Last weekend Maisey and I got outside for a good cause and participated in the Oregon Humane Society’s 2009 Doggie Dash.

The annual fundraiser raised over $220,000 for the non-profit organziation and we had a blast.

Dog lover, Oprah Winfrey recently debuted her newest family member on her show, an adorable blond Cocker Spaniel puppy, named Sadie.

Sadie came from Pets are Worth Saving (PAWS), a no-kill animal shelter in the Chicago area. Oprah urged viewers to consider adopting from a shelter where many people are giving up pets in these tough economic times, and even brought three of Sadie’s adoptable brothers and sisters onto to the show.

Oprah is a wonderful advocate for animals and I applaud her support of the animal and rescue communities!

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Today, Animal Rescue Online celebrated it’s first annual (I hope!) Tweet Blast. Tweet Blast got me thinking… how can one person (no matter how little resources or time) help support animal adoption? The task seems daunting, and obviously no one person can correct the problem of over 9.6 million animals being euthanized ever year in the United States. Over 56% of dogs that enter animal shelters are euthanized.

Obviously we have a problem, and I want to help. I don’t have a tremendous amount of resources (time or money) but I strongly believe that if every animal lover can do something small, we can make an impact.

This is the first post in what will become a weekly feature focused on ideas for the everyday animal lover to help find homes for homeless pets and reduce the number of animals that enter shelters each year.

How you can help #1 - Join the community

There are several communities of dog and animal lovers online (Dogster, Doggiespace, Dogbook, to name a few). Join Twitter and follow animal lovers such as @littlebella, @aspca, @BFAS,  @actionforanimals, @HumaneSociety, @DogParkMom (that’s me!) and @aplacetobark. Become a fan of the Dog Park Mom group on Facebook. Join in the conversations that are taking place and express your passion for helping animals. Make connections with like minded individuals who are already doing things to support animal adoption, and learn from them! These contacts, resources and knowledge are your first step to getting involved and helping support this worthy cause.

I recently discovered the world of Twitter. I’ve heard about its use for marketing and socializing, but once I started a Twitter account  I realized just how connected to the world anyone can be.  You can find just about anyone on Twitter, even  Barack Obama.

Now I’ve discovered my favorite use of Twitter so far – helping a homeless animal find a home!

This weekend, Animal Rescue Online is having its first ever Tweet Blast, an idea I’m surprised no one else has come up with yet!

On February 28th, 2009 everyone participating will post a tweet with a link to the Petfinder profile page of a homeless animal of their choice, encouraging thier followers to consider adoption if looking for a new pet!

Tweet Blast’s aim is to promote individual animals by getting them the exposure they need and cannot otherwise get because the shelter they’re housed at doesn’t have sufficient funds for publicity.

What a great way to help spread the word about the amount of animals in need of a home, and to put a face on this need.  I hope local animal shelters will adopt a similar idea to support local pets in need!

Last year, Uno the beagle won Best in Show at The Westminster Dog show after which the popularity of beagles as a family pet soared. I’m sure after a new dog is awarded Best in Show tonight at The Westminster Dog show, we’ll see a similar trend. 

While I won’t go nearly as far as PETA and say that the AKC is comperable to the KKK, claiming that ”Breeders Kill Shelter Dogs’ Chances”, I will commend PETA for bringing awareness to shelter dogs during thier protests of The Westminster Dog Show. I hope that everyone inspiried to add a new member to the family after watching the show will forgo a purebred and will give a home to a shelter dog in need of love and a home. As a once volunteer for the SPCA, I saw first hand how many animals come into a shelter, daily. Animals who are sweet and loving and are just looking for a good home.

Maisey is from a shelter, and after adopting her, I wouldn’t ever add a new member to the family any other way. Not only is she the sweetest dog I’ve ever known, but a very good feeling comes from rescuing a dog. I could have saved Maisey’s life – and that makes the bond between us even stronger.

Visit a site like Petfinder.com to locate a shelter dog that matches your lifestyle. You can search by breed, age, size and sex.