National Animal Shelter & Rescue Appreciation Week

Today marks the start of National Animal Shelter & Rescue Appreciation Week, which was founded by the Humane Society of the United States in 1996 and is celebrated each year during the first week of November.

I adopted my Nate, shown above doing his best impersonation of a jaguar perched in the trees, from the Kenton County Animal Shelter in Northern Kentucky when he was just four months old. All of my pets have come from shelters or rescues and they are/were all the greatest pets in the world, so I have a great deal of respect and affection for these organizations and the people who keep them running. There are between six and eight million homeless animals in the United States each year and only about 3,500 shelters to help them, so it's clear that all rescues have their work cut out for them.

In honor of the week, The Humane Society offers ten tips for helping your local shelter or rescue, some as easy as "liking" and sharing about rescues on Facebook and other social media. Other ideas include donating supplies such as towels or cleansers or even making your own toys for the shelter animals in your area. To read the article and see the whole list of ideas, click here.

Nate didn't want me to include a dog in this post but I saw this video last week and I think it captures the value of animal shelters and rescues more than any words ever could. It's such a feel-good story that even Nate had to relent and he agreed that it fits perfectly with Shelter & Rescue Appreciation Week.

Kudos to this shelter and all the others across the country!

Post by Sea FM Hobart.

National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

The first week full week of November is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, an annual event that was launched by the Humane Society of the United States in 1996.

The celebration is designed not only to spotlight shelters and rescues across the country, but also to increase awareness of animal welfare issues. I'm happy to have the opportunity to participate in this special week, as both my dog Clancy and my cat Nate were rescues.

The HSUS site lists special events every day this week to help spread the word about animals currently waiting in shelters for their forever homes. Today's focus is on the Shelter Pet Project, a fun site that collaborates with Petfinder.com to help pet lovers find adoptable dogs and cats. 

If you're interested in finding shelter pets in your area, all you have to do is click here, and enter your zip code and whether you are looking for a dog or a cat. If you want to do an advanced search, you can limit your criteria by age, sex, breed, and size. It couldn't be easier, and just one search will introduce you to loads of lovable furry friends who want nothing more than to be part of your family.

Visit the National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week site here to learn other ways to help homeless animals and spread the word about this important week. In addition to helping shelter pets across the county, you may just find a new best friend of your own.