The Random ‘Trash’ That New York Dog Shelters Love

While not everyone is able to adopt a dog, there are plenty of other ways to help our furry friends.

Animal rescues across New York State and the Hudson Valley work tirelessly to help animals find loving homes. Recently, an upstate organization shared one of the easiest ways for local residents to lend a hand.

How to Help New York Animal Shelters with Donations

While some animal rescues are able to partner with local governments, most are private, non-profit organizations. That means that one of the biggest struggles that many groups face is funding.

Household "Trash" Can Become Animal Shelter Treasure

While monetary donations are always appreciated (and often need to help fund life-saving procedures in addition to covering standard operating costs), there are simpler (and cheaper) ways to help with items that many households would otherwise throw away.

No-Cost Donations for New York Animal Shelters

"Want a super easy way to help homeless dogs?", the Niagara SPCA recently asked on Facebook (below). Their simple, no-cost request is something that nearly every household can do.

We go through tons of paper towels at the shelter—AND we love the cardboard tubes they leave behind! These tubes are perfect for dog enrichment activities (we don’t use toilet paper rolls- just the longer paper towel ones).

Why New Yorkers Should Donate Paper Towel Rolls to Animal Shelters

The SPCA shared that staff members love to use paper towel tubes as part of their enrichment program for shelter dogs. Check out some of the creative ways they can be repurposed below.

Other nontraditional donation items include towels, office supplies (think of all the administrative duties involved in a shelter!), clean, unwanted Tupperware, and even old newspaper (for crate lining). See some of the animals you could be helping below.