It's that time of year when animal rescues and shelters all across the country are asking for donations of pet sweaters and doggy booties to help pups in need. If you're unfamiliar with the call to action, most larger rescue facilities and even some smaller groups put out a call for members of the community to donate cool weather wear. These items are then distributed to families and individuals experiencing economic hardship. Sweaters are particularly important to smaller dogs and those with thin coats lacking an insulating layer of fur that many dogs possess. Those lucky enough to be born with them include breeds like water dogs and others that live and perform in colder climates and are frequently bred for herding.

Photo: Pixabay/Mylene2401

Sweater Weather

You don't have to know how to knit one or purl two to get involved, but you can donate your own personal handiwork if you'd like. The shelters and rescues are just looking for new or nearly new sweaters, coats, and booties to help ward off the cold. Many, if not most, have a wish list with Amazon you can donate through. The lists contain all of the items and products the particular facility needs at any given time. Sometimes it's blankets and other staples they might require for the animals within their care. Sweater and bootie drives for the public are no different. Almost every community has a Humane Society. Another option is your county shelter. Modern county shelters, no longer called pounds, are striving to reduce euthanasia rates across the nation. With these ethical moves comes the added impact of more pets to place and a greater need for foster care in order to attain a no-kill status.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

If you'd like to take part this season, reach out to local animal welfare groups in your area. You can find them doing a quick browser search using keywords like "animal rescue groups in my area" as long as you have your location enabled. If not, simply add your ZIP code in the search bar and something is bound to come up. You can also check for Facebook groups that assist those that could use a helping hand. Another option is to contact homeless shelters that accept pets. Temporary residents are often in need of such supplies and the shelters often struggle to provide them. They do, however, try to arrange to coordinate with groups that can put these supply drives together.

Photo: Pixabay/noamvalentinoguetta

Animal Rescue Site Store

A win-win situation for animals in need would be to select dog sweaters, dog coats, or dog booties from the Animal Rescue Site store for donation. In addition to a fun and festive selection of snugly pet accessories to keep them warm, your purchases end up feeding shelter pets. For instance, a purchase of just one Touchdog Fashion Designer Dog Hooded Sweater feeds 71 shelter animals. It's like a hoodie and a quilted snowsuit all in one, and it comes in four sizes and two color schemes of navy and grey or pink and white to choose from. Happy hunting and give yourself a pat on the back for caring enough to make a difference.

Hooded dog sweater by Touchdog available at the Animal Rescue Site store.