“You can do it too!”

Saving dogs and puppies is easier than you think!

Animal rescues and shelters are both amazing and with more dogs being adopted in the U.S. than ever before, one of the biggest things for a dog rescue is to find each of them a loving home.

It’s actually easier to help save the lives of dogs than you might think, even if you don’t know, because here are a few ways you can help out dog rescues like us, or shelters for animals in need.

A cute young little puppy named Clark Griswold with light brown and dark brown colored fur big yellow puppy eyes floppy ears inside a big red Christmas stocking with one paw forward looking at the camera — There are so many shelter puppies in the U.S. and They NEED Your Help! (Path of Hope Facebook)

1. Adopt a dog

Adopting a dog from a dog rescue or shelter can greatly help them out, especially if they’re overcrowded, since many of the older dogs, or dogs with special needs are overlooked, but they deserve a second chance at a happy life just like other dogs.

And who knows, if you’re thinking about adding a pet to your family, this could be the most rewarding experience of your life.

2. Foster a dog

The role of foster is so underrated, that people often don’t think about them, but when dogs and puppies are rescued from the shelters or off the street, they need a place to stay, to grow up, or to get their training, and that’s where a dog foster comes in.

Usually, foster homes are there to take care of them until they get adopted, therefore making fosters the backbone of many animal rescues like us, and no worries if you’re new to fostering, a Foster Manager would be here to support you! So if you love being surrounded by puppies, why not check out our Foster page?

4 cute little young puppies with light brown white and black fur color sitting on a white pet blanket on sofa wearing green and dark blue dog collars looking forward at human volunteer taking pictures — I bet you want to be surrounded by puppies every day too! (Path of Hope Facebook)

3. Volunteer

Even though fostering is part of volunteering, many different skills are still valuable for dog rescues and animal shelters so together, we can make life better for dogs in our community.

For example, are you great at writing, or you’re an expert in marketing? Then you can make a huge difference by volunteering.

4. Sharing and speaking out

If you simply don’t have time to foster or volunteer, the most powerful way to give to a charity, outside of donating money is by giving them a shout-out on social media, as by bringing attention to the charity you care about, more potential fans can find their way to our Facebook and Instagram thanks to you!

A cute young little puppy named Margo Chester with white and light brown colored fur yellow round puppy eyes standing inside a red Christmas stocking sock while being taken photos — By sharing our adoption posts, you can help those puppies find a home! (Path of Hope Facebook)

5. Support spay and neuter

Animal shelters in the U.S. are overwhelmed as they have to take in too many animals every year and it’s an ever-growing problem, supporting spaying and neutering animals could help reduce the number of dogs and cats facing euthanasia each year.

As a responsible dog lover, this little practice really helps out the cause. You could check out our friends at 600 Million Dogs to see how they’re solving the problem in an innovative way.

6. Help your local shelter

Of course, the most direct way to help out an animal shelter is to find out what kind of support they need, and you might be surprised by how many little, doable things they need your help with, like washing dog blankets and towels.

7. Crafting for charity

If you're crafty, you can knit blankets, toys and even beds for puppies! Since dogs, just like us, don’t like cold weather, a sweater can really help them feel comfortable while waiting to be adopted.

By putting together some fabric and your imagination, you can save lives just like any other volunteer.

A cute little small puppy named Cousin Eddie with white light dark brown colored fur blue round eyes wearing a blue dog collar sitting on white furry blanket for dogs on sofa looking at the camera — Maybe you can craft a new collar for me? I want a green one! (Path of Hope Facebook)

8. Educate everyone

However since not everyone can do all the above due to time and financial restrictions, you could still help your community by getting involved and educating everyone on how they could support a dog rescue or animal shelter.

Especially if you’re good at organizing events for people to learn about the importance of generosity and giving back.

9. Donate your toys

Do you have any toys you no longer need? Well, maybe a puppy needs it somewhere! If you or your children want to provide toys for rescue puppies, you can easily contact your local rescue or shelter to see if they need any.

And if you don’t have enough toys, you could start a toy drive and collect toys for puppies in need.

A beautiful dog mommy named Aunt Bethany with light brown fur big round yellow eyes sleeping on a white furry blanket for dogs next to her young little baby puppy inside a human house — Aunt Bethany needs help taking care of her puppies, and toys can totally help! (Path of Hope Facebook)

10. Become a Hope Hero

The most POWERFUL way to help out is to Become a Hope Hero for us and make a real difference today.

In the past 6 years, we saved over 1,400 dogs from Euthanasia in Texas, but by spending all our time on saving dogs, we didn’t have a way to fundraise until we launched “Hope Heroes” as an easy way for everyone to help us replenish supplies, keep the dog food stacked, as well as helping us forecast how many dogs and puppies we can protect.

A Hope Hero doesn’t have a minimum monthly donation, just a heart for our mission and dogs. Every dollar helps. If our community each committed to giving $10 a month, the impact would be incredible.

Check out more on that in our guide to Becoming a Hope Hero!

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