if you follow the beans, than you know how passionate we are about rescue. the holidays are often a peak time for families to add a pet to their homes - so it’s timely to talk about the best ways to add a pet to your pack. with commercial breeding facilities (mills) still churning out puppies & kittens, pet stores packed with purchasers, and online petstores with sold out stock - what can you do?
1. educate! anytime you meet anyone thinking about getting a pet, engage them in conversation about where they are thinking of getting one. if they say online or a pet store, it’s best to ask them if they’ve looked into puppy mills. if they say ‘oh, but it’s a reputable / family breeder’, it’s ok to share that no good breeder will ever ship a dog or sell to a family they haven’t met in person. speaking of, hallmarks of a trustworthy breeder (some people just wont/ can’t rescue. that’s OK! let’s empower them to make decisions that are positive): meeting the puppy’s parents on site, seeing where the dogs live, sleep and eat, being asked a zillion questions about how you will care for their puppy and a long waitlist are all good signs. you should never be able to leave with a dog same day: RED FLAG!
2. volunteer! find your local animal rescue organizations. find out what they need! Host a supply drive at your office. Ask them if they have an Amazon wishlist and share widely. If you want to do hands on work with pets, find out what the organizations training program is like and invite a few friends! rescue organizations do not receive funding so it’s often community support that keeps them funded and in working order.
3. donate money! the bean’s picks:
the humane society of the united states: lady human is in the HSUS Humane Generation NY committee, a group of young people committed to animal welfare & ending puppy mills. the work that HSUS does helps change laws, save animals from disasters & abuse all over the world. for some extra cute, check out this recent story about a great dane who’s life was saved by HSUS’s work. DONATE NOW!
SocialTees NY: Social Tees Animal Rescue is a non-profit in the East Village of NYC that takes abandoned animals from kill shelters and provides them with safe haven and veterinary care before placing them in proper forever homes. the socialtees team is responsible for saving our little FiFi and we’re forever grateful to them! DONATE NOW! OR check out their Amazon Wishlist!
The Humane Society of New York: The Humane Society of New York has been a presence in New York City for over 100 years, caring for animals in need when illness, injury or homelessness strikes. They run a shelter, a veterinary clinic, spay & neuter. We’re personally indebted to HSNY for helping Coconut get the knee surgeries she needed to live her best, Beaniest life. DONATE NOW! OR check out their Amazon Wishlist!
4. share this post!! share YOUR stories about rescuing! the more awareness, the more we share, the more we talk, the more we engage and donate, we can make more of an impact we can make on animal welfare locally, nationally and globally.
ALSO: if you missed LadyHuman at Petcon, you can check out her panel on rescue, now on the PetInsider podcast. Download here!