It’s Animal Shelter Appreciation Week
November 5, 2008 by Cara
Filed under Uncategorized
For the past week or so, I’ve been taking care of a stray that has decided to hang-out in my yard. It’s a brown tabby cat I named Setzer (after Brian Setzer, the former lead singer of The Stray Cats – get it? LOL). Twice a day when I feed my critters, I put food and water out for him too. We also left a decent sized, sturdy box for Setzer to take shelter in should the weather turn bad.
Tomorrow, my town’s Animal Control department is bringing me a trap so that we can catch him and bring him to the local shelter (a no-kill shelter BTW) where he will receive an exam, medical treatment, a warm bed and hopefully be put up for adoption. I already have a care package ready to go with Setzer: 2 cat food bowls, a bag of cat food, a bag of litter and a few old towels that I know the shelter can use.
It seems appropriate that I’m taking care of Setzer this week and getting him safe and to a shelter as it is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Local shelters depend so much on donations and volunteers. What can you do to help your local animal shelter? Besides donating your money, there are other ways to support your local shelter.
You can donate your time. Shelters always need care-givers: dog walkers, cage cleaners, etc. Many are also looking for foster families to take in shelter animals and socialize them.
Donate your used blankets and towels. All the animals, at least in my local shelter have blankets in their cages. Plus, the animals are bathed and groomed, so they always need towels.
Donate pet care products. You can simply drop off a bag of food, a box of litter, toys, even animal toiletries to help your shelter. They also have a demand for cleaning products to keep the shelter sanitary.
Because all 4 of my critters, not including Setzer, were adopted from local shelters, I have seen first hand what the volunteers do for these animals. That is one of the reasons that I put together the care package for Setzer – to help with his care.
For more information, you can visit your local shelter, vet or the following sites:
Image © 2008 Patrick McDonnell, muttscomics.com
