Have you ever thought about being a rescue but realized it was a bit too much for you? Indeed, rescue work has its bonuses, but for newbies, slowly working yourself up to just a part-time volunteer may be all you can do. Definitely, in today’s busy society, finding a way to commit even a little time weekly or monthly is a challenge.

Rescuers take on the responsibility of caring for abandoned animals. They bring them into their homes, provide food, love and comfort, and so much more. There are many little things that can help make that experience better for both the rescuer and the critter – so many that the list is a bit overwhelming. This is where someone who just wants to lend a little hand can really help.

Best practice includes reaching out to a rescue and asking what they need. There may be something specific, unusually expensive or time consuming that they could really use a hand with. In any case, here is a list of items and deeds that have been collected over the years you might find joy in donating and a rescue may truly appreciate.

Basic Donations

1. Transport a dog.
2. Donate a dog bed or towels or other bedding type items.
3. Donate MONEY.
4. Donate a toy.
5. Donate a crate.
6. Donate an x-pen or baby gates.
7. Donate a food dish or a stainless bucket for a crate.
8. Donate a new leash.
9. Donate a new collar.
10. Donate some treats or a bag of food. Check first to get the brand that the rescue group uses and wants.

Hands On Help

11. Donate clickers or a video on clicker training.
12. Walk a dog.
13. Groom a dog.
14. Donate some grooming supplies (shampoos, combs, brushes, etc.). Be sure to ask what equipment they need/want.
15. Help identify the breed of a rescue. Some Rescues are breed-specific: help by visiting the local shelter and see if the reported dog is the breed the shelter says it is, or go with rescue to get a second opinion on the dog.
16. Make a few phone calls.
17. Mail out applications to people who’ve requested them.
18. Provide local vet clinics with contact information for educational materials on responsible pet ownership.
19. Drive a dog to and from vet appointments.
20. Donate the use of your scanner or digital camera.

Give a Gift Certificate

21. Attend public education days and try to educate people on responsible pet ownership.
22. Donate a gift certificate to a pet store.
23. Donate flea prevention products.
24. Donate heartworm prevention medication.
25. Donate a canine first aid kit.
26. Provide a shoulder to cry on when the rescue person is overwhelmed.
27. Pay the boarding fees to board a dog for a week or two.
28. Be a temporary foster home to give the foster a break for a few hours or days.
29. Donate materials for a quarantine area at a foster’s home.
30. Volunteer to play with a rescue for an hour.

Talk Up Rescues

31. Bake some homemade doggie biscuits (check with rescue 1st on recipe).
32. Make purchases through a website that contributes commissions earned to a rescue group.
33. Host rescue photos with an information link on your website and/or Facebook page.
34. Donate time to take good photos of foster dogs for adoption flyers, etc.
35. Conduct a home visit or accompany a rescue person on the home visit.
36. Go with a rescue person to the vet to help if there is more than one dog.
37. Have a yard sale and donate the money to rescue.
38. Be a volunteer to pick up a rescue in your area.
39. Take advantage of a promotion on the web or store offering a free ID tag and instead of getting it for your own dog, have the tag inscribed with the rescue group’s name and phone # to contact.
40. Talk to all your friends about adopting and fostering rescue dogs.

Pay for a Spay

41. Donate vet services or help by donating a spay or neuter each year.
42. Interview vets to encourage them to offer discounts to rescues.
43. Write a column for your local newspaper or club newsletter on dogs currently looking for homes or ways to help rescue.
44. Take photos of dogs available for adoption for use by the group.
45. Maintain websites listing/showing dogs available.
46. Help organize and run fundraising events.
47. Help maintain the paperwork files associated with each dog or enter the information into a database.
48. Microchip a rescued dog.
49. Loan your carpet steam cleaner to someone who has fostered a dog that was sick or marked in the house.
50. Donate a bottle of bleach or other cleaning products.

