National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week November 2-8, 2008

In 1996, The HSUS launched National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week (based on an idea from the Capital Humane Society in Lincoln, Nebraska). This campaign was designed to acknowledge and promote the invaluable role shelters play in their communities and to increase public awareness of animal welfare issues and shelter services. During National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, the first full week of every November, The HSUS promotes and celebrates animal shelters across the country through media and public outreach.

What can you do for your local shelter?
I volunteer at a shelter where the cats and dogs are in completely different buildings. The lists below are only for cats.

Anything, really anything, you can give to or do for your local animal shelter will be appreciated. We need an endless supply of food bowls, water bowls, newspapers, blankets, towels, beds, pillows, toys, cat litter, treats, wet food, high quality dry food, flea medications (NOT over the counter meds-only Frontline, Advantage) laundry detergent, dryer sheets, hand soap, Purell, we use Swiffer Wet to clean the floors, plastic baggies, measuring scoops (not the glass cups) . These are things that we use daily and can always use.

Other things that we use that we don't necessarily need as often are cages, carriers, beds, scratching posts, cat trees, brushes, cat window perches, anything that the cats can scratch on, not necessarily just scratching posts, night lights, rotating floor fans, bird feeders, bird seed and anything else you can think of.

Whether you buy treats for $1.99 or a cat tree for $199.00, it will be appreciated! The more you donate, the more money shelters have to save more animals!

Click here to find your local shelter

Things you can do for a shelter:
Volunteer to clean or socialize animals.
Volunteer to help at adoptions.
Volunteer to return calls or make calls to recent adopters.
Volunteer to do laundry.
Foster an animal! Fostering an animal means that the animal lives with you and you help socialize that animal and learning more about their likes and dislikes and personality which makes for a very informed adoption when someone comes asking about that particular animal. Check with the shelter to see if the food, litter and vet costs are covered. Some shelters only offer paying for vet care, others, like the one I volunteer for pay for everything.

A little bit can go a long way when you help out a local animal shelter! Most of the people there are volunteers and are not paid anything. Some are a more commercialized and have very few volunteers with mostly paid workers. Those shelters have generally been around longer and have more supporters and get more donations.

And lastly, support the no-kill shelters! Why would you want your money to go to kill an animal?

What do you do for your local shelter?