Donations are important to keep any nonprofit running, but this is especially true in animal rescue organizations and shelters. With so many animals that are in need of help and little support from the government, private donations are the backbones of most animal shelters.

While most shelters have their own wishlists (see our Amazon wishlist here), we wanted to take a second to discuss a few our our top needs this February!

1. Cat Litter: If you follow us on social media, you know that we’re in desperate need of our paper pellet cat litter. We use paper pellet litter, because it’s truly the best for our cats and helps prevent upper respiratory infections associated with traditional litter. At Dorchester Paws, we clean our cages multiple times a day, scooping litter, and we completely replace cat litter approximately once a week. Because of this, we typically go through 6 bags of cat litter every week. As puppy and kitten season is right around the corner, we expect the number of bags we use per week to nearly double.
2. Max and Neo Double Handed Leashes: We use a specific type of dog leash for a few different reasons! These leashes are thickly built that can withstand some of the toughest use – regardless of breed, length of walk or how hard the use. When you buy a leash from Max and Neo, one is donated to a dog rescue in need! Currently, we only have five of these leashes in shelter, but we need at least seven for our training class THIS WEEKEND. 
3. Tupperware and Storage Bins: We have over 300 animals in our shelter. When we open a new bag of dog food, we need a way to contain our food, preserve it and keep it as fresh as possible!

In addition to those three, we’re also in desperate need of trash bags, large gloves, plastic bins, and easy walk harness!