4 Simple Ways to Help Shelter Pets #AdoptaShelterPet

This sweet pup Cassie is available for adoption at Havanese Rescue

This post is sponsored by BlogPaws. I am being compensated to support Adopt a Shelter Pet Month with an educational post, but To Dog With Love only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article.


October is Adopt a Shelter Pet Month at BlogPaws, and today we're sharing some simple ways you can help your favorite shelter and shelter pets while they are waiting for their forever homes. Even if you can't adopt a pet, there are plenty of things you can do to help that don't take a lot of time or money.

Organize a neighborhood pet food drive

This was one of the very first initiative organized by the Be The Change for Pets movement developed in the early days of BlogPaws. And, it's something you can replicate in your own community, collecting food for a pet food bank or for a local shelter.

You can get some inspiration from the Be The Change Pet Food Drive we participated in 2010 and read about how we did it here. With the help of our generous neighbors, we collected 230 pounds of food and donated it to our local pet food bank.

Donate items for pet rescue fundraisers

Silent auction for Havanese Rescue

Many pet rescue groups raise money by holding fundraising event with silent auctions. Those funds may be used for reasons like getting rescue pets the medical attention they need to help make them more adoptable.

Think about items you may already have that can be donated for shelter fundraisers. You may also consider donating a service you offer or a product you make.

For example, at some recent shelter fundraisers in my area I donated a K9 Fit Club class for up to four people and their dogs!


Donate your special talents

If you have photography skills, shelters can often use great photos of their pets in order to better promote them for adoption. Happy looking pets stand a much better chance of getting adopted than a sad pet behind bars.

Contact your local shelter to find out if they have any special needs that matchup to your talents.

Adorable, happy dogs at a pet adoption event

Walk for your rescue

Every time you go for a walk you can raise money for your favorite rescue group. Apps like ResQwalk, allow you to track your miles and raise money for the rescue of your choice for every mile you log. And, while you're raising money for your rescue, you're also getting the benefit of some healthy exercise for both you and your dog!

Do you have any other ideas for helping support animal rescue groups?

5 Ways to Help Pets on Your Drive Home From Work

Lending a hand for pets in need is always a nice thing to do, but it doesn’t have to be a huge production. Sometimes, it’s the littlest gesture that makes the biggest impact. Here are a few pet-loving tasks so simple, you can do them for your local shelter or rescue on your drive home from work.

1. Take a Dog for a Walk or Offer Some Playtime

This is an easy, fun, and incredibly helpful way to lend a hand. By volunteering to stop by the shelter and take a dog for a quick walk or play chase-the-mouse with a cat before heading home, you make the lives of those running the shelter (who are likely spread a bit thin) a little easier, and you give a pet some well-deserved attention. You might even make a new friend in the process.

2. Bring Office Supplies

Helping pets can start with helping the people working for them. A simple way to help out your local shelter is to drop off a few office supplies every so often. Pens, pencils, Post-Its, legal pads, paper clips -- anything your office has in surplus they’d be willing to donate, or anything you have lying around your home. People tend to forget the clerical side of running a shelter, but as anyone who has ever worked in one can attest, there is no shortage of paperwork.

3. Bring Over Dinner

As quick as a trip to the local pizzeria, throwing your shelter an impromptu pizza party is a great way to let them know how much you appreciate them. Two pies and a couple of two-liters are the universal sign for “thanks.” Homemade goodies like a batch of cookies will score big, too. Just be careful about bringing homemade treats for the pets -- shelter rules might not allow the workers to share anything unlabeled by a manufacturer with the pets. But you can always bring some extra store-bought treats.

4. Give Some Cleaning Supplies

Things like soap, hand sanitizer, or all-purpose cleaner are often on short order at animal shelters, so if you have time to stop in to the local supermarket and drop a few bucks on cleaning supplies, everyone at your neighborhood rescue would be grateful.

