers know about animals that they can adopt. Sharing animal profiles takes very little effort but can help shelter animals to find permanent homes.
Shelters have limited space and tend to fill up quickly. You can alleviate space issues by providing an animal with a temporary home. A foster home can also help with socialization. Note that when fostering an animal, the shelter will cover the cost of food and veterinary care; you will not have to worry about a financial burden.
Even if you are unable to contribute financially, there is still a lot that you can do. The tips above allow you to help the animals at your local shelters as well as the people who take care of them.
