11 years ago, pet spokesperson Colleen Paige started National Dog Day to promote adoptable animals. Every year, thousands of wonderful animals end up dropped off at pet shelters. In many cases, life circumstances change for their families who can no longer care for their pets.
When you celebrate events like National Dog Day, it’s an opportunity to encourage adopting a pet. The more we talk about it and showcase some of these loveable pups, the sooner some of them will find a good home. From active puppies to laid back seniors, the shelters are full of great dogs looking for a family to love them.
How to Encourage Adoption:
- Social Media: If you know of a local pet adoption event, why not share it on Facebook? The more people who know about it – and see the adorable pictures of the pets– the more people will think about sharing their homes with one of them. Likewise, why not see if you can play matchmaker? Lots of shelters use social media to post adoptable pets of the week or month. If you share on occasion, you may help someone find the love of their life.
- Clean: Clean out your closets and take old linens to the shelter. They can line the pet’s cages so the dogs have something soft to lie on.
- Donate: Hold a “pawty” and get your friends and co-workers to donate food and pet toys to a local shelter.
- Volunteer: Pet shelters always need volunteers to walk dogs, clean cages and do other tasks.
- Gather: Gather some friendly pooches and hold a dog party. You could collect donations there too.
Of course, you can also use National Dog Day as an excuse to lavish your own dog with attention or help out a neighbor. Such as spoiling your pet at a doggie spa day or taking your pooch to a pet resort for a fun day with other pets.
For those who say, “My favorite breed is rescue,” National Dog Day is a great opportunity to help your friends and family members rescue their next best friend.
