February
17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day – a day to celebrate and encourage random
acts of kindness. Whether you want to do something special for your pet at home
or take your kindness out into the community, we hope these ideas give you some
inspiration.

Prepare a special meal for your pet

If we had to guess, food is one the best ways to your pet’s heart. A simple way to show your pet some kindness on this day is to put together a special meal for them to enjoy. A fun way to do this is to create a barkuterie board – think charcuterie board for pets. On it, you can include plenty of pet-friendly crudités like carrot and cucumber strips, blueberries, bananas, and strawberries, as well as a low-sodium turkey jerky. Keep in mind that when it comes time to serve, you’ll want to put together a smaller plate with a sampling of items from the board to avoid your pet overeating.

Give out goodies at the dog park

If you want to extend your random act of kindness beyond your home, why not take a trip to the dog park? One fun idea is to put together a ball or stick library that any dogs that visit the park in the future can enjoy. All you need is a weather-proof sign and container which you fill with balls, sticks, or any other toy that dogs can safely enjoy while at the park. If you want to do something a bit smaller, you can also simply offer the other dogs some tasty Freshpet treats (with their owner’s permission, of course)!

Donate to your local animal shelter

With
so many animals passing through their doors, shelters are always in need of
donations from the public. Monetary donations are always welcomed, but if you
want to donate items these five tend to be among the most requested:

• Food: Dry and wet food, including
  diet-specific recipes for puppies, kittens, and seniors, are welcome donations.
  You can also reach out to see if they need specific medical diets like renal,
  hypoallergenic, or urinary care. Most shelters will accept open bags of dry
  food as long as they’re within their expiration period.

• Cat litter: Shelters go through
  countless bags of cat litter each month, so dust-free, clumping cat litter is
  always needed.

• Cleaning supplies: The less glamorous, but very
  important, side of shelter life is cleaning. As cleaning needs to be done
  daily, shelters go through a lot of cleaning supplies and are always happy for
  donations.

• Blankets: All pets enjoy a nice warm
  blanket to curl up in! These blankets are often sent with pets to their forever
  home to help them feel more comfortable during the transition period.

• Durable toys: While pets are waiting for
  their forever home, toys can help with entertainment and keeping their minds active.

This
list is certainly not comprehensive, so we recommend reaching out to your local
shelter to see what items they need most at this time.

Volunteer your time

If
you have a few hours to spare on National Random Acts of Kindness Day, why not
volunteer your time at your local shelter? Most shelters welcome volunteers to
help out with tasks like cleaning, socializing, and walking, but they may also
be looking for volunteers with specialized skills – like marketing,
administration, or finances – for specific projects. Some are even open to
welcoming groups that want to organize a one-off volunteering event as part of
a fundraiser or even team outing!

You
can also look for organizations in your community that support pet owners in
need of a little extra help – for example, providing pet sitting while their
owners are in hospital or walking dogs for pet owners who are less mobile.

Become a sponsor

For
a small monthly or one-time donation, you can become a sponsor at your local
animal shelter or rescue. Some shelters allow you to sponsor specific animals
while others tie sponsors to specific kennels or rooms, but either way, your
donation will be used to support the ongoing medical care, food, and housing
animals need. Sponsors are especially important for animals that require
longer-term care while they work through medical or behavioral issues before
heading to their forever home.

February 17th may be the official Random Acts of Kindness Day, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate kindness and pay it forward mentality 365 days a year! Any of the ideas we shared above are great to do regularly throughout the year.

Source: Freshpet