11 Things You Can Do to Help Animals in Need

This post was created in partnership with Printsfield. I was not financially compensated for this post but did receive a sample for review purposes. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support me!

If you would like to help animals in need but don’t know where to start, I’m glad you found this article. You can help animals in need in several ways. The most important thing to do when it comes to helping animals in need is to determine what you are good at and use it to spread awareness, volunteer, and collect donations. So, without further ado, here are the top 10 things to do to help animals in need:

1.Report Cruelty to Animals and Neglect

If you suspect that an animal has been neglected by its owner, report it immediately. You can report it to the local county or city animal shelter and the police.

Examples of negligence include not giving an animal food and water, chaining of animals in a place where there is no access to food/water and shelter.

Either take videos or photos of the cruelty or neglect. Animals cannot speak and say what they are feeling or report. Be their defender by reporting any cruelty or neglect on their behalf.

2. Craft and Donate DIY Toys

Making and donating DIY toys can brighten a shelter pet’s day.

The good thing is that the materials used to make DIY toys are readily available. You can use things like old clothes or spare socks to make the DIY toy to donate.

Tip: Adding a little catnip can make a cat DIY toy more enticing 😉

3. Make your BBQ or Block Party A Supply Drive

You can use any event to contribute money that you will donate to a local shelter.

Send a list of items to donate to a local shelter to your guests in advance. This will make it easy for your guests to give something.

4. Adopt a Pet

Adopting a pet from an animal shelter is one of the best ways to help animals in need. This is true, especially if you adopt a longstanding shelter resident, senior, or special needs pet as these pets have a harder time getting forever homes.

5. Foster an Animal

If you cannot adopt a pet permanently but can take care of one for a few months, consider becoming a pet’s foster parent. Sick animals who need personalized attention and young pets often need to foster the most.

6. Become a Responsible Pet Owner

If you own a cat or a dog, try as much as you can to make its life better.

Give your cat playtime, and it will appreciate it as cats are very playful. Groom your cat or dog gently daily whenever you are free. And since dogs like running, exploring and sniffing, provide your dog with lots of exercises.

If possible, take your dog to camp. You should also avoid scolding your dog, leaving them outside.

Instead, give them undivided attention and find time to play with them. Make your pet feel loved.

7. Support Wildlife in Your Yard

Have a wildlife sanctuary in your front and back yard.

Select native and animal-friendly plants that attract birds, hummingbirds, small wildlife, bees, and insects. Research on how to build a sustainable garden for wildlife.

You should also consider encouraging children to make phone calls, write letters, and sign petitions asking our legislators to ban pesticides that kill pollinators.

8. Connect Children with Wildlife

You can get kids connected with wildlife via wildlife and nature lesson plans and resources. You can get support and methods to connect children with nature and conservation at the National Wildlife Federation.

9. Be a Volunteer

Many rescue groups and animal shelters rely heavily on their volunteers to keep things going. They rely on basic day-to-care animal care volunteers to clean kennels, feed pets, help with filing or processing of paperwork, do laundry, and perform several other tasks.

Even though the tasks that a volunteer performs are not glamorous, they ensure that the pets are well taken care of and that the shelter runs smoothly.

10. Use the Internet to Tell Others About Helping Animals

The internet can help you inform many people about helping animals in need. You can share requests for donations or supplies or share profiles of pets that can be adopted.

If your friends on social media are not able to help these pets in any way or cannot adopt, they might share it with someone who can.

11. Buy Products that Donate to Animal Shelters

You need to buy clothing like socks anyway, right? You might as well shop for a positive cause and choose businesses that support animals.

Printsfield donates 1% of every purchase to an animal shelter to help animals in need.

They sell personalized photo gifts with a focus on socks. However, they also sell custom laptop sleeves, journals, notebooks, boxers, and more.

My son is in love with the personalized cat socks he received!

I surprised him with this fun gift. You see—he is absolutely obsessed with our cat Poppy. He would literally glue her to his lap if he could.

Since he can’t do that having her face plastered on his feet is the next best thing!

The socks are nice and thick and seem to wash well so far. And, creating the socks on the Printsfield website was super easy.

You just upload a good forward-facing picture of your pet (or person), add the selection to your cart, and order it. It couldn’t be easier!

Printsfield customizable socks are the perfect gift for any pet lover!