Quick!  Name two things you’d like to have more of!

Dollars to doughnuts, MORE TIME and/or MORE MONEY made your list. Not surprisingly, those are also the two biggest needs of any animal rescue group—including Dogs Are Deserving Rescue. 

You’ve heard the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” And that’s also true for running a rescue. There are dogs waiting for someone to save them from death at the shelter. There are dogs in foster waiting for adoption. There are dogs who need toys, kibble, medicines, training, and/or transportation. There are many, many needs at a rescue group, and never enough money or time. At the end of every single day, there is a rescuer who often needs a little help doing a lot of little things that will mean so much to rescued dogs.

Now you may be thinking, “Aww…I want to help…but I don’t have much time or money. Didn’t we talk about that in the first paragraph?” You’re right.

Sometimes, rescue groups do need the big commitments—like fostering a dog until he/she is adopted or getting donations for a serious medical case. But more often than not, it’s all the little tedious tasks that inundate the rescuers.

A rescue group needs a village to save dogs…a circle of kind-hearted, reliable people who will help for an hour, or a day—maybe monthly, maybe weekly—or maybe even just once.

Think that sounds too good to be true? Consider the skills you have to share—and the needs of rescue groups:

• Do you like to take photos? Volunteer to do a photo session for those dogs needing “adopt me” portraits.
• Do you like to write? Volunteer to write dog biographies, grant proposals, social media or blog posts.
• Are you gifted with persuading others to do things? Volunteer to solicit donations from a company, a local business, or from a veterinarian.
• Have you ever thought you’d enjoy being a detective? Volunteer to do background checks on potential adopters. It’s as simple as calling references and confirming applications are truthful.
• Do you spend a lot of time on Facebook? Volunteer to write a few posts, or to help administer a rescue group’s social media accounts.
• Do you like to drive? Volunteer to drive dogs from the shelter, to foster homes, to vet appointments, or to their new homes. Volunteer to drive supplies to events.
• Do you just want to play with dogs? Volunteer to be a doggy escort at an event. Or volunteer to puppy-sit, or to be an overnight host for dogs on transport.
• Do you like to shop? Volunteer to hunt for sales on the most needed items like kibble, toys, leashes and collars and then go fetch.
• Do you have pretty handwriting?  Volunteer to write thank you notes to donors.
• Are you skilled in accounting or maybe painting and building things? Volunteer to help with bookkeeping, or to help paint or repair dogs’ spaces.
• Do you enjoy planning parties? Volunteer to organize and manage an event on behalf of the rescue group.

Sure, some of these tasks take more time than others. But no matter how much time a task takes, each one is critical. Each volunteer hour matters. Each hour helps move dogs out of harm’s way, gets them healthy and happy, and secures them good loving homes. And each and every dog deserves that!

If you have a skill you’d like to share, or an hour you can spare, please get in touch today. Dogs Are Deserving Rescue needs you! 

Thank you!

Photo by Bruno Cervera, via Unsplash.