You can’t have a pet? There could be many reasons—health, housing, finances—but even though you can’t add a pet to your household at this time, you like pets and you want to help pets if you can. Maybe you like dogs but you can’t have a dog or you like cats but you can’t have a cat—whatever the explanation, you like a kind of pet you just can’t have in your household now but you want to help that kind of pet—maybe all pets—if you possibly can.
Maybe you have always liked pets, maybe you miss the pets you’ve had in the past, maybe your circumstances have changed and are not likely to change back, maybe not having pets in your life right now might be making you sad, especially since you know how much pets in our world need our help. You want to give that help but you don’t know where to start.
Today, I want to share some thoughtful suggestions on how you can help pets, regardless of the reasons you can’t add a pet (or another pet) to your household right now.
I met a woman recently who described herself as a snowbird. She and her husband live in Florida, their children and grandchildren live in Washington state. The snowbird couple visits their family often, staying in a home here. When our conversation turned to pets, the snowbird expressed that she wished she could have a pet’s companionship while she was here only temporarily. I made a few suggestions about how she could interact with pets here without offering a pet a permanent home. I’d worked as a volunteer coordinator for an organization that runs an animal shelter, so of course my suggestions for the snowbird started with offering her time as a volunteer at a shelter, because I know what volunteers do there.
Photo by Val Hughes
Here’s my short list of what volunteers might do at an animal shelter:
Interact with a pet or pet—walk a dog, sit outside a dog’s kennel and read to the dog, play with a cat, sit quietly and let a cat check you out
Assist with pet care tasks under the direction of staff—washing pet dishes, filling food bowls, refreshing water, and, if you’re up for it, scooping poop and cleaning
Assist with office tasks, from stuffing envelopes to social media, updating, sorting, filing, using the skills you bring
Assist with events and promotions. You might even get to wear the organization’s mascot costume in a parade!
When I decided to expand the topic of helping pets even if you cannot add a pet to your family, I asked friends online for their ideas. I said, “I want your suggestions for helping in a shelter AND for helping pets elsewhere, even working from home!”
Here are some of the ideas they shared.
Hilary G Lane (Colorado) Volunteer for a rescue or a shelter to get your dog fix! Or help organize a spay/neuter clinic in your area. You might be able to foster a pet (some landlords won’t allow it, although some might if it is a temporary pet). Donate to a reputable dog-related rescue. Get your pet-sitter certification and pet-sit! You can also try to shadow a positive-reinforcement trainer to learn more about training and behavior.
Jessica Theisen de González (New York) Donate unexpired food treats and toys/equipment like collars, harnesses, litter boxes if it’s allowed, to a local pet pantry. Or if you feel ambitious, create a pet pantry in a nearby area in need. But the key is—keep it accessible. A few in my area (New York City) insist that a client bring their pet/s. As a cat owner, [I think] my fellow would not enjoy a trip even if he did score dinners in the end. And yes, absolutely educate yourself on companion-pet behavior, spay/neuter/TNR, etc. The more knowledge there is in the community, the better those pets within it will fare.
Bob Hadley (Washington) Give your donations to a resale location that supports animal shelters instead of Goodwill.
Victoria Day (Washington) I donate directly to a nonprofit rescue twice a month. They named a kitten after me!
Annika Hex (New York) Drive a leg of a transport! Help an animal in need of a ride get to rescue or its new home.
Colette Kase (Mexico) Sponsor a sterilization.
Evee Linden (Connecticut) Volunteer at a shelter. We can never have enough hands, especially now when shelters are overflowing more than before.
Janice Backes Biniok (Wisconsin) I used to put pet adoption kits together so the shelter could give them away to new adopters. I solicited pet treat and pet supply manufacturers to donate items for the kits (most of them already have sample-size products to contribute). Training brochures, coupons for name tags, etc.
Amy Suggars (Ohio) You can work with your local senior center to find older people who may need help taking care of their beloved pets. You could volunteer to walk dogs, scoop litter, trim toenails, give a bath, or do other needed grooming. Or purchase treats or toys that may not be in the budget for someone with a fixed income.
Yes, I admit it—when I worked at the animal shelter and later volunteered there, I was the person who ended up wearing the organization’s mascot costume, a very heavy dog suit that standing (there was little other choice except leaning) was about six feet tall. I’m sure that the building and maintenance of mascot suits has come a long way in the years since I stood around in the uncomfortable suit and wondered if it smelled as bad from outside it as it smelled inside it. If you’re volunteering to be inside the mascot suit, it’s probably wise to stick your head in its head first—if you can do that without choking, you’ll probably be fine.
