There are many organizations dedicated to ending animal cruelty and the suffering of homeless pets. Most of these non-profits rely on the generosity of donations from the public to sustain their efforts. Although almost everybody is aware of the city-run shelters, like the SPCA, few realize that there are other organizations that perform over and beyond what the city advocates, by providing alternative, no-kill shelters. Pet euthanasia is rampant in city-run shelters, with an astoundingly high percentage of animals that walk through their doors never making it back out.Ways to help local animal rescue sheltersIn a perfect world, shelters would not have to put down any of the millions of homeless animals they take in. With a little education and volunteering of your time, you can help make a lasting difference in the lives of dogs, cats and other animals. Support does not come just in the form of money; you can donate pet food, old blankets, pillows and dog toys that are used by local shelters to ease their financial burden, while still allowing them to do what they do best: save animal lives. Most of the non-profit agencies depend on donations, both monetary and otherwise, to stay open. Most of these shelters offer low-cost spaying and neutering. One unspayed female cat can give birth to 100 offspring in her lifetime; with the number of homeless cats, there is a potential for an exponential increase. A gift of $20 to an animal rescue group can spay one cat. If money is tight, consider volunteering at your local no-kill shelter, the money they save on having to pay a salary can help spay or neuter dozens of animals. Every little bit counts and can save lives. No-kill shelters only euthanize those animals whose quality of life is too poor to warrant keeping them alive, giving them a euthanasia rate of only about five percent, as opposed to local city shelters, who put down almost 90 percent of the animals that come through their doors.Though donating to any shelter is a wonderful deed, try to support your local non-profit, no-kill animal shelters instead. Helping animal rescue services is a local effort. Depending on your area, there are different rates of pet abandonment and failure to spay or neuter them. Your city may or may not have problems with funding of local shelters. Knowing what shelters need help the most is important.