Ongoing actions of Stray Animal Rescuing

While the number of 200 million stray dogs might seem devastating, there are actions currently being carried out. As of 2024, there are over 3,900 animal shelters in the United States that dedicate their shelter to helping stray animals. According to PangoVet, there are approximately 6.3 million animal companions that enter US animal shelters each year, and about 4.1 million are adopted yearly. That's 65% of stray animals leaving the shelter to go home to a loving family each year! Of that number, there are around 800,000 stray animals that go back home to their owners! Luckily, animal shelters aren’t the only institution that helps stray animals. Today, several institutions and volunteers are helping stray animals find a safe place where there’s food and water.

There are several foundations out there helping animals. Many volunteers check to see if these animals have returned to their homes or have found a safe and loving home. One particular foundation that does that is Save the Animal Foundation. They help rescue stray animals and make sure they find a loving home. They are entirely funded by donations of volunteers and have volunteers working two shifts each day, 365 days a year. Volunteers make sure that the animals get enough care there. Having volunteers donate also ensures that the money is spent on the animals to make sure that they are getting what they need. STAF assures that all animals are examined and vaccinated before entering their foundation. Each animal also gets individual attention, and they ensure that each animal gets all the care they need.

Other foundations are more individually owned. An example is schools organizing fundraisers to help raise money for the animals. These fundraising activities can usually be student-led or led by a parent. The students and parents helping would usually put out flyers to help promote that they will be working on a fundraiser. People who are willing to help could donate while getting a chance to enter a raffle to win prizes. This will ensure that people will be willing to give donations. When the amount is reached, the money is usually in the form of a check or is used to buy food and other necessities for the animals.

Although fundraising is a common way to help the animals, there are also ways where money isn’t necessary. Students with enough time on their hands would also volunteer during their breaks and weekends to help out in shelters where helping hands are needed. Every shelter might be a little different. Some might be a shelter where they look for people to help get the animals vaccinated and examined. Other shelters might just look for people who are interested in spending time with the animals. All animals need someone who cares and pays their full attention to them.

Another great way to help out animals is by joining an animal rescue foundation. These foundations rescue animals that have been abused and help them find loving homes. If you are interested in helping out animals in need, you could start by looking up local shelters and start volunteering! The selections are just a few among many actions that are currently carried out. Several more organizations and foundations are currently helping and they might be located in your community!