5. Give Them All the Plastic Bags

You know that pile of plastic bags under your sink, or in your closet, that is starting to get out of control? Why not take half (or all) of them to some people who can put them to some real use? Just think -- if your local shelter is home to 40 dogs, that’s 80 walks a day, and 80 good reasons to have a plastic bag on hand. Cats need litter boxes cleaned every day, too. Your shelter staff will seriously thank you.

Guest post: Sam Bourne is a pet lover and dog and cat parent lucky enough to get to write about them for a living on PetCareRx and The Wet Nose Press.

Help Us Help Shelter Pets: Santa Paws Drive Donations Now Open!

If you've been following us the past few years, you may know that we're honored to be among the "Elves" to help with Santa Paws Drive, the first-ever online toy and treat drive dedicated to  delivering holiday cheer to shelter animals worldwide. 

In the past four years, the Santa Paws Drive has raised approximately $45,000 in toys, treats and cash donations for 24 shelters worldwide. Wow! That's a lot of donations! And we did it all with the help of pet lovers and brands who have generously donated to the cause.

Just a few of the donated toys!

This year, Santa Paws Drive is supporting six animal rescue groups that do outstanding work to help animals in their communities. Prior to the official launch of Santa Paws Drive 2013, animal lovers from all over the world sent in nominations for hundreds of worthy animal shelters.

Six shelters were chosen based on need and nomination note. Five are in the United States and one is Kabul, Afghanistan.

The 2013 Santa Paws Drive shelters are: 

• Rikki's Refuge - Orange County, Virginia
• Good Mews - Marietta, Georgia
• Union County Animal Control - Cobden, Illinois
• Nowzad - Kabul, Afghanistan
• Contra Costa Humane Society - Pleasant Hill, California
• Ruff Start Rescue - Princeton, Minnesota

The goal of this year's Santa Paws Drive is to raise $1,000 in cash donations for each one ($6,000) plus enough toys and treats to make sure each animal at each shelter receives a gift.

How you can help!

Make a donation (no amount is too small, or too large!) at SantaPawsDrive.com or by using the handy donation widget on our right sidebar. You can donate cash or dog or cat toys and treats. We make it easy so all you have to do is choose how you'd like to help the shelter pets and click to donate!

We'll also have a special on-line raffle starting up soon with great prizes you can bid on!

If you're a brand, it's still not too late to donate. You can contact our elves workshop and we'll work out the details to help you donate raffle items.

Some happy recipients of 2012 Santa Paws Drive donations!

The donations will be divided between the shelters and shipped off in giant gift packages to the lucky dogs at cats at each one in time for Christmas. The last day for cash donations is December 20.

The last day for toy and treat donations is December 13, so the Santa Paws Drive elves can have enough time to sort all the items, pack them up and ship them off in time for Christmas delivery! Donations can be made online at SantaPawsDrive.com or on our handy widget on our right sidebar.

Shelter kitties enjoy receiving their 2012 donation package! 

We hope you'll join us in helping the anipals who need it most this holiday season!  In addition to donating, here are a few more ways you can help just by spreading the word!

Iams Doubles Pet Food Donation to Help Shelter Pets! #ShakeItForward

Rocco just had his Thanksgiving bath and he's ready for the trek up north to visit friends and family.

We're thankful we have a nice place to share a festive meal, and we're also thankful for the great work that many of our pals do to help pets in need who don't have families to visit this holiday.

And today, we learned of a really cool thing that Iams is doing to help shelter pets this holiday season.  In the spirit of giving, and being thankful, Iams announced today it is DOUBLING its #ShakeItForward donation!

What does that mean for shelter pets? It means that twice as many -- 500,000 to be exact -- bowls of food will be donated to pets in need as part of Iams Bowls of Love program!

If you missed it, #ShakeItForward launched last month when Iams Shakeables partnered with Talking Animals video producer Andrew Grantham to give pet fans a treat, as well as help pets in need.

For every view of the fun Punk'd Puppy video and share of the hashtag #ShakeItForward, Iams donated one bowl of food to pets in select animal shelters across the country up to 250,000 bowls.

