Adopting a dog is the best feeling but the process might pain you a bit. You go into a shelter, you adopt your forever friend, but as you walk out of those doors, you know there are other dogs there who weren’t as lucky to find a home that day. 

It’s hard knowing there are so many fur babies out there struggling, just trying to survive and love as much as they can. The reality is, it’s even harder for them. What we can do is take our emotions and channel them into actions that will benefit these dogs. 

But how?

Not everyone can make a handsome donation. Are there more accessible ways to help change a dog’s life for the better?

There are. Let’s change some dogs’ lives through these 7 simple ways.

How to Help Change a Dog’s Life In 7 Simple Ways

1. Donate items that your dog is no longer using.
2. Ask your local dog shelter for a list of items they’re in need of for donations.
3. Volunteer in your free time.
4. Considering fostering dogs.
5. Shop with stores and companies that make donations.
6. Share posts on social media from your local shelter.
7. Advocate adoptions by sharing your dog’s story.

Donate items that your dog is no longer using.

Don’t let things go to waste! That dog bed your fur baby isn’t using anymore, the harness they outgrew, the water dish, the whole lot. These are things that dogs in need could use. You help them get comfortable in their foster homes or at the shelter until they find their forever home.

Ask your local dog shelter for a list of items they’re in need of for donations.

Sometimes shelters might be in plenty of supply of certain items, but that means other items aren’t being donated as much. Check-in with your local shelter to see what they need most. More often than not, these lists will be posted on their website or social media pages.

Volunteer in your free time.

Pay it forward by setting aside free time to volunteer! You can help with adoption events, walk dogs, etc. Reach out to your shelter and local organizations to see how you can help.

Consider fostering dogs.

If your household and bandwidth allow, you can help house a dog while they wait for their forever humans to finally show up. Shelters are often overwhelmed and don’t have enough space for all dogs in need. Fostering can make a huge difference.

Shop with stores and companies that make donations.

You would be surprised at how many companies make donations with funds made through sales! For example, Joyride Harness makes monetary donations to a nonprofit organization. A percentage of each sale goes towards the donation pool. So not only are you enjoying the benefits of your purchase, but you’re impacting the life of a shelter dog because of these donations.

Share posts on social media from your local shelter.

Boost the signal! You’ve probably seen posts from your local shelter of dogs that are in search of homes, but you aren’t in a position to adopt again so you keep scrolling. Stop and share those posts! It helps bring awareness to the shelter and could potentially lead to an adoption.

Advocate adoptions by sharing your dog’s story.

Your dog’s adoption is a “happily ever after” type of story. By sharing your story of how you and your dog found each other, you’re promoting the adoption of dogs in a world that’s stigmatized it up against the demand of puppy mills. You can help dogs by helping change minds.