5 Ways of Helping Shelter Dogs Without Adopting One

Adopting a dog is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. Money, space and time are the key factors that weigh into this decision.

While not everyone can give a forever home to an abandoned dog, there are some few an inexpensive actions you can take to improve the lives of these animals:

• Volunteer as a walker

• Organize a fundraiser

• Foster

• Use social media

• Apply your talents

Shelters are often overcrowded with dogs looking for a new chance in life. As staff are mostly volunteers, it is hard to give these pups the attention and love they deserve.

Since most of them are stuck in kennels for the most part of the day, a 15 minute walk around the block can lower their stress levels and help them get used to a leash.

Asking for funds can be frustrating for small organizations. Contact your local shelter and find out a list of things they need. Then contact your friends, coworkers or family and ask them if they would like to provide donations.

It is more likely they will be willing to help out if a person that they know and trust ask them to. If they are not in a position to help out financially, maybe they can spread the world.

This is a hard but rewarding option. Fostering a pup can be challenging, since it requires attention and time, but it might be the right option if you are not ready for a lifetime commitment. Another risk of fostering is getting too attached to the dog, but make sure to keep in mind his or her best interests.

Fostering a pet can give you the satisfaction of providing a safe and loving environment for the animal to develop his or hers true personality, which is a very important step in the process of finding the right forever home for each dog

Most shelters don't have the resources to create and maintain an attractive feed in social media. You can lend them a hand by reaching out and create a sharable image or publication for a dog that details its personality, needs and history.

Then schedule a few posts and ask your contacts to share them online. Maybe the right owner for the dog is already out there and you can help find him!

The best thing about helping others is that you can apply your specific talents to a good cause. For example, if you are an amateur photographer, maybe you can stage a photo shoot with adoptable pets.

If you have a small business, you can set up a system to donate a percentage of your profits to a shelter. It's all about coming up with ways to help that adapt to you.