40 Ways to Help Our Animal Welfare Village and Counting

In my three years as a blogger for Lincoln Animal Ambassadors, I’ve been privileged to meet many people involved in animal welfare. Some are paid, others are not; some belong to a group, others work on their own; some perform many functions, others specialize. What they all share is a passion to end animal homelessness and to never see another animal suffer from abandonment, neglect, or abuse. In this final article for my “Animal Welfare Takes a Village” series, I’ve compiled a list of all the ways that people can contribute to the field of animal welfare, and for each I’ve linked to articles I’ve written here about people who have contributed in that way. No one person or group can support animal welfare in every way. It takes a village to provide such comprehensive support.

1. Adopt

• Finnegan & Gus: Pit Bull Buddies
• The Perfect Ambassador of “Adopt Don’t Shop”
• The Unconditional Love of Blossom

2. Adapt/Assist

• How Sign Language Helped Bella the Pit Bull

3. Advise/Counsel

• Interview with Lancaster Ask a Vet

4. Advocate

• Life with the Tiny Breed
• Life with the Mighty Breed
• More than Stereotypes!
• A Pet is Not a Throw Pillow!

5. Board/Pet Sit

• Adventures in Pet Sitting
• Cat’s Pajamas, A Luxury Hotel for Cats
• Kenl Inn, Almost Thirty Years in the Pet Business
• Woof! A Newcomer to the Pet Business

6. Bond

• Dogs and the Meaning of Life
• 10 Truths about the Bonds Between People and Their Pets

7. Build

8. Draw/Paint

• Using Teaching & Art to Help Cats

9. Coordinate

• All You Ever Wanted to Know About LAA’s Pet Food Bank
• Donna Kavanaugh, LAA’s Volunteer Coordinator

10. Counsel

• Pet Support Groups
• Bonded Together by CKD
• Life with Canine Cushing’s Disease

11. Counsel

12. Educate

• The Many Ways Our Pets Feel
• Thinking of Getting a New Pet?

13. Employ

• From the Streets to Fame and Service

14. Enrich

• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Visits Hearts United for Animals
• The Cat Agility Series: Introducing Rainy to the Great Outdoors
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Ventures Beyond the Porch
• The Cat Agility Series:  Building My Bond with Rainy
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Visits a Park
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Returns to Hearts United for Animals
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Meets a Puppy and Explores a Rose Garden
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy Visits a Friend, a Store, and More!
• The Cat Agility Series: Rainy’s Grooming Routine

15. Exercise

• Agility: A Fun Sport for You and Your Dog
• Cat Agility?

16. Feed

• How Lincoln Animal Ambassadors Helps Buddy
• How Lincoln Animal Ambassadors Helps Tico Lovie
• How Rio Helped Sharon and Now Needs Our Help

17. Fundraise

• How a Children’s Book Inspired the Sadie Dog’s Fund
• Review of Sadie Dog by Pam Hoffman

18. Groom

• Canine Scrub, Lincoln’s Self-Serve Dog Wash
• Your Precious Pets, A Growing Pet Business

19. Heal

• Interview with a Local Veterinarian
• Interview with a Local Cat Veterinarian

20. Honor

• The Cat Who Turned Me into a Cat Lover!
• How my Guinea Pigs Got Me into Writing
• Local Pet Heroes
• Local Pets Then and Now, Part 1
• Local Pets Then and Now, Part 2
• Ode to Old Dogs
• Senior at Only Four Years

21. Inform

• It All Begins with a Smile

22. Network

• Animal Welfare Takes a Village
• My “Fishing Trip” with Nebraska’s Shelters and Rescues
• To Ireland, Who Stole Our Hearts

23. Nurse

• Bonded by a Cancer Diagnosis

24. Observe

• Interview with a Local Bird Watcher

25. Parent

• Bootsie Learns to be a Pet
• A New Way of Thinking About Cat Training

26. Partner

• The Mighty and Tiny Project
• LAA’s Project to Help Pit Bulls
• A Second Chance for Bella, Part One of a Series on Second Chance Pups
• Orientation Day at Second Chance Pups
• Training with Second Chance Pups
• Behind the Scenes at Second Chance Pups
• Graduation Day at Second Chance Pups
• Catching up with Second Chance Pups: Ripley
• Catching up with Second Chance Pups: Willow
• Catching up with Second Chance Pups: Winter

27. Petition

• Harley’s Dream
• What to do About Puppy Mills

28. Photograph

• Dina and Beverly: Making A Difference by Asking Homeless Pets to Say Cheese

29. Protect

• Interview with Animal Control, Part 1
• Interview with Animal Control, Part 2

30. Publicize

• Does Social Media Help or Hurt Homeless Animals?
• Using Writing and Sales to Help Cats

31. Serve

• How Therapy Dogs Came to Southeast Community College
• Guest Post: Therapy Dogs Take a Bite out of Exam Week

32. Rescue

• A Cat Rescuer Needs Our Help
• Cuddly Kitten Day: The Story of Gravy
• National Puppy Day: The Story of Marshall
• Rescue Starts with Just One Animal
• Star, The New York Pit Bull Who Survived Being Shot

33. Shelter

• Interview with Capital Humane Society

34. Spay/Neuter

• What Lincoln Animal Ambassadors Does
• How Lincoln Animal Ambassadors Addresses Pet Homelessness
• How Lincoln Animal Ambassadors Helps Pet Owners
• Pauline Balta, Coordinator of LAA’s Spay/Neuter Program

35. Study

• The Joys and Heartaches of Volunteering with The Capital Humane Society

36. Transport

37. Train

• Obedience Can Be a Life-Saver for Your Dog
• Can Cats Be Trained?
• Cat Obedience?
• Cat Owners Disagree About Cat Training
• Teach a Cat to Sit and Come!
• Teach a Cat to Jump and Twirl!
• Teach at Cat to Up and Stay!

38. Trap-Neuter-Release

• The Faces of Feral Cats

39. Volunteer

• It’s “Very Cool” to Volunteer with Big Dogs Huge Paws

40. Write

• Interview with Pets in Omaha
• Writers to the Rescue: The Cat House
• Writers to the Rescue: Second Chance Pups

Just because I’ve listed 40 ways to support animal welfare, that doesn’t mean that’s all there are. Many of the ways listed didn’t exist until someone decided to do them. There may also be more that I haven’t encountered or haven’t thought of. You may have noticed too that some of the ways of supporting animal welfare don’t have any articles. Our village is growing, as is my familiarity with it. As I meet more people, my goal will be to fill in those gaps. If you know something I’ve missed, and particularly if you support animal welfare in a way that I haven’t listed, please drop me a note. Let’s keep adding to our village list!