In awareness of National Pet Month, we want to celebrate our former pets captured on camera. You can help raise awareness around pet care and wellbeing by sharing your videos and stories on social media
National Pet Month is about promoting responsible pet care through fundraising and creating informative content on caring for your animal. The educational campaign runs from April to May every year, and this year we want to help you get involved.
The theme for 2021 is looking into how pets and people care for each other, particularly during the pandemic. A total of 3.2 million households have acquired a pet over the last year, and unfortunately, 5% of those who had bought a pet have already given them up (BBC News). With these statistics in mind, you can understand why National Pet Month is an important campaign for stressing responsible pet care.
Here are a few ways you can get involved with the campaign:
Firstly, The Museum of Home is currently looking for stories exploring the role pets play in your wellbeing. This is a fantastic opportunity for those of you who have transferred your camcorder tapes to digital and have footage of your pets you want to share. It is a nice way to reflect on how your former pet has helped you and how they transformed your life.
To get involved, email: curatorial@museumofthehome.org.uk
If you need help editing your videos, we have created a video editing guide to help you with the basics.
Or, if you don’t have a story to share, why not post a picture/video of your pet on social media with the hashtag #NationalPetMonth?
Support Your Local Shelter
Considering the number of pets that have been given up in lockdown, it is now more important than ever to help your local animal shelter. Usually, support would come from fundraising. However, being in lockdown has made it difficult for many charities to run their usual bake sales.
Instead, many shelters have created Amazon Wishlists to help collect items desperately needed for the shelter. It is a great way to see how your money directly helps rescued pets.
Here’s a link to every Dogs Trust Centre’s Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/2SOJHEBJ27SP4
Join the Community
Owning a pet is a sociable activity, particularly if you own a dog! Network with other pet owners and share your own story on social media by following #NationalPetMonth on Twitter or joining advice pages on Facebook.
There are plenty of free advice pages to help you give your small animal the best quality of care. The National Pet Month campaign has groups on Facebook for advice on caring for your pet and celebrating the highs and lows of owning a pet.
Two pages are particularly useful for connecting with other dog or cat owners:
Dog owners: https://www.facebook.com/joinparkbench
Cat owners: https://www.facebook.com/joinscratchingpost
