8 Ways to Love Dogs in a Dog-Less Home
Living with a dog is a most wonderful thing. That unconditional love and companionship. Those eager eyes looking longingly into yours. The unbridled exuberance for all things you. But caring for a dog can be intense. Dogs never learn to cook meals, turn on faucets, or get jobs. They are 100% dependent on their caregiver and cost a heap of money. A 2021 report by the ASPCA estimates the yearly cost of caring for a dog is $1,391.00— a number that does not include initial or emergency care! Multiply that number times 8 to 15 for the average number of years a dog can live, depending on breed, genetics, and lifestyle, and big dollars unfold (easily $11,128.00 to $20,865.00!). If you aren’t ready or able to make the commitment a dog needs to thrive, no worries. There are plenty of ways to get a dog-fix without a dog in your home. Many are unpaid. Some pay you to love dogs.
5 Volunteer Activities to Engage with Dogs
Most non-profit groups can’t exist without the passion and willingness of volunteers—lots and lots. Be a hero to them and the dogs in their care. Volunteer!
Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
Shelters need help cleaning cages and feeding dogs. They also need help socializing animals and providing enrichment. Think dog walkers, ball players, story readers, and puppy snugglers. The time you lend helps free up shelter staff to run the business, find foster care, and fundraise. Live in the southeastern U.S. states? Check out the shelter partner page on Who Will Let the Dogs Out for a list of shelters looking for help. Live elsewhere? Call your local shelter. I would be shocked if they turned you away because they had too much help!
Plan Events for a Rescue Group or Shelter
Do you enjoy bringing people together? The possibilities for events with dogs are endless. You could plan a walk for animals, a meet and greet in a park, a pub crawl with pooches, a campfire with s’mores, shelter tours, birthday parties, and much more. Sidewalk Dog lists events across the U.S. that are bringing together rescue groups and their supporters to celebrate dogs and raise funds. A lot of great ideas to be found on that site.
Help Groups That Serve People and Their Pets
Dogs top the list of most-wanted pet. One of the reasons is the joy and connection that comes from living with a canine companion. But what happens when people struggle to provide proper food and care for their four-legged friend? They may be forced to surrender their animals to a shelter. There’s a new trend in animal welfare that focuses on helping people help their pets in order to avoid surrender. Keeping pets with the people who love them prevents breaking the human-animal bond and reduces pressure on shelters. Groups that provide help to people with pets need all sorts of help themselves to provide free pet food, training, grooming, and free veterinary services, including spay/neuter. The Street Dog Coalition and Feeding Pets of the Homeless are national organizations that provide free wellness clinics to the pets of homeless people or those that qualify. All sorts of volunteers are needed to staff a wellness clinic, including veterinarians and vet technicians to handle the animals and support staff to manage the flow of people and pets. Leech Lake Legacy provides low-cost spay/neuter and basic veterinary care for community members living within the Leech Lake reservation. As a volunteer, you get to walk dogs, play with puppies, and interact with the families seeking care. Secondhand Hounds (soon to be The Bond Between), a Minnesota-based non-profit, provides pop-up wellness clinics to tribal communities throughout the state. They also run the People and Pets Together pet food shelf. While the pet food shelf doesn’t allow animals on premise, they do offer training services, and have plans to offer grooming as well. The growing need in both areas means a growing need for volunteers! Related Article: Helping People in Crisis Keep Their Pets
Foster Dogs in Your Home
As a long-time foster parent for Second Chance Animal Rescue, the first question I always get asked is, “How well does the animal do with other people and pets?” It’s not a surprising question given that few adopters are willing to commit to an animal labeled as difficult, reactive, or reclusive! Fostering enables a dog to decompress from the stress of a major life change in the quiet of your home rather than in the chaos of a shelter. You get to watch a dog’s personality unfold like layers of an onion. You then become a “dating app” where your observations about a dog’s personality help it connect to a best-fit adopter. Fostering is an immersive experience that enables you to be all-in for a dog for a short period of time, then reclaim your time after adoption. I love the “breathing” time, the me-time, the I-get-to-do-what-I-want-time after a foster dog has found its forever home. Fostering rarely requires out of pocket expenses. Rescue groups typically pay for all medical expenses, food, and supplies. It’s a short-term option without the long-term time and cash commitments. After more than a decade of fostering cats and dogs, I’ll stand on my soap box and shout, “Fostering is a win-win for the people and animals involved.” Related Article: 3 Reasons Why Families With Teens Should Foster
Raise a Service Dog
Raising a service, or assistance, dog is like fostering; the dog is a temporary guest in your home. The difference from fostering comes from the specific training focused on enhancing the quality of life for someone with a disability. Can Do Canines has this myth-busting blog that describes all the reasons why becoming an assistance dog volunteer can work for you.
3 Ways to Get Paid to Love Dogs
In-Home Dog Care
Got space in your home and time in your day? Get paid to care for someone else’s pet in your home. One option is to provide in-home boarding, where the dog spends a set amount of days and nights in your care. The other is to provide day care. Check out Pets Are Inn and Rover.com to learn how you become a trusted host. (Be sure to read all the pages and the fine print. You want to be sure you, your home, and any pets in your home are protected when caring for someone else’s canine!)
Their-Home Dog Care
Some pet owners prefer that care comes to their home in the form of dog sitters, dog walkers, and drop-in visits for play, food and potty breaks. If you have the time and flexibility to offer those services, you can hang your shingle on the internet and start your own business. Pet Care Insurance has a thoughtful checklist to help you understand the risks involved in providing care to other peoples’ pets on their premises. Don’t want to take on all the risk and the marketing? Offer your services through an umbrella organization such as Rover.com (Be sure to read all the pages and the fine print. You want to be sure you are protected when caring for someone else’s pet!)
Traveling House & Pet Sitter
Why limit your house and pet sitting to your local community when you can travel the world and care for dogs?! The growing trend in international house sitting means there are plenty of organizations through whom you can work. Four years ago I listened to a webinar guest talk about her experience with TrustedHousesitters. She no longer owns a home. Instead, she lives all around the world, traveling from location to location as she cares for the homes and pets of people who have become repeat clients. Nomador is another organization that connects house sitters with homes and pets around the world. (Be sure to read all the pages and the fine print. You want to be sure you are protected when offering in-home care in other countries)
You can love dogs in a dog-less home!
The development of the internet has expanded the opportunities to interact with a dog without the need to make a long-term, in-home commitment. Volunteer or get paid. Or do both. There are plenty of dogs just waiting to wag their tail in your direction!