Animal shelters do a fantastic job trying to re-home as many animals as possible. 

I went to City of Ballarat’s animal shelter in late August to look at all of the animals they had. They had a variety of animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits and even a lamb.

I donated a bag of dog dry food and a box of cat food to help out.

If your parents or guardians won't let you adopt a pet, then at least you could donate a bag of dry food or something like I did to help out because they do so much for the animals.

The cat enclosures have lots of bedding, scratching posts and toys. The only donations the shelter does not accept are pillows and blankets as these will lead to a big mess.

The shelter also has dog enclosures outside for them to run around and get exercise so dogs are not always locked up in cages.

The main reason animals are in shelters is because owners give them up or animal control finds them out on the street.

Most of the dogs were very happy and exited when I entered their enclosure. Some were very calm and relaxed and stayed laying on their bed but there was one dog and his name was Marly. He is a black and white dog he was very scared so I went over to him to say hello and to try and comfort him.

Marly started to trust me so he came to me and started to wag his tail. I felt good that I made him feel a bit more comfortable as he was hiding between his bed and the wall while shaking because he was so scared.

If you ever want to donate something to the animal shelter it is located at 5 Gillingham Place Alfredton, Victoria 3350 and their phone number is 5334 2075.

If you have lost your pet you can always put a flyer up on their board.

Check out more from the SHOUT team here.