National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

In 1996, The HSUS launched National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week (based on an idea from the Capital Humane Society in Lincoln, Nebraska). This campaign was designed to acknowledge and promote the invaluable role shelters play in their communities and to increase public awareness of animal welfare issues and shelter services. During National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, the first full week of every November, The HSUS promotes and celebrates animal shelters across the country through media and public outreach.

You can find materials here to help you celebrate National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week in your community. The materials also can be customized to promote the important role of shelters any time of the year.

As you probably already know, two of my three dogs came from an animal shelter (the third came from a rescue group that found her at a shelter).

Adopting from a shelter saves lives. Millions of perfectly adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized every year solely on the basis that there aren't enough adopters for all of these animals. Some communities are fortunate enough to have the support from the public to create no-kill shelters.

If you can't adopt a new friend, shelters offer a variety of volunteer opportunities. In the past, I've: walked dogs, helped socialize cats, cleaned cages, participated in adoption events, wrote newsletter articles, washed, dried and folded cage towels and more. There are many more things to do: write thank-you notes to donors, become an adoption counselor, participate in grief counseling for those who've lost a beloved pet, take photos for the shelter's web site and more. It's a lot of fun! Any little bit of help they can get is truly appreciated

I've very thankful for all of the people who have volunteered/worked at shelters along with those who've adopted from them.

A great big "thank you" from me! :)