Valentine’s Day had everyone’s attention once again. The day of love and chocolates is a favorite holiday. So much so that it outshines a holiday just a few days after it.

And this holiday’s theme is rather similar to Valentine’s, so why isn’t it more popular?

February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day. Guess what it’s about!

The name has people acting kind in all sorts of ways, but we’re here to focus on ways you can celebrate with your four-legged friends. Or any animal for that matter.

Here’s a bunch of ways you can spread the kindness to your animal friends!

1. Cruelty free is the way to go.

This is an obvious one to start off with. It’s hard not to buy something that an animal had to die for. Or at best, something that wasn’t inhumanely tested on an animal. People nowadays are slowly growing more aware of cruelty-free products, and anything with that label on it is worth a shot.

2. Consider volunteering.

The first step to giving help is to offer it. Not everyone can ask for help even if they need it, so making the first move can go a long way. Volunteer at a pet shelter. It could change the lives of some animals in ways you can’t imagine.

3. Become a foster

Pet shelters do a lot of work, and it’s no surprise that they also benefit from lots of help. Foster homes for pets with no forever homes are invaluable. They let the animal adjust to a home environment. Plus, they let potential adopters see if the pet is for them.

4. The less feral cats out in the world, the better.

Feral cats are not good for anyone. Not for the cat, or the wildlife it can impact. Feral cats can hunt and kill countless small animals right under our noses, so capturing them and finding homes where they stay indoors helps everyone.

5. Adopt a pet.

No list would be complete without this one! Countless upon countless animals around the world are left without a home. They’re born into homelessness, or are abandoned by their old homes. Make the world a better place and adopt one of them! After all, wouldn’t you appreciate someone doing the same for you?

6. Help a sheltered pet fly to a new home.

Sometimes, a pet is meant for a home really far away. When that happens, you can count on services like Greater Good to help. With a few donations, they’ll help fly numbers of sheltered animals to new homes.

7. Get some petitions signed!

If there’s on way to get the attention of those in power, it’s with petitions. Sometimes, organizing a protest is too much work. Well, you’ve got more options. While petitions won’t guarantee you’ll get what you want, they at least let you know that there’s others who feel the same way you do.

Seek out some petitions to sign right now!

8. Send some food to animals in shelters.

Every day that you have food to eat is a blessing. So it’s only fair that you share that blessing with other mouths too. Once again, Greater Good gives us a way. You can donate via Greater Good, or similar services, to feed any number of hungry pets in shelters across the world.

9. Give the bees something to pollinate.

The ways in which bees contribute to everything we need can’t be stated enough. We need them to pollinate our flowers and keep things blooming. Plus, their honey is to die for. Plant some flowers and let the bees know your home is bee-friendly!

10. Clean up that litter.

It’s not your trash, but it is your planet. Discarded plastic bags and straws can choke any number of wild species to death. Pick them up whenever you see them, and encourage more people to follow suite.

Whichever way you choose to celebrate the holiday, know that you’re helping no matter what you do. Share this list with as many people as you know, and get them to lend a helping hand to some animals too!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Randomactofkindness.org, Rainforest-rescue.org, Khalifa et al. 2021, Nature Communications