Adopt a Shelter Pet Day | April 30th

April 30th is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day! There are thousands upon thousands of dogs, cats and assorted other critters waiting for their forever homes in shelters around the country. Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is an excellent way to help raise awareness for these pets, rescue organizations and how you can make a difference.

RCO Pet Care is an advocate for adoption and supports shelters through various events throughout the year. Most of our own pets and many of our beloved furry clients have come from rescue situations. These dogs and cats were fortunate to land in forever, loving homes but more work needs to be done to help those who are still waiting.

How Can You Help?

Adopt a Pet – The most obvious way to help clear pets out of shelters is to adopt. There are many local shelters in RCO’s service area with dogs and cats just waiting for their person to come along. See the bottom of this post for resources.

Bandit – Companion Pet Rescue Alumnus

Make a Donation – Obviously adding another pet to your family is not something that should be taken lightly and is not always feasible. Consider making a monetary donation to help with vet bills or donate a bag of food to keep some bellies full. Many shelters also have wishlists for certain toys, paper towels, etc. Drop them off or ship them right to the shelter’s door!

Volunteer – Many shelters are run by volunteers and can always use a helping hand! You may walk dogs, play with cats, do home checks, clean kennels or a variety of other tasks. If you have an evening a week to donate or even just an hour every other weekend, consider reaching out to a local shelter.

Foster – When you foster you are saving multiple lives. To start, you are showing animals what it is like to be loved, protected and safe – potentially for the first time in their lives. At the same time you are also opening up space for another animal to be rescued from high-kill shelters, for example. Many people say it would be too hard to watch them leave, which may be true, but you have absolutely changed that animal’s life and they will be forever grateful.

Transport – Some rescues use a network of volunteers to drive pets from one part of the country to another. If you like to drive and have free time on your hands, see if you can donate some of your time in this way.

Social Media – A large percentage of the population utilizes social media with Facebook leading the charge. Shelters frequently post pictures of animals that are up for adoption in hopes of getting the word out to the right people. A simple way to help is to like these pages and share the posts! Do you have 100 Facebook friends? 1,000? You just took that dog’s picture and put him in front of hundreds of people.

Volunteer For or Attend Events – Rescue organizations frequently hold different community events and fundraisers to raise money for the animals. They are a great source of inspiration, community and a lot of fun! A great example is the first annual Fast and Furriest 5k being held Saturday, June 1st in Southbury, CT.

Area Shelter Resources

For some ideas on shelters that may be looking for volunteers, donations or just might have your new best friend, check out the following organizations:

Danbury Rescue Society (DAWS) – Danbury, CT

Brass City Rescue Alliance (BCRA) – Middlebury, CT

Companion Pet Rescue – Southbury, CT

Whiskers Pet Rescue – Southbury, CT

Big Fluffy Dog Rescue – Adopts to CT

RCO Celebrates Adopt a Shelter Pet Day… Everyday.

Keep an eye out for RCO’s supply drives and donations to local shelters. We have sponsored the Companion Pet Rescue 5k on June 1st and will be there tabling and helping out the day of the event! We are also already working on this holiday’s season’s supply drive. We hope to make this year the biggest and best yet.

Comments? Interested in more information? Want to tell your pets’ story? Leave a comment below!