The week of 5 to 11 November 2018 is Animal Shelter Appreciation Week – a week to honour all the animal shelters and the people who work so hard to create a home for animals in need of shelter. Here are 4 ways you can make a difference in an animal’s life and help lighten the load of animal shelters nationwide:
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1. Donate supplies
There is always a need for supplies to wash, feed and provide shelter and care for the animals. Gather supplies like food, blankets, toys, cat litter, towels and more in your community or your workplace and take them to an animal shelter near you. Not only will you help the animals, you will also lighten the load of the staff at the shelter.
2. Spread the word
Many people aren’t really aware of the problems and difficulties that animal shelters may face. Social media is a great way to create awareness of the different animal shelters you know about. Spread the word by sharing and reposting about the animal shelters and the work they do. The more aware people are, the more they can help the needs of the animal shelters.
3. Donate your time
Animal shelters are often short of staff. Don’t have anything planned on a Saturday? Make a day of it and visit an animal shelter in your community and find out where and how the staff may need help with the animals. You can help walk the dogs, play with the kittens, wash the animals or clean out cages.
4. Adopt a pet
Adopt, don’t shop! Make a new best friend by adopting an animal as your pet. By adopting a pet rather than buying one, you will also free up space so that the animal shelter can take in other strays in need of shelter. Find out more at your local animal shelter about the process of adopting an animal. They make great companions and you will change an animal’s life completely.
In honour of Animal Shelter Appreciation Week the cat-food company Whiskas has donated three tons of cat food to animal shelters in Gauteng. This generous act took place at Four Paws animal shelter and the food was then distributed to shelters all over the province, including FORA, Kitty and Puppy Haven, Angels Refuge, CO-SANC, CatzRus and Cataholics.
‘We’d like to thank Whiskas for their generous assistance and food donations, which will go a long way in helping us take care of our pets and in turn show our appreciation for them. Whiskas’ donation ensures we are able to care for a great number of cats who would otherwise have led very different lives,’ said Tammy Prince from 4Paws during the handover from Whiskas.
‘For Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, we wanted to connect in a meaningful way and bring the Whiskas brand values to life – that all cats deserve to live a healthy and happy life. We are so pleased that we were able to donate food to these shelters because they show such kindness to animals on a daily basis and really deserve as much help as they can get from the community,’ commented Nivashnee Moodley, Whiskas brand manager.
PHOTO: iStock/simarik
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