Iams has already exceeded their goal and were overwhelmed by the response from pet lovers everywhere. Now, with Thanksgiving around the corner, and in the spirit of giving, IAMS is going to #ShakeItForward again by DOUBLING their pet food donation to 500,000 bowls!

To show our support of Iams' decision to double their donation, we're spreading the word and the #ShakeItForward hashtag. We encourage you to do the same by sharing your dog's happy face with the  #ShakeItForward hashtag, and then check out the fun Punk'd Puppy video!

The video is hilarious and sure to make you smile too! It features talking dog Cody and his love for Iams Shakeables soft and chewy dog treats in Gobble 'Em Up with Turkey.

You've gotta love talking dogs!

For more from Iams, check them out on FaceBook and Twitter too!

One more reason to be thankful is this is my first Thanksgiving together with Rocco, and who knows, Rocco may even see his first snowflake!

What are you thankful for?

Disclosure: I have written this post on behalf of BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network for Iams Shakeables. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Iams #ShakeItForward double down donation, but To Dog With Love only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.

PETCO, Natural Balance Team Up to Help Shelter Pets and Rock the Rose Parade!

We love how so many companies have gotten into the holiday spirit with programs that give back to shelter animals as well as offering great deals for pet owners. Here’s one that’s got too much good stuff to pass up!

Natural Balance is putting this piece of doggie paradise
on wheels and rolling it down the Rose Parade!

Maybe it’s because we have such a soft spot in our hearts for the Rose Bowl -- because I went to the University of Michigan during the glory years when it was a really cool thing for the Big Ten Champ to win the honor to play there. Or maybe it’s because we think really big floats with dogs is about the coolest thing for the Rose Parade. Either way, here’s a way to win some great prizes AND help shelter animals along the way!

Here’s the Scoop

Tillman the skateboarding, skimboarding doggie!

Natural Balance and PETCO are teaming up to help raise more meals for shelter animals AND Natural Balance is building an awesome big float with skimboarding and dock diving dogs that they expect the Guiness World Record folks to bless on the day of the Rose Parade, Jan. 1, 2011! Tillman and Rose, the famous skateboarding English Bulldogs, will be skimboarding on this year’s World’s Heaviest Parade float and dock diving dogs will be flying into a huge pool of water. Meantime, Natalie Malaszenko from PETCO will get to ride on the float (we want to ride with you next year!) and provide live updates via Twitter, Facebook & Foursquare! Wow, what a pawty! 

There’s also a sweepstakes you can enter with GREAT prizes. Be sure to read all the way down because these prizes are too good to pass up. And, for every time you enter the sweepstakes, Natural Balance and PETCO will donate a meal to shelter pets.

Here’s How You Get To Play!

Help donate meals to shelter pets by:

• Entering the weekly sweepstakes at petco.com/rose
• Going to facebook and clicking “like” for both PETCO and Dick Van Patten Natural Balance fan pages
• For every new “like” and sweepstakes entry a meal will be donated to shelter pets in need!

If you happen to live in one of these markets, you can also watch the TV Special: “Making of the World’s Heaviest Float”

A dock diving dog during open
casting call

• New York, WPIX: Sat 12/18 @6:30pm  
• Chicago, WGN: Sat 12/18 @5pm  
• Los Angeles, KTLA: Sun 12/19 @5pm & Sun 12/26 @4pm                                   
• Washington DC, WDCW: Sun 12/19 @5pm
• Philadelphia, WPHL: Sat 12/18  @5pm                                    
• Miami, WSFL: Sat 12/18 @6:30pm                                                   
• San Diego, KSWB: Sat 12/18 @4:30pm                                      
• Seattle, KZJO: Sun 12/19 @ 5pm                                                  
• Portland, KRCW: Sat 12/18 @ 5pm                                 

And now for the fabulous Sweeptakes prizes
Here’s what you can win each week! The event started last week, so we are starting on Week Two.

WEEK TWO WINNER: The winner for week two will be chosen at random, from the entries received on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 12:01 am PST through Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will receive one Apple® iPad™ and one Tillman Plush Toy.

