Animal Give Quote – “Don’t treat animals as animals. Treat them as living beings. That’s what they are.” – Anthony Douglas Williams
Put at least one animal give on your weekly giving calendar to make the world a happier place. Whether it’s our pets that sleep in the comfy corners of our homes, the poetic songbirds that chirp in the early mornings, or the stray cat that wanders around the neighborhood alleys, animals are all around us, fulfilling a meaningful part in our lives.
For everything they do for us—companionship, service, conservation, and more—the ball is in our court to complete an animal give and help the beloved animals in our communities. Doing so, you enrich the life around you and reap the rich, rewarding experience that comes from it, perhaps even becoming the needed difference in their lives. Even in the wake of the current pandemic, there are plenty of ways to give safely, especially in the comfort of your own backyard!
Here are 5 ways to help out the endearing creatures living all around us, while enriching your life.
Easily made and set up in the garden, bird or squirrel feeders can provide delicious and easy-to-access food for the hopeful animals in your community. Acting as a sanctuary where animals can repose and mingle with one another, these feeders even get two birds with one stone, having the extra benefit of being an aesthetically-pleasing and cheap way to liven up the yard.
Although it might seem like a formidable task, fostering a stray or shelter-bound animal is of advantage for both you and your newfound companion. Seek out that stray cat or that elderly dog at the animal shelter and give them a loving home while they wait for their forever home. In the short lives our beloved pets live, they can bring an extraordinary amount of joy in one’s life. Fostering is also great for shelter animals who are recovering after surgery, require extra medical attention as they recover from poor living conditions or just need a bit of love before they are sent off to their new pet parents.
The way we live our lives directly affects the habitats of animals: the environment. Saving the environment is an indirect, but effective way to give back to wildlife. To do so, try to compost and recycle instead of throwing everything in the trash, to be wary when disposing toxic chemicals, to save water and electricity, and to cut down on your plastic use.
As obvious as it might be, one of the best ways to give back to animals is to show them respect. Don’t fool around, aggravate, or chase around the wildlife in your community. Instead, be wary of them, be peaceful, and keep a safe, respectful distance between you and the surrounding life.
The neighborhood is where you can find loads of life—from birds to squirrels, to raccoons—and it is where they call home. Pick up after your garbage and make an effort to keep the community a safe environment for them to live through cleanup maneuvers. If you see trash on the ground, in the forest, or wherever, don’t be scared to pick it up to help out the animals.
No matter what kind of animal you’d like to help out, whether it be your own beloved pet, the lonely dog at the shelter, or the buzzing wildlife in your community, doing your part and giving back to is a rewarding experience that teaches you about to respect, to cherish.
For all the companionship and service animals provide us with, it’s only natural that we pay them back with interests! So go out and build that feeder, clean up the garbage in the forest, adopt a new companion, and more!
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