Christmas is a time of love, family, and last but not least, generosity and good deeds. However, not everyone can be in the warmth of a home on Christmas, and this is also true for our four-legged companions. How can we help them during this time and perhaps also give ourselves something to do?
If you're tired of sitting on the couch in front of the TV all day and snacking on cookies, it's time to start a new tradition. If you’re not interested in feeding ducks or taking a walk through the city or the forest, you may be thrilled to visit a shelter.
Many shelters open their doors on Christmas and welcome every visitor. In some places you can leave the dogs gifts under the tree, in other places this day is for meeting, a tour of the place or walking the dogs. There may also be an accompanying program in the form of lectures or demonstrations of training.
If you support a shelter all year round, their Christmas event has certainly not slipped your attention. If you don't but you want to do a good deed on Christmas, or you're just bored at home, try to look for organizations near you and find out when you can come, what you can bring the dogs or what they need most. I personally like visiting private shelters that have to raise funding to look after the dogs themselves. Every extra gram of kibble is more than needed here.
If you do go to a shelter and decide to bring the dogs some food, it's better to buy a small amount of high-quality food. Low-quality market food is unsatisfactory for abandoned dogs, as these dogs often come from bad conditions that also affected their digestion. Poor quality food would just cause digestive problems, and sometimes it is absolutely indigestible or even health threatening, apart from the fact that they don't get the nutrients they need from it.
In some places they only use one type of food that the dogs are accustomed, so they won't be able to use different kinds. I even know a shelter where they feed the dogs a BARF diet. Here they will appreciate a mixture of herbs, fruit and vegetables.
In addition to kibble and canned food, old blankets and large pieces of fabric such as bed sheets and linen, cleaning supplies including rubber gloves and solid garbage bags, disinfectants, collars, leashes and bowls are always useful in a shelter. However, it's always best to find out what they need beforehand.
If you can't find a shelter in your area, or if you don't have the time to visit one personally, a financial donation will also help. In some places you can even buy a gift certificate stating exactly what or for which specific dog the money will be used. You can then give someone a good deed for Christmas.
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