The Wood County Humane Society provides shelter for hundreds of abandoned and abused cats, kittens, puppies and dogs, as well as other domestic animals.
While providing a safe place for four-legged friends, WCHS also offers community educational programs, a lost and found program, a specialized team that investigates cases of animal cruelty and a spay/neuter program.
During the winter season, the most popular problem the WCHS faces besides the lack of volunteers is reminding and educating people on how to properly take care of an animal and not leaving them outside in the snow for an extended period of time. The same guidelines apply during the spring and summer, when animals are left outside during extreme heat, said Assistant Manager Rachel Bryant.
Some of the biggest obstacles the WCHS must overcome in the New Year are due to the downturn in the economy.
“Adoptions have actually gone up this past year; however we have received several phone calls from residents in the past few months who can no longer afford to keep providing for their pet,” Bryant said. “It also was not our best year in terms of donations and we are lacking volunteers as well.”
According to the WCHS Web site, the shelter takes in about 400 animals every year. Most of those animals are brought because of cruelty, neglect or abandon cases. On average, about 105 animals at the shelter are awaiting homes. The shelter population is almost always at capacity.
Allisha Fairbanks, a volunteer, said the WCHS had planned several fundraising events around the community throughout the New Year for residents to participate in.
Fundraisers the WCHS provides are a wine and cheese event in May when a dinner and silent auction take place. The ticket costs all go directly to the Wood County Humane Society.
Fairbanks said other events include a dog walk in August — a walker is sponsored and raises money for every lap they complete with their dog during the event — a poker tournament, baseball game and the “Mutt Strut.”
“Every spring we have a fundraiser called ‘Mutt Strut’ located at Fort Meigs,” she said. “This fundraiser is very similar to a fair where there are a ton of things for children to do, only it is specifically focused on activities for dogs. There is even a dog beauty pageant.”
Manager Jaime Fairbanks said students and community members could check out the WCHS Web site if they would like to volunteer at the shelter. The job most in demand is dog walking, which takes place every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m.
“Dog walkers must be 18 years or older to take dogs on walks because dogs are a liability,” said Jaime Fairbanks. “They also must show up a half hour earlier than the dog walking time. If students are not interested in volunteering at the shelter, there is still a way to help out the Humane Society by looking at our “wish list” on our Web site, and there’s also a donation box at Petco where all donations go directly to [WCHS].”
