Today I want to share with you 12 ideas on how to help your fellow animals this year, no matter what season it is.
I am known to spend nights with stray dogs outside, calling 112 and giving them food, but not everyone is willing to do that. Most people don’t really know what to do, not that they don’t want to, they just don’t know what to do and how to help.
And look, there are always dogs roaming the streets in my town. I usually don’t call anyone because I know that they always come back. I can call the shelter a million times but their parents (I don’t use the word owners) will let them out again.
So I only call for help when a) an animal has died or is injured, b) an animal is clearly lost and in distress, and c) I have not seen this dog yet and am not familiar with where he lives or if he even is from this town.
So no, I am not expecting everyone to call for help every single time they see a dog on the street. Especially if you live in the countryside and you know that dogs walk freely. It sucks, yes, but one can only do so much for a dog that often runs away and doesn’t have parents who would keep their eye on him.
But we can all do something and that is why I wrote this post.
Here are 12 ideas on how to help animals this year:
- Always have the number of the nearest animal shelter saved on your phone. You truly never know when you will need to call someone.
- If you see a familiar dog walking freely around town, keep an eye on him and make sure that he is walking in a safe zone and not near cars. Like I said, sometimes calling a shelter doesn’t help because he will be back to roaming the streets a few days later, so just keep him safe for as long as you can and walk him home if you know where he lives.
- If we continue with helping dogs, always give water and food to them because with all the walking, they are surely thirsty and hungry. And please do not be afraid of them, I only had one dog bark at me and show me teeth; others are lovely and love to cuddle.
- If you see a dead animal in the middle of the road, call your local city department of sanitation or 112 if you are Slovenian (this number is the most important number for us to remember). If possible, move the animal to the side of the road or keep an eye on the cars that might drive over them.
- If you find a dead mouse or a small dead bird, no one will really come (they aren’t dogs and cats after all), so just move them to the nearest grass and put them away from people. If they are still alive, please, do call someone.
- Splurge on birdhouses and hang them on every tree that is strong enough to hold a birdhouse. My goal for this spring is to hang at least 5 birdhouses, as there are tons of birds where I live and they suffered a lot of cold this winter. Also, splurge on seeds!
- Stop cutting the grass! I was always embarrassed by our little jungle but now that I know that weedy lawns are good for biodiversity, bees and wildlife, I will proudly watch the grass grow and all types of insects fly around my head.
- Plant bee-friendly plants. Which plants are bee-friendly though? Well, you have hyacinth, calendula, wild lilac, zinnias and goldenrod to name just a few. Remember, if bees die, we suffer.
- Go plant-based and leave animals off your plate. Take your time to transition or do it quickly – but do eat plenty of plants.
- We know that if bees die, we suffer, but what not many people talk about is that if oceans die we die too. Instead of eating sea animals, opt for ocean-friendly plant-based seafood. Remember that we get most of our oxygen from the oceans, so we must stop exploiting it and all the animals that live down there.
- Summer is quickly approaching and many of you will want to take family trips to the ZOO or to the nearby aquarium. Since no one wants to take a day trip to a prison full of humans, we should consider leaving prisons with non-human animals off of our list as well. Choose to go hiking or bird watching, visit a farm sanctuary, or simply go for a walk and observe all the animals that are thankfully still living free lives. If you have patience and can be quiet, you just might witness some amazing individuals wandering or flying around.
- Volunteer your time at an animal shelter or at a farm sanctuary.
There you go, love.
12 ideas on how to help other animals this year and most of them will only take you a few minutes if not less.
We all have this amazing power to help other beings and it’s on us to protect them from those who want to harm them. We have all evolved to become this amazing species of animals and we have unique traits that should be celebrated.
Just because we are different in size, strength and in how intelligent we are, doesn’t mean that all of us cannot feel pain, love and create bonds with each other.
There is no more guessing whether or not bees are intelligent* or whether or not fish feel pain*, those are facts. It has been proven and there is plenty of evidence for it. So who are we to not help other species when we all have the same craving for life and to live?
We all help humans and we are passionate about creating a world where every person will be equal to another. Where no one will starve or be cold. And we all work so hard to bring this to reality. But in the path to equality among all humans, we mustn’t forget about equality among non-human animals and humans either.
The beauty of being human is that we don’t have to choose between the two things, but are able to help multiple animals and care for multiple causes.
Be proud of that ability.
Use it to help everyone, not just those who look like you.
Tell me, which one of the ideas that I presented sounds so good that you will try it? Do you have any other ideas on how we can help other animals? Let me know in the comment section.
If you have a minute or two, find me on Instagram. Or Pinterest.
Tanja
