Treats for Shelter Pets

Dory's Backyard is hosting a fundraiser for shelters where she will donate a dollar for everyone who posts about what they do to help local shelters and links up from Halloween Eve until November 1. Being rescue dogs we couldn't resist the urge to help so here we are with our post.

1. We are on the list for New England Sheltie Rescue for our next dog. Sadly with Bailey's Lymphoma diagnosis, we need to honor the request that was made when we adopted Katy that she not be an only dog.

2. We do two walks to raise money for local shelters each Spring. We also shop while we are at the events. While they are called walks they are more like fairs that give local shelters opportunities to meet people interested in adoption and raise some badly needed funds and pet vendors opportunities to meet new customers. We like to participate in all the events.

3. We try to write about local events and post them on bulletin boards that list local events when ever we can. We do this for fundraisers and pet friendly events when we have the chance. Blogpaws has an event calendar that members can list events on and it would be great if more members added local events. It gives groups more opportunities for free publicity and it encourages others who don't live in the area to think about these events. Would they work for their shelter? Is it a pet friendly event that would encourage the community to be more open to pet friendly events if it was held in their home town? We don't always have to reinvent the wheel we can learn from each other about how to raise funds, run events, and get people interested in participating. The more we share the bigger pool of knowledge we have.

4. I write and talk about our experiences with breed adoption. There are lots of people who don't realize there is a good possibility of getting the breed you want through rescue if you are willing to do a bit of homework and don't want the dog tomorrow. Breed rescue can take a little longer, though not always. Our first two adoptions were very quick. This one is taking a bit longer to find the right match.

While many people are happy with a mixed breed, others will go the breeder route, especially after visiting a few mixed breed shelters and being told what they want is not likely to happen. However, for those who have experienced breed rescue we know it can be challenging to find one because many are regional, but if you look through the AKC site for the breed many do list the breed rescues for that breed. I was able to help someone locate a Sheltie Rescue for their area after posting an article on breed rescue a week ago, just by giving them the link to the AKC Sheltie site that gives a click on state map. We can both advocate for rescue and help people find the dogs they really want.

5. Pictures with Santa. I think this is a gift from the shelters to us every year, although we do make a donation. We love visiting Santa and having our picture taken for charity. We think these events are fun and a great way for shelters to raise a few dollars at the holidays.

There are always other events at the local pet stores to raise funds for the local shelters as well. We try to attend when we can. We know they always are in need of funds.