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Five Ways to Be an Angel for Animals This Holiday Season

In addition to the flurry of catalogs stuffing my mailbox these days, I’ve also gotten a slew of donation requests from various animal organizations. I’d love to help all of them, but, just like everybody else, money’s tight lately.

However, I decided I still could help. Maybe not everyone else is aware of the various places needing help or of the different donation programs offered. Maybe by creating a list of them I’d still be helping in a way.

So that’s what I did. Maybe one of the following will appeal to your donation style.

  1. PETA’s “Angels for Animals” doghouse sponsor program. This is not one that everyone can afford to participate in, but for those who can you will truly be an “angel for animals” –especially outdoor dogs whose lives you would greatly improve. Donations, or “sponsorship gifts” as PETA terms them, start at $265. This buys one doghouse with straw that will go to a dog forced to live outside because their owner won’t give them up or let them come inside. $1,325 buys five shelters. $2,650 buys 10. To learn more about the program, click here.
  2. Sign up for an ASPCA charge card. Back when I first started with Families.com I wrote about how you could put your shopping dollars to work helping animals. One of those ways was to get a Chase credit card. Just by signing up for one, Chase will donate $75 to the ASPCA. Use it for all of your holiday shopping and feel confident knowing that .2 percent of all purchases goes to the ASPCA. Click here to learn more.
  3. Buy boxed holiday greeting cards from the ASPCA, help animals. Each box contains 16 cards and envelopes and you can choose from all cats, all dogs, or mixed cats and dogs. $17.99 a box. Proceeds support the ASPCA. Click here to learn more.
  4. Buy holiday merchandise at the Animal Rescue Site’s shop to feed shelter and sanctuary animals. If you’re looking for pet-themed greeting cards (be it Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa), ornaments, nativities or even cookie jars, you can’t go wrong shopping at the Animal Rescue Site. Click here for Christmas, here for general holiday, and here for the store’s home page. (Where you might find some gifts for the pet lovers on your list, which would also benefit the site.)
  5. Simply find out what your local shelter may need. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago. Either call them up or stop by and see if they have a list like the one I found. Then add a few items to your shopping list to pick up the next time you’re at the store. Or you could even make a drive out of it. Share the list with other friends and family, set a date to collect items by, then deliver them.

Question to Readers

Do you plan on being an angel for animals somehow this holiday season?

Courtney Mroch writes about animals great and small in Pets and the harmony and strife that encompasses married life in Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.

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