10 Gifts That Help Dogs in Need
Your dog might have it pretty good, but some aren’t so fortunate. For every dog with a loving home and someone to provide for him or her, there are numerous dogs living in shelters without the love of a family or a home to call its own. This is one of the saddest and most tragic realizations in the world. Dogs deserve love and happiness, and they deserve so much more than a life of loneliness. Sadly, too many dogs are just that; lonely. They spend their lives living somewhere in which they are unwanted by anyone, and they aren’t always taken care of by the people they do live with. That’s why shelters provide so much care for animals. You, too, can help dogs in need when you buy your Christmas gifts this year.
You can buy gifts for dog lovers that help dogs in need, and you can buy gifts for dogs in need without any additional gift-giving necessary. If you want to know what you can give to a dog this holiday season that will change his or her life for the better, we have a long list of great ideas; some a bit more affordable than others.
A Forever Home
The most important gift, and the most valuable gift, that anyone could ever give to a dog in need is a forever home. A forever home with you if you are ready for a dog and your entire family is on board with a new dog in the house is a wonderful gift to give. You will find out that giving a home to a dog is more than just for the dog; it’s for you, too. The idea of a dog that is wonderful, and we really do encourage you to adopt instead of shop if that’s what you’re looking for this Christmas.
Dr. Bills’ First Aid Kit
All dogs need a first aid kit at home in case something happens to them, so this is a good buy for anyone with a dog and just for yourself. The good news, too, is that when you purchase this gift throughout any time of the year, you will see that $2 of your purchase is then donated to the Best Friends Animal Society, which is a wonderful organization that works really hard to ensure animals are safe and rescued from otherwise horrible living conditions.
Operation Kindness
This is a gift that really gives back to dogs in need. When you want to give a gift to someone that already has it all, why not give them the gift of a donation? It makes a wonderful gift to a dog lover in memory of their pets as this is a gift that is 100% for a dog that is in need. When you visit operationkindness.org you get to choose from many different gifts to purchase. Every penny that is spent on this gift is then given to Operation Kindness, Texas’ largest no-kill shelter.
Your Time
What’s more valuable than your time? Animal shelters could always use volunteers to go through and handle paperwork, to go ahead and play with animals, walk them, work with them and even bathe them. It’s a job that not many people want to bother with, but it’s a very helpful job for dogs in need and it’s something that you can do to help dogs in need if your budget does not allow you to do much more than that.
Dog Food
Shelters are always in need of dog food and other supplies. They have animals to feed, and they rely on people like you to go ahead and help them feed these animals. This is a job that many of us can take care of on a regular basis, but we just don’t think about it. Why not make it a point to go ahead and go to the store so that you can purchase some dog food every few weeks or even every time you shop. You can then donate it to the local shelter so that they can have more food for dogs in need.
Vegan Jaunt Bag
For the vegan in your life who loves to have new handbags filling up her closet, skip the high-end designer and go for something a little kinder. These bags are all for sale, all vegan and 10% of the sale of each of these bags is then given to Austin Pets Alive, a rescue that keeps pets, well, alive. It’s a great gift because it gives more than once, and there is nothing better than that when it comes to dogs in need.
Jax & Bones Gingerbread Toy
If you already have a dog, this is a great gift to give it. Not only is it made of all eco-friendly products, this is also a toy that has the ability to give back 10% of your order to local animal rescues. You will find that your dog not only loves this toy, so do the dogs that never even get to play with it since they win, too.
BarkBox
Everyone has heard of BarkBox, and for good reason. It’s a great company that does a great thing. When you order one of these for your dog and subscribe to the shipments, you are doing something really nice for dogs in need. When you do this, 10% of what you purchase goes to different animal rescues across the country, which means you’re contributing to the lives of animals that are desperately in need, which should make you feel pretty good about life.
Donations
Even if you have $1 to give, an animal shelter or rescue could use it to help them with their many expenses. Dogs and cats that are being housed in these locations require food, medications, vet services, and so much more. Be the kind of person who donates to these animals so that they are able to have what they need.
Vet Bills
If you know of a vet that performs veterinary procedures free of charge, or one that allows customers to come in and pay a little at a time to save the lives of their animals, go ahead and make a donation. You can pay off the veterinary bill of someone who needs it, and you can really make their Christmas and their dog’s Christmas a lovely one.
Photo by Getty Images
