At Kuddly, we are passionate about providing better care for pets everywhere. This includes our furry friends who have been abused, abandoned or are in need of a helping human hand. While you may not be able to have a pet of your own or already have pets and can’t open your home to another, you can still help make a difference in another animal’s life. Here’s how:
- Transport: Dogs, cats and other animals in need and the organizations that help them constantly need people to help transport animals to vet appointments, rescue organizations, foster homes, adoption events and forever homes. There are transport organizations of small aircraft owners, truck drivers and everyday people who take to the task. Nearly every animal rescue organization, particularly smaller ones that do not have formal staff or vehicles, need help from the community to get animals to and from help.
- Kennel Enrichment: Most animals, especially dogs, struggle with life in animal shelters due to the confinement, lack of socialization, stress and other factors. Imagine being limited to a small cage or runner day after day, without being able to fulfill your natural need for exercise, interaction, love and attention! To help shelter animals cope with the shelter environment, most rescue organizations and shelters have kennel enrichment or socialization programs where people donate time to play with and socialize the animals. Not only does it help dogs, cats and other shelter pets cope, it can also help increase chances of adoption.
- Foster: There may be no greater means of saving an animal’s life than fostering. Fostering provides a homeless dog, cat or other animal a safe, clean place to live. But it also plays a critical role in helping animals find their forever homes. Life on the streets, in shelters or abusive/neglectful homes can have a lot of affect on an animal. Fostering helps change these effects, as well as help to build an animal’s confidence, find his or her personality and training. Usually food, veterinarian care and supplies are provided to fosters. All you need to do is give a little time, love and care while rescuers help find the animal a forever home.
- Donate: Rescue organizations and shelters survive on donations. It isn’t just large amounts of money but the small donations, as well as the donation of time, supplies and other resources. Even a few dollars or a bag of cat food, litter, dog food or toys can mean the world to both the organization and shelter. If you can’t donate money or pet items, your time is just as valuable. Don’t forget that donating skills like graphic design, website, and others can also help!
- Awareness: Your voice is one of the most powerful resources in helping animals in need. Animals languish and organizations can struggle without somebody helping them make a little noise and raise awareness. It is also one of the easiest ways to lend a hand to animals in need. Sharing posts on Facebook or other social media, donating your media skills or connections, and other ways of getting animals exposure are all more critical than you can imagine.
- Action: Change and help does not happen without people, especially for animals. Hundreds of people walk by homeless and stray animals, assume they want to be free on the streets, or see them on chains in backyards, out in the cold or other situations without helping. You can change the lives of animals in these situations by taking action. Call local no kill rescue organizations when you see a stray dog or cat. Alert the police or other organizations if you see an animal being abused or neglected. Stop and help a dog lost on the freeway, or call for help if you see an injured animal.
- Training: The animal cause and rescue community also relies on trainers to help dogs and other animals learn the skills they need to be adopted. Whether it is potty training or learning the basics, trainers and training organizations play an important role. You can donate time, money and supplies specifically in this area.
To give any of the above to animals in need, you can start by researching organizations and reach out to help them. Let them know specifically what you want to do to help from the list above, and they’ll get you set and moving along with your contribution to their efforts. Most of all, remember than no animals are “bad” — with a little love, training and time animals do change and can be perfectly wonderful companions.
