Love animals and want to help one today? Here are nine ways you can save a cat, dog, or other domestic animal right now.

Sign the Stop Puppy Mills Pledge: By signing the Humane Society’s pledge, you’re promising: “I will do my part to help stop puppy mills. I pledge to help end this cycle of cruelty by: Choosing not to buy my next pet from a pet store or Internet site and refusing to buy supplies from any pet store or Internet site that sells puppies.” It might not feel like you’re saving a pet today, but your efforts can help. According to non-profit Make A Happen, four to five million puppies die globally every year, that’s roughly 11,000 every day, and roughly one dog dies in a puppy mill every eight seconds!

Adopt a Shelter Animal: Take the advice of my fellow Flora & Fido writer Maggie Marton. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately five to seven million companion animals enter U.S. shelters each year. So follow her five tips to recycle a pet.

Adopt a Guinea Pig: Maggie also tells us that dogs and cats aren’t the only pets that need new homes – and they’re not the only animals bred in mills either. Guinea pigs are in need of help, too. One little guinea pig can’t be so hard to adopt, right?

Look to the Latest Natural Disaster: After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of pets died and many were left behind. Rescue organizations and animal lovers stepped in to help. Right now, pets are being abandoned at an alarming rate in the Gulf Coast region as a result of the oil spill. You can help the forgotten Gulf oil spill victims by adopting one or donating to organizations helping the cause.

Find a Dog or Cat Who Needs You Now: New Beginnings Animal Rescue in Hinesville, Georgia is one non-profit focused on eliminating the euthanasia of cats and dogs. They send emails to their members listing dogs who are on death row with just a few days to live. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s also reality in states that don’t have no-kill shelter mandates. You can also see adoptable and desperate pets on their Facebook page. Another Georgia shelter, Walton County Animal Control, also displays their last-chance pets on their site. Adopt one, or foster a pet to save it now and then find a worthy forever home later.

Fall in Love on the Go: Petfinder.com’s iPhone app makes it easy to adopt a homeless pet whenever you feel inspired. Sitting at the bar with your friends and thinking about adopting a pet? Pull out your phone and make a group decision on the most deserving animal. While you’re at it, find one for every friend sitting at the bar with you. Cheers!

Visit Adopt A Pet: The site’s easy-to-search database has plenty of dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and more for you to fall in love with and rescue. If you’re not ready to add a new animal to your family today, “Twitter a Critter” to encourage your followers to adopt the pets that tug at your heartstrings. I tweeted about Skye as I wrote this post.

Help Baghdad Pups: Ready for another tear-jerker? The street dog population in Baghdad is estimated at 1.2 million. Recently Iraqi authorities shot or poisoned more than 50,000 to alleviate the problem. What’s more – many U.S soldiers cope with their life at war, in part, by befriending the local animals. You can donate to the SPCAI’s Operation Baghdad Pups program, which provides veterinary care and finds ways to get these beloved animals back to the U.S to join troops when they return home – another place where these pets can offer a lot of comfort.

Donate: Another great option for those of you who can’t take in an animal now is to donate. Find a local dog shelter or animal rescue organization that you feel strongly about helping. Or, donate to one of the big animal rescue organizations like the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the United States.

Image: heypatrick

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Beyond the tragically oil-soaked birds and sea turtles, there’s another animal population feeling the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill – the area’s pets. Many Louisiana pet owners have been forced to give up their cats and dogs due to a lack of time and money. Whether they’re fishermen or offshore rig workers, much of the population relies on the Gulf for income, and for many, those incomes were cut off abruptly. Sadly, pets are often the first to go when the choice must be made to feed either the family or the dog. Plus, some families had to move, often leaving their animals behind to adhere to no-pet rules at apartment buildings for example.

So what’s happening to all of the abandoned Gulf Coast oil spill pets now?

The Associated Press reported that a BP oil-worker, suddenly slammed with more work than he could handle, dropped off a rust-colored Lab mix named Sasha along with nine one-day-old puppies at St. Bernard Parish Animal Shelter in Violet, LA. Heartbreaking? Yes. But the story is far too common now. In fact, Dean Howard of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the AP that coastal parishes saw a spike in the number of family pets dropped off immediately after the spill. And the growing numbers of pets coming in, with few getting adopted, is more than the shelters can handle.

Want to help? You can donate to the Louisiana SPCA, the local organization that has set up a Gulf Coast Companion Relief Program. Along with a grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, they’re also supplying food, free vet appointments, spaying, and neutering to area owners in an effort to help them keep their pets. For pets that can’t stay with their owners, the SPCA has been arranging emergency transports to relieve Louisiana shelters. They moved 17 highly adoptable dogs – purebred Labs, Yorkies and Maltese to Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia. The Humane Society of the United States also recently transported 33 dogs up to Maryland.

If you want to adopt a Gulf Coast oil spill pet (even those not classified as highly adoptable yet still totally adorable btw!), the Lousisiana SPCA is constantly adding new shelters to their Gulf Coast Transport program. Check the site for the latest shelters to see if one has been added near you. They’re planning more rescues in the coming weeks including transports to shelters in Florida or Texas. You can also try searching for pets at Louisiana shelters on Petfinder. The St. Bernard Parish Animal Shelter lists many of their adoptable pets online through Petfinder and Petango. Another overwhelmed shelter accepting out-of-state adoptions is the Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Belle Chasse, LA. PAWS also showcases their Gulf Coast oil spil cats and dogs on Petango.

Images: superfem, jmborsh, jeffreyw, bnilsen

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According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately five to seven million companion animals enter U.S. shelters each year. Of those, between three and four million are euthanized. Instead of purchasing a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, consider recycling a pet by adopting a shelter animal!

Visiting an overcrowded shelter can be incredibly overwhelming. So when you visit a shelter, how do you decide which pooch is right for you? First, before you adopt, you should assess your lifestyle. If you travel, do you have someone to watch the dog? If you love after-work happy hours and spontaneous weekend getaways, are you willing to build in contingencies for your pup? Once you’re ready to bring home that barking bundle of joy, here are five things to consider:

Take Rover for a Test Drive

Before making a visit to the animal shelter, borrow a friend’s pooch for a spin around the block. Spend an afternoon on a romp with Rover, meeting other dogs, and of course, scooping some poop. Better yet, invite a friendly pup for a sleepover. Run through the dog’s full routine from breakfast to bed to get a feel for having a dog around your house and as part of your routine.

It’s Kinda Like Dating

The cutest one may not be your best match. When you visit the shelter seeking your slobbery soul-mate, spend one-on-one time with the potential pup to determine if personalities mesh.

Think Fitness

All dogs need exercise, but the amount and intensity varies. If your Saturdays are spent outdoors, opt for an energetic breed like a Weimaraner or a Labrador. If your ideal weekend involves flipping between Lifetime and TLC, a toy breed is a better bet because their tiny bodies can’t handle much exercise.

Check Your Bottom Line

According to the ASPCA, it costs about $620 per year to care for a medium-sized dog. And that’s without any unforeseen emergencies. Ensure you have a little wiggle room in your budget to accommodate a pup’s needs.

Do Your Homework

A shelter provides an array of breeds, ages and personality types. It’s all about selecting the right animal for you. The key: Research! Attack this like you would a work assignment. Check references. Ask questions. Make sure you feel comfortable with the facility and the dogs.

Images: jeffreyw

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