Did you know there are currently an estimated 7.6 million pets in American animal shelters?
Or that each year approximately 2.7 million healthy, adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized simply due to overcrowding in shelters?
Animal shelters, like the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter, help to give homeless and abandoned pets second chances at a happy, full life!
The City of Buffalo Animal Shelter is a municipal agency under the City of Buffalo Public Works Department that takes in unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets with the goal of helping them find forever homes.
The Shelter provides the community with many services such as:
- Caring for injured, abused, lost, and abandoned animals such as dogs and cats by giving them food, care, shelter, and comfort
- Finding loving and responsible homes for animals
- Reuniting families with lost pets
- Keeping potentially dangerous animals off the streets
ADVERTISEMENT
The Friends of the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter (Friends of CBAS) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 2011 and is comprised entirely of Shelter volunteers. The primary mission of Friends of CBAS is to raise funds and financially support the shelter, including:
- Critical and preventive veterinary care
- Subsized adoption rates for senior and special needs animals;
- Training for shelter dogs in need
In addition, Friends of CBAS provides support to the Shelter in the following areas:
- Pet foster care
- Hospice and palliative care
- Management of the volunteer program
- Promotion of adoption of shelter dogs
- Community outreach and education
The City of Buffalo Animal Shelter is always in need of donations, both for supplies and monetary contributions, to help care for its animals.
Here’s how you can help them all year round:
1. Donate a Good Night’s Sleep
“Many of you answered the call six years ago by giving our Shelter dogs the gift of a good night’s sleep with the donation of a Kuranda dog bed. Although these beds are tough as nails, they are showing signs of wear and we would like to replace them this year. Click below for a link to our Kuranda wish list. Beds will be shipped to the home of one of our volunteers who will organize a work party to assemble them and get them to the Shelter.“
ADVERTISEMENT
2. General Donations & Wish Lists
“General donations are used toward medical expenses, supplies, and the care and wellbeing of animals living at the Shelter and in foster homes. Donations may be dropped off Monday – Saturday between 9am and 2pm (knock on the front door), but the Shelter is closed to the public and adoptions are by appointment only.”
3. Targeted Donations
“Donations to the Train-A-Bull program help Shelter dogs in need of professional training during their stay, gaining basic skills needed to become successful pets.”
“Special Paws & Silver Whiskers fund subsidizes adoption expenses for senior and special needs pets. Cats over seven years and dogs over ten years, and special needs animals of any age benefit from this program.”
4. Sponsorship Options
“Many local businesses and members of the public are sponsoring our amazing animals to contribute toward a reduced adoption fee or training (for dogs). General sponsorship donations are put in place to help forever homes prepare for their new pet and it also enables them to bond with their new furry addition.”
Wondering why you should adopt – and not “shop”? Adopted animals make great pets for infinite reasons! Here are 5 quick facts about animals in shelters and rescues:
1) Pets in animal shelters/rescues come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds (including purebreds) – there’s truly a fur baby for everyone!
2) It costs between $0 – ~$350 to adopt a shelter/rescue pet, and they often come with all of their shots and fixes
3) Most shelter/rescue pets end up abandoned due to no fault of their own. Some are strays, some are rescued from bad situations, some had owners who are moving and can’t take them along, some had owners who have passed away, the list goes on and on. And they all just want a place to call their own.
4) Many shelter/rescue pets are already house trained (and sometimes trick-trained!), and you get a chance to meet/interact/play with them before taking them home!
5) When you adopt a shelter/rescue pet, you’re actually saving 2 lives – the pet you adopt and another pet who can now be taken in thanks to the new opening 🙂
And this is only the tip of the iceberg – the benefits of adopting a shelter/rescue pet are limitless. The limit does not exist. If you want to know more, including how adopting a rescue pet helps your overall health (yes seriously), read some of these articles here.
PS: If you want to know more about why you should avoid buying pets from pet stores, breeders, and puppy mills, we highly recommend you read this, this, or any of these.
To learn more about the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter, Friends of CBAS and see their adoptable pets click here!
ADVERTISEMENT
