13 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Help Homeless Pets

• Information provided courtesy of Petfinder.com.

 

There are many ways you can help homeless pets this holiday season -- some of which require only your time.

Read on for easy ways you can help shelters and rescue groups through the Petfinder.com Foundation, which exists solely to support the 13,500-plus organizations that post their adoptable pets on Petfinder.

Lucy found a home thanks, in part, to a Petfinder.com Foundation grant to Braxton County (WV) Animal Shelter.

• 1. Give a Gift of Hope. When you make a donation to the Petfinder.com Foundation in the name of a loved one, he or she will receive a holiday card with an acknowledgment of your gift. And if you give a gift of $30 or more, your loved one will be acknowledged as a Supporting Member of the Petfinder.com Foundation for 2012!

• 2. Fill out surveys. Sign up to take surveys at SurveyMonkey.com and the Petfinder.com Foundation will receive $0.50 for every survey you complete.

• 3. Buy a T-shirt. Purchase a We Add Up "Rescue" T-shirt for yourself -- and one for your dog! Every "Rescue" T-shirt purchased will trigger a $3 donation to the Petfinder.com Foundation. Every "We Add Up" T-shirt is hand-printed with a unique number -- your position in the global count of people adding up to make a better world. "We Add Up" is already up to 22,000 people.

• 4. Buy a calender. Method Design has created a calendar of dog photos for 2012. Proceeds benefit the Petfinder.com Foundation.

• 5. Send custom greeting cards. Visit iGiveCards to create personalized holiday greeting cards that iGiveCards will print and mail -- for each card, 40 cents will go to the Petfinder.com Foundation.

• 6. Give your dog a new bed. Pet Lifestyle And You (P.L.A.Y.) will donate a Chill Pad to a shelter dog for every dog bed purchased from its Artist or Original collections.

• 7. "Like" Blue Sky Soda. Through Jan. 1, 2012, Blue Sky Soda will give $1 to the Petfinder.com Foundation for every new "like" it gets on its Facebook page

• 8. Enter to win an iPad, iPod or other prizes. Our friends at Home Again are giving away iPads, iPods and more. Enter the HomeAgain Holiday Gift-Away on Facebook for a chance to win. For every entry, the Petfinder.com Foundation will receive 25 cents.

• 9. Buy a gift from the Animal Rescue Site. Shop the Animal Rescue Site for the perfect gift; a donation to the Petfinder.com Foundation is made for each purchase. Or buy a Gift that Gives More, a tax-deductible donation to the cause of your choice. 

• 10. Create a custom accessory with your pet's photo. Visit Fuzzy Nation to order a puppy purse or other custom accessory; the Petfinder.com Foundation receives a donation for every item sold.

• 11. Sponsor a pet. Want to adopt, but can't right now? Sponsor a Pet through the Petfinder.com Foundation to help a shelter or rescue group until you're ready to adopt.

• 12. Join our cause on Facebook. Stay informed about what the Petfinder.com Foundation is up to all year long! Visit causes.com/petfinder to learn more.

• 13. Text a donation. Pressed for time? Text 4PETS and your email address to 20222 to donate $10 to the Petfinder.com Foundation.

Thanks to everyone who has helped make a difference in the lives of homeless pets. If you can only do one thing this year, think about giving your time at your local shelter.

Want to learn more about helping homeless pets this holiday season? PetFinder.com is hosting a live Q&A with its director of shelter outreach from 2-3 p.m. (Central Time Zone) Dec. 13 on its Facebook page.