National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

This week marks National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. The celebration was established by the Humane Society of the United States 24 years ago, to spotlight and show appreciation to animal shelters throughout the nation. 

In general, shelters and rescues do not nearly get enough recognition for all they do for our furry friends. As reported by PBS, “[t]here are approximately 3,500 animal shelters across the United States, available to serve the estimated 6–8 million homeless animals that seek refuge each year…” 

On top of giving stray animals a place to live, shelter workers also may arrange adoptions and hold educational programs and services for community members. With a majority of shelters and rescues being non-profit, they are usually in constant need of financial donations. In addition, many workers are either volunteers or are paid a relatively low salary. 

While there’s no doubt that animal shelters deserve our thanks, it may be difficult to figure out how you can best help them, especially during this week. 

But don’t fret, we have a few suggestions to remedy this issue:  

Foster A Furry Friend

If you are able, please think about fostering a furry friend. According to One Green Planet, “[f]ostering is important because it helps reduce overcrowding in shelters and opens up space for another animal to be saved.” For this reason, foster pup parents are an extremely valuable resource to shelters. 

Donate Your Time And Resources

For those who have money to spend, give a monetary donation to your local shelter or purchase food, toys, and beds for the animals living there. If you don’t have extra bucks to spare, that’s absolutely fine. You can instead become a volunteer. There’s really nothing better than spending a Saturday morning walking shelter dogs! 

Spread Awareness Through Social Media

Take to social media to help spread awareness to adoptable dogs (and cats!) that are available at your local shelter. Your followers are bound to appreciate the adorable pictures of four-legged friends.

image courtesy of City of Yonkers