WEEK THREE WINNER: The winner for week three will be chosen at random, from the entries received on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 12:01 am PST through Sunday, December 26, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will receive three bags of Natural Balance® SYNERGY dry dog food (winner’s choice of size, flavor and formula) and one $200 PETCO Gift Card.

WEEK FOUR WINNER: The winner for week four will be chosen at random, from the entries received on Monday, December 27, 2010 at 12:01 am PST through Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will receive The Flip™ UltraHD™ video camera, $300 PETCO Gift Card and four bags of Natural Balance® Tillman’s Training Tips™ dog treats. 

WEEK FIVE WINNER: The winner for week five will be chosen at random, from the entries received on Monday, January 3, 2011 at 12:01 am PST through Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will receive a Natural Balance® Prize Pack and a $200 PETCO Gift Card. The Natural Balance® Prize Pack includes one bag of Natural Balance® dry dog or cat food or one bag of Natural Balance® SYNERGY dry dog food (winner’s choice of size, flavor and formula), 2 bags of Natural Balance® Tillman’s Training Tips™ dog treats, one Tillman Plush Toy, one Natural Balance® Calendar, one commemorative Natural Balance® 2011 Rose Parade pin and one Natural Balance® Mug.

WEEK SIX WINNER: The winner for week six will be chosen at random, from the entries received on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 12:01 am PST through Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST. The winner will receive three bags of Natural Balance® SYNERGY dry dog food (winner’s choice of size, flavor and formula) and one $200 PETCO Gift Card. 

Get all the details and enter here! 

Dock diving image courtesy of Robert Ochoa of Pawmazing Photography

Rose Parade float rendering and Tillman image courtesy of Natural Balance

Santa Paws Drive Brings Holiday Joy to Shelter Animals

I don't go anywhere without my big green bone. I want all
the shelter animals to have special toys too! -- Cosmo Havanese

Because shelter pets deserve toys too,  a couple of our best pals created the Santa Paws Drive -- an online toy, treat and donation drive designed to bring holiday cheer to shelter pets this season. While we're all warm and cozy at home with plenty of food, toys and treats, we'd like to think the shelter animals can have a little something special too. The Santa Paws Drive makes it easy to help.


Just go to the donation tab on SantaPawsDrive.com and choose what you'd like to donate. The Santa Paws elves have made it super easy to choose from dog toys, cat toys or cash. The elves will take care of all the shipping and send the goodies off to six shelters across the world.


Here are a few other ways to help too! 

• Buy a $1 raffle ticket for a chance to win some great prizes from some generous sponsors. All proceeds raised will go directly to the shelters.  
• Participate in one of the Santa Paws Drive special events to help raise awareness AND have a great time!
• Spread the word by writing a blog post, tweeting (#BeTheChange #SantaPawsDrive), posting to Facebook and then add your link to the list below so we can see our collective effort!

Special thanks to the elves behind the Santa Paws Drive: Your Daily Cute, PawPawty, Nip and Bones and The Kitten Crew!


December 10 is the last day for treat donations and December 20 for cash donations so what are you waiting for!!  It's time to get hopping!

The Final Count is in for #CosmoIH4TH and Iams Food Donation!

Last week, tons of our Twitter pals helped spread the word about Iams Home 4 The Holidays program and its food drive for shelter animals. By tweeting with the hashtag #CosmoIH4TH, each tweet garnered a 50-meal donation from Iams for a shelter pet.

And now for the grand total........DRUM ROLL please!! ......rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat....


We collectively sent out 5,952 tweets with #CosmoIH4TH to raise a total of 297,600 meals donated to shelters in need!!! Whoo hoooo!! Way to go!! The way I figure it, that will feed more than 400 animals, two meals a day, for an entire year!!! 


We're thankful for the food, and we really hope that lots of the anipals get adopted. Iams goal for the program is to adopt out 1.5 million pets and give 5 million meals to homeless animals. We explained more about the program here.


Thanks again to all our pals for helping feed the anipals who need it most. The pet community ROCKS!