How to Achieve a No Kill Nation

Volunteer at an animal shelter or rescue. There are a variety of things you can do to help including cleaning cages, walking dogs and socializing dogs and cats (see Resources below to find a shelter or rescue in your area). Or if you have the means and the inclination, you can start your own rescue. You can apply for non-profit 501(c)(3) status or just rescue pets as an individual and find them permanent homes.

Foster homeless pets until permanent homes can be found for them. Pets of all ages need fostering from seniors to puppies and kittens that need bottle feeding until they are old enough to be adopted. You can foster for a city, county or private shelter or for an individual rescue group. Fostering helps free up space and resources at shelters and helps out rescue groups.

Make monetary and supply donations to shelters and rescue groups to help foot the bill for their animals' upkeep. Check with a local shelter or rescue organization and see what's on their Wish List.

Try to spay or neuter any stray cats or dogs you find in your neighborhood. It is also very common for homeless people to have animal companions that are not spayed or neutered and you would be doing a great service to helping curb pet overpopulation by offering to spay/neuter their pets.

Learn how to Trap, Neuter, Return feral cats in your neighborhood. This will help to curb the feral cat overpopulation and help increase their quality of life. Talk to your local shelter(s) about starting a TNR program in your area. See Resources below for a link to more information on TNR.

Network any stray animals you find, as well as local shelter pets and try to find them forever homes. You can put up fliers at local pet-related or pet-friendly establishments as well as post pictures and information about the pets on your Facebook or MySpace page. Social networking sites are doing wonders for rescuing homeless animals and getting them adopted. Get on the email list of local animal rescuers so you can help them out, as well as pass their pleas for adopters and donations on to your own list of people.

Spread the word to everyone you know to "Adopt instead of Shop" and about the importance of spaying/neutering. Let people know that they can adopt any kind of pet without having to buy one. If it's a purebred dog they want, tell them that roughly one-third of shelter dogs are purebreds and there are breed specific rescues for just about every breed there is. When people stop breeding and selling animals and more people start spaying/neutering, the shelters will stop being overcrowded and innocent pets won't have to be destroyed to "make room."

Participate in pet store protests in order to educate the public about inhumane puppy mills that supply these stores. Puppy mills treat their breeding dogs inhumanely as well as largely contribute to pet overpopulation and the deaths of shelter dogs. Try to educate everyone you know about the connection between pet stores and puppy mills.

Advocate for local shelters to keep longer hours and have off-site adoption events so that more animals have a chance of getting adopted. Try to get your friends and neighbors involved. Perhaps start a petition and present it to the proper city officials. If enough local citizens express interest in the shelters and concern for the animals, as well as volunteer--longer shelter hours and offsite adoptions will more likely become a reality. More accessibility means more lives saved.