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In 1999, PSI created Take Your Dog To Work Day® as a unique way to give back to the pet community from which its pet-sitting members earn their livings. The idea behind the event, which occurs annually the Friday after Father's Day, is that when companies allow employees to bring their dogs to work for one fun summer Friday, employees without pets will see the special pet-human bond firsthand and be encouraged to adopt a new best friend of their own. Professional pet sitters are often able to partner with participating companies to walk dogs on the day of the event, or to come and speak about pet care and pet adoptions, and promote their services to the pet-owning employees. Many businesses also use their event to raise money for local animal shelters or pet-rescue groups.

Outside of Take Your Dog To Work Day, PSI also has many pet-sitting members who are actively involved in pet-rescue work—from volunteering weekly at shelters to even starting their own pet-rescue organizations.

We find, however, that many professional pet sitters are eager to support their local animal shelters and promote pet adoptions, but their busy schedules may leave them with only limited (or no) time to actually volunteer with a local shelter or rescue group.

PSI offers these ideas for pet sitters who may not be able to volunteer regularly but want to support and promote pet adoptions locally:

1. Share photos of adoptable pets on your social media sites. Sharing photos of local adoptable pets on your pet-sitting company’s Facebook page, for example, is a quick and easy way to support your local shelters and pet rescues—and help pets find a forever home. Be sure to follow your local animal shelter or pet-rescue group on Facebook or other social-media sites. This way, you can easily share, re-post or tweet photos and information they post about adoptable pets.

2. Donate a portion of your pet-sitting revenues from a certain time period (Professional Pet Sitters Week or your business anniversary, for example) to a local shelter or pet-rescue group. We often hear from members who celebrate business milestones or specific observances, such as Professional Pet Sitters Week™ or Take Your Dog To Work Day®, by donating a percentage of their profits during the week (or day) to a designated local shelter or pet-rescue group. 

3. Include a coupon in pet-adoption packets. Another way to show support for your local animal shelter is to offer a free pet-sitting visit coupon they can include inside the adoption packets given to those who adopt. It’s important to know, however, that not all shelters may take you up on this offer. We’ve heard from some pet sitters who have offered a coupon but been declined because the shelter didn’t want to promote one business over another—or didn’t want to promote a business that the shelter workers had not used, etc. If you already have a good working relationship with your local shelter, have been a long-time volunteer and/or know the staff, it may be easier for you to develop this type of partnership.  

4. Offer a discount to clients who have adopted pets. Even if you are unable to have a coupon placed in shelter adoption packets, you may still offer a discount to clients ($5 off the first visit, for example) to clients who show proof their pet has been adopted. If you do offer this type of discount, be sure to promote this on your business website and social-media sites. It’s an easy way to demonstrate your company’s support of pet adoption!

5.  Organize a Hungry Bowl™ Pet Food Drive to benefit your local shelter or rescue group. While you
 may not have time to volunteer weekly or even monthly, you may be able to devote time once a year to organize a charitable effort to benefit homeless pets. PSI’s Hungry Bowl™ Pet Food Drive campaign makes it easy for members to organize a local pet food drive, by offering step-by-step instructions and customizable fliers, box signs and press releases. The campaign, which was previously hosted annually each December, has been updated to allow members to take advantage of these free resources to plan a local Hungry Bowl™ Pet Food Drive at any time throughout the year so that they can select a time that is most convenient for them. PSI members, learn more about the Hungry Bowl™ Pet Food Drive.