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There are two things that are always in short supply at the animal shelter - manpower and money. So the two best ways you can help are by volunteering your time or raising/donating funds/resources.

VOLUNTEERING

Th ere are many ways you can volunteer your time, from hands on work with the animals to helping with office work, depending on your abilities and your time.

Ideas:

- Hands-on care
Most cats and dogs in shelters are starved for attention, and just taking them to play in an exercise area for a new minutes a day or a week would make them happy beyond measure. Many animals, especially dogs, who have be surrendered to a shelter are there because their owners couldn't or wouldn't give them basic training. Other animals need medical care and may need to be fostered in a home rather then kept in a kennel until they recover or are found a permanent home.

And there are always mouths to feed and dishes, bedding, catboxes, runs, cages and exercise areas to be cleaned.

- Telephone work
Many shelters follow up on ads in the local paper regarding lost or found animals. There's also follow up on pets who have been adopted, as well as checking on the suitability of perspective pet-parents.

- Help with adoption events
Lots of animals get adopted at major adoption events, but they are a lot of work for the organizers and for the participants - dog and human. Dogs need to be prepped with baths, cages and animals need to be loaded, transported and unloaded (twice!) and for the six to eight hours of the event, there are people to talk to, forms to be filled out and checked, and dogs to be walked, fed and watered.

- Adoption websites
Sites like Petfinders.com and Pets911.com are great websites, but those picture need to be taken, descriptions need to be written and the information must be uploaded, monitored and maintained. Armed with a digital camera and a keyboard, you could help the cause tremendously.

- Educating the public
Whether it's producing a regular newsletter for supporters, distributing literature at adoption days, talking to school children or perspective pet-parents, educating the public on the issues of over-population and preventing animal cruelty, education is the only realistic long-term solution to animal welfare problems. Often too little effort is spent on education, so if you have no skill with animals, but you can communicate and are passionate about helping, educating the public may be the mission for you!

MONEY

Shelters are financial black-holes and adoption fees

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