By Lalinda De La Fuente

To make a difference in the pet community you need not volunteer all of your time to cleaning cages or donate large sums of money. ONLYforPETLOVERS.com shows you that there are a variety of unique ways to help the pet community one shelter or charity at a time.

Who ever heard of empty inkjets and old cell phones helping to save the lives of homeless pets? PetSmart charities have recently launched Recycle for Life, a recycling program run by the store to help raise money for homeless pets across the county. Simply visit your nearest PetSmart and pick up a free postage paid pre-addressed envelope and mail in your empty cartridges and old cell phones. For every cartridge or phone recycled through this program, PetSmart Charities will receive a $2-$15 donation. To view a list of cell phone types they accept click here. To view a list of ink jet cartridges they accept click here. Help save animal lives and help save the environment too!

Doing a little grocery shopping never felt so good. If you live in the Houston area get a Houston Humane Kroger Share Card. Present the card before the cashier rings you up and Kroger will donate 1 percent of your purchase to the Houston Humane Society (houstonhumane.org). Just call or e-mail the HHS and they will send you a card free of charge.

Sometimes a little charity is just a click away. Goodsearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users delegate. Don’t worry that by doing some good you will have to sacrifice for your search results. GoodSearch.com is powered by Yahoo! so you will get great results. Visit the site and check to see if your local animal shelters, or any others, are part of the GoodSearch network and begin searching away. You can even view the amount raised to date for that particular charity or shelter by GoodSearch searches.

In Glendale, California at the Glendale Humane Society (glendalehumane.org) you can memorialize a friend or pet by making a $25 donation towards their Canine Enrichment Program. By making this donation the shelter will name a newly rescued cat or dog in someone’s honor from your life. If your honored companion has recently passed, celebrate their life by making this small donation and naming an animal that has a new shot at life after your old.

Do you work for Johnson & Johnson, the McDonalds Corporation or the Coca-Cola Company? If the answer is yes to any of these, when you make a donation to the Humane Society of Charlotte (humanesocietyofcharlotte.org), your company does as well. Visit the HSC Web site and check to see if your company is on the list of employers that will match a donation you make to the shelter. The expansive list includes such heavy hitters as Merrill Lynch, 3M and Bank of America. To see if your employer is on the list click here.

Put a furry face to your contribution. At the Humane Society of New York (humanesocietyny.org) a donation of $250 buys you a Rescued Pet Wellness Package. This package ensures that, upon arrival, the animal will receive an exam by a veterinarian, neutering, inoculations and all tests necessary to prepare the pet for adoption. Donors will then receive a photo and bio of their sponsored pet.

Bleach, digital cameras, old blankets and towels, cat litter, and rolls of paper towels are all things that the Humane Society of Greater Miami (humanesocietymiami.org) is wishing for. Also on that list: PetSmart gift cards, heating pads, and even postage stamps. Most shelters have a wish list that include most basics such as food and leashes to less obvious items such as copy paper and travel suitcases with wheels. Ask your local shelter about their wish list and see that it’s not only money that counts. Maybe exactly what they want will be exactly something you no longer need.

Happy giving!