How to Help Shelter Animals Without Donating Money
There are many ways to help animal shelters that don't involve money. If you don't have the cash to donate to your local animal organization, consider donating items, volunteering or fostering shelter animals.
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Instructions
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Donate Items
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Go through your storage spaces and closets. Pull out any gently used pet items such as dog beds, cat toys or leashes and collars. Donate them to your local animal shelter to reduce its expenses. If you don't have any pet-related items, remember that shelters always need everyday items like paper towels, bleach and laundry detergent.
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Save coupons for pet food and other products and give them to your local shelter. You can do this buy setting aside any coupons you get along with your purchase when you buy pet food. Or you can put some time into cutting coupons out of the Sunday paper or local coupon book for your shelter.
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Give the animal shelter any pet food or toys your pets don't like, rather than throwing those things away. If you purchase things like flea and tick medication and have more than you need, donate the excess to the shelter before the expiration date.
Volunteer Time
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Spend some time at the shelter, feeding and caring for animals. Take the dogs for daily walks or offer to clean out kennels once a week.
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Find out when the shelter is holding a fund-raiser and volunteer to help out. You can work at the event or help spread the word beforehand. Ask where they need help and be ready to fill in as needed.
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Organize a pet food drive, a raffle or other fund-raiser to help raise money or supplies.
Foster an Animal
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Check if your local shelter has a foster parent program. If they do, consider temporarily housing animals until they can be adopted into a permanent home. Fill out an application and make sure your home and schedule meet the shelter's requirements.
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Determine what type of animals you want to foster and how much room you have to devote to foster pets. Prepare a space in your home for foster pets and address any safety issues. Obtain necessities like food and crates from the shelter or buy them yourself.
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Introduce the foster animal into your home. Avoid placing a new animal with your personal pets at first. Once the animal is settled in, give it the same quality pet care you give your own pets. Provide medication and veterinary care as needed.
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