It’s that time of year again… it’s Adopt a Shelter Dog Month! Sponsored by the ASPCA, many shelters are getting involved with special deals and activities to help every Fido find their new home.
The best way to promote Adopt a Shelter Dog month is getting involved. There are many ways to help your local shelters, no matter your resources, interests, and time commitment.
Below are three fun ways to help promote Adopt a Shelter Dog Month:
Adoption
This is the most obvious option. If you’re able and willing to adopt a new companion, it may be the most rewarding way to help.
Find local deals and promotions
Many shelters are offer special sales to promote Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. The Santa Barbara Humane Society in California is offering a 50% off sale for adoption fees throughout the entire month of October. Dogs who’ve been in the shelter for more than a year will have their fees waived entirely.
Some shelters also offer sales on other national events. The Van Wert County Humane Society in Ohio, for instance, is celebrating National Black Dog day by offering a $50 off deal for all black dogs.
If you want to adopt, find a breed that will work best for you and your situation. When you do, contact your local shelter to see if they’re offering any specials.
Swipe right with Bumble
If you live in Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, Atlanta, or Chicago, you can use the Bumble app to “swipe right” and adopt a dog. Throughout October, Bumble is teaming up with the ASPCA in these cities to feature shelter dogs on their app for adoption. When an adoption is made on Bumble, a cent is donated to the ASPCA. It’s a match made in heaven.
Use Social Media
It’s OK if you’re unable to adopt. You can help using social media. It’s free, it’s fast, and you help spread awareness in a big way.
Share a simple post or tweet
It doesn’t need to be fancy. A simple “October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month” is great. Consider using hashtags #AdoptADogMonth, #FindYourFido, and #YourLocalShelter to build an opportunity for sharing. Ask others to share the post or retweet. When it’s about dogs, people are excited to share the news.
Connect on Facebook
Many shelters create Facebook pages to keep people up-to-date with events and fundraisers. If you’re considering adoption, you can join these groups to get the latest updates. Your shelter will love your involvement.
Share adoption stories
If you’ve adopted in the past, or you know someone who has, you can create a sweet post. People love a great adoption story, and it reinforces a shelter’s mission (just don’t forget pictures).
Donate
Donating money directly always helps. There are ways to get creative though, many of which are super easy:
Donate with smile.amazon.com
It’s easy to forget Amazon offers a great way to donate 0.5% of your shopping proceeds to an organization of your choice. Consider adding the Humane Society, ASPCA, or a local shelter to your list. Every time you buy something, you can help dogs. You can make smile.amazon your default page every time you shop on Amazon.
Set up birthday or wedding registry donations
If you have an upcoming birthday or wedding, you can create a registry for donations to your favorite shelter. That way everyone can feel good! Maybe you’ll start a trend.
Donate gently used household items
You have one too many hand sanitizers from Costco. Your dog hates his new dog bed. Don’t worry, you can still make light of these situations. You can donate these much needed items to your local shelter. Below are items many shelters love:
- Cleaning supplies
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper
- Hand sanitizers
- Old towels
- Wash cloths
- Blankets
- Bed sheets
- Dog beds
- Dog collars
- Dog leashes
If you want to donate household items, contact your local shelter to see the specific items they’re looking for, and whether they’d like the items you have.
How would you like to help shelters this month? Let us know with your comments below.
