Celebrating Our Furry Friends and the Benefits They Contribute to Our Lives

Whether they are just being cute, goofy, and playful, or are providing assistance to people with disabilities, disorders, or impairments, pets contribute so much love and many benefits to people's lives.

May is National #PetMonth, a time to celebrate our furry friends, and America's Charities is celebrating the following agents of change who we are proud to call our members.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits is to donate to them through your employer's workplace giving program (Don't have a program? Click here to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity's name below to learn more about their work, and for more ways to support them!

• Animal Welfare League of Arlington: Located in Arlington, Virginia, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) finds homes for homeless animals and provides important community services to help people keep and care for their pets, including: low-cost rabies vaccination and microchip clinics; affordable monthly Wellness Clinics each year for income-qualified* clients to have their dog(s) and/or cat(s) examined by a veterinarian and given vaccinations; Interest-free loans and outright grants for emergency veterinary assistance; and a behavior helpline that is available to all pet owners to help them understand and work with their pets, rather than surrender them in frustration. Click here for information about other services they provide and ways you can support them.
• Best Friends Animal Society: Every day, nearly 5,000 dogs and cats are killed in our nation’s shelters simply because they don’t have safe places to call home. They’re not sick. They’re not damaged. They’re just homeless. And Best Friends Animal Society has proposed a bold plan to change all that. For over 30 years, Best Friends Animal Society has been running the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and building effective programs that reduce the number of animals entering shelters. Now, they’re raising the stakes. We’re witnessing a sea change in the animal welfare movement. A tipping point. An unwillingness to accept the killing of dogs and cats as a “necessary evil.” Animal welfare leaders and passionate individuals are coming together in every corner of the nation, uniting to achieve a common goal. And we need you to join us as we harness that energy in an unprecedented effort to change things for good. Click here for more information about Best Friends Animal Society's work and learn how you can get involved.
• Canine Partners for Life: Canine Partners for Life (CPL) trains and places certified service dogs with persons who have physical disabilities, mobility impairments, and seizure and cardiac disorders, to increase their independence and quality of life. By assisting its human partner with many physical tasks and providing constant companionship, a service dog can make the miracle of greater independence possible. CPL provides professionally trained service dogs and lifetime support services. Each dog is trained to meet the specific needs of each individual recipient. CPL places full service dogs with persons 12 years and older. For many adult recipients, once paired with a service dog, they are able to enter, remain in, or return to the workforce. Our dogs allow children to enjoy a more integrated school experience. Many of our recipients stay healthier longer or may not need a wheelchair or other aid as early, thanks to the help of their dogs. Since its founding in 1989, CPL has placed over 600 canine partners with individuals who have disabilities or are in other situations of need. Learn more about this unique organization and their incredible work!
• Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind: Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1992 by husband and wife - Eric and Sharon Loori. Our dogs are bred specifically for guiding right here at our facility.  We work mostly with Labrador Retrievers, but also train Smooth-coated Collies and Barbets. Our puppies are raised by volunteers called “Puppy Raisers” for approximately 1.5 years, then the dogs begin their formal training for guide work. It takes about four to five months to train a guide dog.  Ten days to two weeks are spent training the client and the dog together as a team. The average work life of a guide dog is eight to 10 years. It costs $25,000 to breed, raise, train and place one guide dog, which includes lifetime technical support. We provide training and guide dog placement at no cost to the client. Our work is funded through the generous support of caring individuals, grant support, and service clubs. Discover more about this nonprofit!
• PAWS Atlanta: PAWS provides love, nutrition, medical care and basic training to enrich the lives of homeless animals until permanent, safe homes can be found. Since its inception in 1966, they’ve adopted over 46,000 animals into loving, permanent homes. As one of the oldest and very few no-kill shelters in Georgia, PAWS Atlanta focuses highly on each pet’s health, going to great lengths to provide medical care for extreme illness or injury for all pets in their care and are confident that they go into a forever home healthy. In the past five years, PAWS has spayed or neutered over 6,000 animals and vaccinated over 15,000 animals in Metro Atlanta through low-cost clinics. Their programs include pet adoption and foster services, pet wellness clinics, veterinary services for the public, low cost spay/neuter services, discount health preventatives and pet dentals, behavioral training, a pet food bank for loving owners going through hard times, senior support and pet matching assistance, summer camps, and community outreach and education. We receive no funding from federal, state or county governments; the vital we offer to the community are made possible by our program fees, grants, fundraising and the generosity of our supporters. Learn more!
• PetSmart Charities: PetSmart Charities, Inc. (PetSmart Charities) is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 500,000 shelter pets each year. PetSmart Charities also provides grant funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission under four key areas of support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets and Providing Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Learn more!
• SPCA Luzerne County: The SPCA’s mission is the prevention of cruelty to animals by providing: Shelter for unwanted, discarded, neglected, and often abused animals; an adoption program to place these animals into caring, permanent homes; humane educations programs to enlighten the public about animal problems; and humane law enforcement and prosecution programs to address animal cruelty. Learn more!