• 101 Ways to Help Rescues

    Often I hear people say that they don't know what they can do to get involved, particularly if they can't help with current transport, foster or home check requests.

    Worry not! There are always plenty of ways to help, and every contribution, however small, can make a real difference.

    Here's one hundred and one ways to help Animal Lifeline UK or your local rescue group (please feel free to make other suggestions!)

    Could you...

    1. Transport a pet? To rescues, vet appointments, foster homes, etc.
    2. Donate a dog bed, towels or other bedding?
    3. Donate money?
    4. Donate a pet toy. Particularly Kongs, Nylabones and other hard-wearing toys that might be safe for rescued dogs?
    5. Donate a wire crate?
    6. Donate a pen or baby gates?
    7. Donate a food or water dish?
    8. Donate a lead?
    9. Donate a collar?
    10. Donate some treats or a bag of food?
    11. Donate a halti, harness or a gentle leader?
    12. Walk a dog?
    13. Groom a dog?
    14. Donate some grooming supplies (shampoos, combs, brushes, etc.)?
    15. Visit your local rescue to take photos of their animals for rehoming?
    16. Mail out posters or information to people who've requested them?
    17. Provide local veterinary practices with posters to promote animal adoption or materials on responsible pet ownership?
    18. Drive a dog to and from vet appointments?
    19. Donate used stamps, ink cartridges or old mobiles phones?
    20. Donate a printer?
    21. Donate the use of a photocopier?
    22. Help man a stall at a dog show to raise money/awareness of animal rescues?
    23. Donate a gift voucher (e.g. from Amazon.co.uk)?
    24. Donate a raffle item?
    25. Donate flea products (Advantage, etc.)?
    26. Donate worming treatments?
    27. Donate a canine first aid kit?
    28. Provide a shoulder to cry on when a rescue person is overwhelmed?
    29. Pay the boarding fees to board a dog for a night? Week? Two weeks?
    30. Become a foster carer to give a foster dog a break from kennels?
    31. Find coupons for pet supplies?
    32. Bake some homemade doggie biscuits?
    33. Make purchases through Amazon.co.uk, Zooplus, Tesco, Expedia or Easy Fundraising that contributes commissions to ALUK?
    34. Host rescue photos with an information link on your website?
    35. Donate time to take good photos of foster dogs for adoption flyers, etc.?
    36. Conduct a home visit or accompany a rescue person on the home visit?
    37. Go with rescue person to the vet to help if there is more than one dog?
    38. Sell items at a car boot sale and donate the money to rescue?
    39. Become an Animal Lifeline UK Helper?
    40. Take advantage of a promotion on the web or store offering a free ID tag and instead of getting it for your own dog, have the tag inscribed with a rescue's name and phone number to contact?
    41. Talk to all your friends about adopting and fostering rescue dogs?
    42. Donate vet services or can you help by donating a spay or neuter each year or some vaccinations?
    43. Speak to vets to encourage them to promote or offer discounts to rescues?
    44. Write a column for your local newspaper or club newsletter on dogs currently looking for homes or ways to help rescue?
    45. Cross post animals in need of homes onto the ALUK forum?
    46. Maintain web sites listing/showing dogs available?
    47. Help organize and run fundraising events?
    48. Help maintain the paperwork files associated with each dog or enter the information into a database?
    49. Microchip a rescued pet?
    50. Loan your carpet steam-cleaner to someone who has fostered an animal that was sick or marked in the house?
    51. Donate cleaning products?
    52. Donate or loan a portable dog run to someone who doesn't have a quarantine area for quarantining a dog that has an unknown vaccination history and has been in a shelter?
    53. Drive the fosters' children to an activity so that the foster can take a rescue dog to an obedience class?
    54. Use your video camera to film a rescue dog in action?
    55. Pay the cost of taking a dog to obedience class?
    56. Be the one to take the dog to its obedience class?
    57. Go to the foster home once a week with your children or dogs to help socialise a dog in rescue?
    58. Help rescues clean out kennels?
    59. Offer to assess animals (previous experience needed)?
    60. Pay for a rescue dog to be groomed?
    61. Pay for a rescue animal to be vaccinated?
    62. Collect donations from co-workers to donate to rescues?
    63. Pay a house-cleaning service to do the spring cleaning for someone who fosters dogs all the time?
    64. Lend your artistic talents to a rescue's newsletter, fundraising ideas, and t-shirt designs?
    65. Donate printer paper, envelopes and stamps to rescue?
    66. Make craft items to sell to raise funds?
    67. Create graphics, such as avatars and signatures, for rescue staff to use on forums, etc to promote rescues?
    68. Donate dog coats for kenneled dogs?
    69. Go to local businesses and solicit donations for a fundraising event?
    70. Hold a cake sale or coffee afternoon to raise money?
    71. Help pet owners by answering training/behaviour questions (for behaviourists/trainers)?
    72. Loan a crate or carrier to transport an animal?
    73. Do or participate in a sponsored event to raise funds?
    74. Put together an 'Owner's Manual' for those who adopt rescued pets of your breed?
    75. Provide post-adoption follow up or support?
    76. Donate a free car wash, fuel to transport pound dogs or inside cleaning of a vehicle for a rescue transporter?
    77. Pay for an ad in your local newspaper to help place rescue dogs?
    78. Volunteer to screen calls for that ad?
    79. Get some friends together to build/repair pens for a foster home?
    80. Help write general interest and pet articles for the Animal Lifeline UK website?
    81. Help create a buzzing forum community by chatting, wishing members happy birthday, making them feel welcome in the 'Introductions' section?
    82. Buy two of those really great dog-items you just "have to have" and donate one to rescue?
    83. Make financial arrangements in your will to cover the cost of caring for your pets after you are gone - so rescue won't have to?
    84. Make a bequest in your will to help rescue animals?
    85. Donate your professional services (as an accountant, solicitor, behaviourist, vet or vet nurse, carpenter, designer, computer programmer, etc.)?
    86. Donate other services if you run your own business?
    87. Donate the use of a vehicle if you own a car dealership?
    88. Collect items from Freecycle, Freegle or free ad publications to donate to rescues?
    89. Spread word of rescue appeals via Twitter, Facebook, etc?
    90. Let us know when you'll be travelling and offer to transport a pet in need?
    91. Donate a doggy seatbelt?
    92. Donate a grid for a van or other vehicle?
    93. Organise a rescued dog picnic or other event to reunite the rescued dogs that have been placed?
    94. Donate desensitisation CDs to help pets overcome their fear of fireworks and other loud noises?
    95. Help ALUK advertise for new volunteers to help with rescue requests?
    96. Donate clickers or a video on clicker training?
    97. Donate sheets of linoleum or other flooring material for rescue pens, kennels or to put under crates to protect a foster carer's floor?
    98. Donate an engraving tool to make ID tags for each of the rescued dogs?
    99. Create pet videos and Powerpoint presentations to promote rescues on YouTube?
    100. Suggest other ways volunteers can help get involved?
    101. Remember that rescuing an animal in need involves the effort and time of many people to make yourself available on an emergency basis to do *whatever* is needed?