Clean-up / Do a Deed for a Rescue

51. Donate or loan a portable dog run to someone who doesn’t have a quarantine area for a quarantined dog that has an unknown vaccination history and has been in a shelter.
52. Drive the foster mom’s children to an activity so that the foster mom can take the dog to obedience class.
53. Use your video camera to film a rescue dog in action and share it on your Facebook page, and/or posting it to other breed-specific Facebook groups.
54. Offer to do housework or yard work for a rescue worker, so they have more time to work with the rescue dogs.
55. Get in touch with a local rescue group and ask them what you could donate that would best help them.
56. Donate shade cloth to cover outside areas at the rescue or a foster’s home.
57. Pay for a tune up or oil change for the rescue’s vehicle.
58. Set up and handle the Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites for the rescue group. 59. Go to the foster home once a week with your children and dogs to help socialize the dog.
59. Help the foster clean up the yard (yes, we also have to scoop what those foster dogs poop)

Create a T-Shirt

61. If you have a cat, offer to test the foster dog with cats, and set up a meet and greet.
62. Pay for the dog to be groomed.
63. Bring the foster take-out so the foster mom doesn’t have to cook dinner.
64. Pay a house-cleaning service to do the spring cleaning for someone who fosters dogs all the time.
65. Lend your artistic talents to your group’s newsletter, fundraising ideas, t-shirt designs.
66. Donate printer paper, envelopes and stamps to your group.
67. Go with a rescue person to the vet if a foster dog needs to be euthanized.
68. Go to local shelters and meet with shelter staff about how to identify your breed or pro-vide photos and breed information showing the different types of that breed that may come in and the different color combinations.
69. Go to local businesses and solicit donations for a group’s fundraising event.
70. Offer to try and help owners be better pet owners by holding a grooming seminar.

Learn About and Share Training Tips

71. Help pet owners be better pet owners by being available to answer training questions.
72. Loan a crate if a dog needs to travel by air.
73. Put together an Owner’s Manual for those who adopt rescued dogs of your breed.
74. Provide post-adoption follow up or support.
75. Donate a coupon for a free car wash or gas or inside cleaning of a vehicle.
76. Pay for an ad in your local/metropolitan paper to help place rescue dogs.
77. Volunteer to screen calls for that ad.
78. Get some friends together to build/repair pens for a foster home.
79. Microchip your own pups if you are a breeder, and register the chips, so if your dogs are ever lost there is a way your animal can be identified and returned.
80. If you are a breeder, donate a small percentage of the sale of each pup to a rescue.

Support a Rescue in Your Will

81. Buy two of those really neat dog items you “have to have” and donate one to Rescue.
82. Make financial arrangements in your will to cover the cost of caring for your dogs after you are gone – so a Rescue won’t have to.
83. Make a bequest in your will to your local or national Rescue.
84. Donate your professional services as an accountant or lawyer.
85. Donate other services if you run your own business.
86. Donate the use of a vehicle if you own a car dealership.
87. Donate your used dog dryer when you get a new one.
88. Let rescue know when you’ll be flying and that you’d be willing to be a rescued dog’s escort.
89. Make neck scarves that say “Adopt Me” for the rescue dogs to wear when out in public.

Network and Spread the Word

91. Donate a grid for a van or other vehicle.
92. Organize a rescued dog picnic or other event to reunite rescued dogs that have been placed.
93. Donate other types of doggy toys that might be safe for rescued dogs.
94. Donate an exercise pen to the rescue for use at Pet Expo’s, etc.
95. Donate sheets of linoleum or other flooring materials to put under crates to protect the foster’s floor.
96. Donate an engraving tool to make ID tags for each of the rescued dogs.
97. Remember that rescuing a dog involves the effort and time of many people and make your-self available on an emergency basis to do whatever is needed.
98. Do something not listed above to help rescue.
99. Sew crate covers for wire crates.
100. Help contact other Rescue groups, especially breed specific groups, so you can work together and learn more about other breeds and types of dog.

**Gently-used dog equipment is usually welcomed. Call the rescue group first

Krys Pritchard © 2000 Trinity of Hope Dog Rescue Reprinted with permission http://TrinityOfHope.on.ca

Edited and updated by Pam Bishop 2014; Updated and re-edited by Deb Angus, 2025; Photo by Julia M Cameron, Pexels.