3 Ways You Can Help Animals In Need From Your Own Home

It’s hard to see an animal hurting, but it’s even harder to not know what to do about it. There are sadly many ways in which animals can be mistreated, but there are also many ways to help them through conscious decision making and simple care.

This article is going to highlight three practical and realistic ways to help animals from your own home.

Sponsor or adopt an animal in need for a loved one (or yourself)

If you’re struggling with a present for a loved one, or if you just want to gift something to yourself, sponsoring an animal in need is the perfect solution.

The majority of sanctuaries have an option where you can choose your own animal. The great thing about this is that you can read the animal’s profile and really get to know them before deciding to sponsor them. You’ll get to hear some often heart-wrenching stories about the previous lives of the animal, in addition to receiving regular updates on your chosen animal.

For less than the price of a few cups of coffee a month, you can sponsor an animal for an entire year, and possibly receive some other little goodies. Write a customised message for your loved one and let them know why you chose the animal you did for them, and it’ll be something that bonds you for a long time.

If you would rather adopt an animal and be able to call it yours, this could be a great alternative to sponsoring. When you adopt an animal, you will often receive a stuffed animal, and some fact sheets about the animal and how best to care for them, as well as an adoption certificate – it’s enough to melt even the hardest of hearts.

Donate or subscribe to an animal sanctuary

One of the best ways to help animals in need without having to even leave your home is to donate to an animal sanctuary with a one-off payment, or subscribe to a monthly payment option.

Hopefield Animal Sanctuary in Essex, for example, has an aim of providing a safe and loving home for all abused, abandoned, and neglected animals. Its mission is to promote humane behaviour towards animals around the world, by providing the appropriate care and treatments for animals who are in need of care because of sickness or abuse.

By donating to a sanctuary like this one, you can help to educate the public in matters of animal welfare, and promote the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals.

As we all try to find a new normal after the craziness of the coronavirus pandemic, we understand that it’s a difficult time financially for many. The beauty of the majority of animal sanctuaries is that you can donate custom amounts of money as a one-off payment if you can’t afford to donate a set amount monthly.

100% of donations sent to Hopefield Animal Sanctuary go immediately towards the animals and the running of the sanctuary, so you can rest assured that your money is making a difference to those animals most in need.

Help to rehome animals via the Internet

There seems to be a bit of a “thing” about the Internet and animals of all kinds; how often do you go on Facebook or Twitter and see light-hearted memes featuring animals, for example? But you can also go so much further than that, social media being excellent for building awareness and potentially even rehoming the most vulnerable animals.

Many ordinary people share posts they’ve come across regarding animal welfare, often leading to a spiral of sharing and commenting on the main social media platforms. The shock factor is usually at play here, surprising or even upsetting people into sharing how a certain post made them feel and demanding some form of justice.

Alongside this, the rise of the pet influencer has helped to boost awareness of animal issues, including welfare. We’re sure many people reading this will have heard of Grumpy Cat, the American cat who became a meme because of her permanently ‘grumpy’ face. Her success – including having many millions of followers across various social media sites – is just one example of the power of ‘pet influencers’.

Whether someone runs a shelter and is looking to rehome animals they are presently looking after, or another person is interested in giving a new home to an animal, there can be no doubting the power the Internet has for bringing people together to help rehouse vulnerable animals.

For rescue or rehoming centres, for example, such techniques as the use of pet-based influencer marketing and well-timed hashtags can help them attract followers and engagement – and in the process, new homes for the animals in their care.

There you go – just three of the ways in which you could potentially help animals, without even needing to leave your sofa. Which ones are most catching your eye?