Suggestions for helping an animal shelter or rescue

I volunteered at a local SPCA for many years, and here are a few ways you can help your local animal rescue/shelter:

1) Donate money - this is the most obvious.  If the shelter is part of a large organization, the money you donate may go into the general coffers rather than staying with your local shelter.  Ask if they have a special fund that only helps animals in your local area, if you are concerned about that.

2) Skills - do you have any special skills?  Can you work with problem dogs? Can you do computer work?  Photography? Gardening? How about carpentry, electrical, painting? Are you good at marketing or PR? Anything you can do for free means more money can go towards animals rather than into building upkeep and repairs.

3) Fundraising - have a bake sale, car wash, craft sale, sell cookies in your office, etc.  Put up posters all over town, and advertise that the proceeds will be going to the shelter. Every little bit helps.

4) Donate food - find out what brand of food the shelter uses, and bring them a bag or two.  Or better yet, give them gift certificates to pet food stores that sell that brand of food - that way the shelter can get the food when they need it and not worry about the food going stale or attracting rats (the unadoptable type of rats!!)

5) Donate items - most shelters go through a ton of towels and blankets, as they have to be bleached frequently.  What about paper towel and toilet paper tubes for the rodents to chew?  Fresh catnip for the cats? Fresh veg for the rodents?

6) Donate time - volunteer at your local shelter!  Perhaps you can cuddle the small animals, pet the cats, or walk the dogs.

Depending on where you live, you may get a tax recept for items or maney donated to the shelter.

There are plenty of ways to help your local animal shelter, and they will appreciate anything you can do to help them out!  Give them a call or check their website (and if they don't have a website, then perhaps you can create one for them!).  Find out how you can help them!