How To Help Animal Shelters During Summer Months

During the summer months, it's common for animal shelters to become overcrowded due to more animals coming in and fewer people adopting them. Some shelters in big cities receive more than 100 pets per day during the warm months. There are several reasons for this that range from stray cats having kittens more often, people going on vacations and surrendering animals or waiting to adopt until after school starts again. Pets are often more likely to spend time outside during the summer and escape fences or bolt due to fireworks. Regardless of why shelters become more crowded during the summer, they need help. If you're an animal lover, here's how you can help your local shelter during the busiest time of the year.

Adopt or Foster a Pet

If you have the means to do so, head into your local shelter and adopt a dog or cat to add to your family. This is especially helpful if you have experience with Pitbulls or similar breeds and live in an area that allows you to keep them as pets, as many shelters become overcrowded with these breeds alone. Despite their bad rap, many pitties are sweet, overgrown babies who love all the adults, children, and animals they meet. Of course, there are plenty of other breeds who need homes, too, so don't let it stop you if you don't think a bully breed is right for your home.

If you aren't sure yet if you want a lifetime commitment to another pet, consider fostering instead. Fostering allows you to keep a dog, a cat, or a litter of puppies or kittens in your home until they can find forever homes. Fostering allows people to get a good idea of the pets' personalities, is helpful for those who don't do well in noisy shelter environments, and provides space or the shelter to take in other animals in need. As a foster, you'd be responsible for transporting the pets to adoption events, teaching them basic commands, speaking with potential adopters, and letting the shelter know how the pets are handling a family life.

Volunteer for Your Local Shelter

If you can't bring a pet home with you, you can volunteer your time at the shelter. Shelters always need people to spend time walking the dogs, playing with them, or socializing them with other people and pets. Many also need help during big adoption events. You don't even need to work directly with the dogs or cats to help a shelter, though. Do you know how to build things? Are you an electrician? Maybe you're in the marketing industry and are a wiz at making high-quality social media posts. All of these are things shelters need, and the fewer people they need to pay for the work, the more money they can spend on the animals. If you love road trips, you can even purchase some crates or dog car seats and help transport animals between rescues or to new adoptive families.

Donate to a Rescue

Shelters always have a need for more food, treats , and toys, especially those that also run community pet food pantries for pet owners going through hard times. Blankets, crates, bowls , and a range of other items are needed as well. Each organization has its own unique needs, so call the one you're interested in and ask what it needs. Many even provide wishlists on their websites so you can order items and send them directly to the shelter. Of course, you can always donate money or sponsor a pet at the shelter, paying for vet care or other needs until he is adopted.

Become a Fan of Shelters and Rescue Organizations

Many people want to help animal shelters but simply don't have the additional funds or the time to do so by donating or volunteering in the traditional sense. This doesn't mean you can't help, though. An increasing number of shelters are turning to the internet and using social media to raise awareness about the animals available for adoption, the items they need to sustain their services, and more. You can help these organizations by liking their pages, reacting to and commenting on their posts, and sharing them on your own timeline to expand their reach.

Search for your local shelters on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Helping via social media has an added bonus in that you aren't limited to helping shelters only in your area. You can find breed-specific organizations or shelters all over the country and the world to support and help get the word out.

Keep Your Own Pets Out of Shelters

One of the biggest and easiest ways to help shelters is to keep your own pets out of the shelters. Naturally, you probably aren't planning to surrender your pets, but if you do find yourself in an unexpected situation, try to rehome them with a trusted friend or family member first. In addition, ensure your pets wear collars when they are outside. Those collars should include tags with your name, your phone number, their name, and their registration tags. Get your pets microchipped as well and update your information if you move. Ensuring your babies are safe means there is more room for those who weren't as lucky as yours are.

Animal shelters and rescue organizations may need more help during the summer, but that doesn't mean they're in the clear during other seasons. Regardless of the time of year it is, be sure to help local animal rescues as much as you can. Volunteers and donors like you save millions of animals every year.