humane society
Wags To Riches
Loryn and I stopped by the Windham County Humane Society to drop off a few donations for their Wags To Riches Auction, and to pick up some tickets.
The Windham County Humane Society, located in Brattleboro, is our area’s most important resource for facilitating pet adoptions. This animal shelter’s mission states, “The Windham County Humane Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of animals and enhancing the relationship between individuals and pets through adoption, education, advocacy, compassion and promotion of animal welfare.” Volunteerism and donations are vital to the prosperity of the organization, so every year the Windham County Humane Society hold a large fundraiser to help subsidize the cost of running the organization and keeping pets healthy.
The annual Wags to Riches Auction is being held this weekend. This is the largest and most important fundraiser of the year for the humane society. The fundraiser will be held at the Putney Inn on Saturday, March 2, starting at 6PM. There will be great food, great company (make sure to say hi to Peggy, Loryn, and Douglas), and great items to bid on. All of the items at the auction have been donated by local businesses or people in the community. The items vary from something small and practical, like a gift card to the pet store, to something large and luxurious, like an African Safari!
All of the money raised at this event will go directly to the Windham County Humane Society, which will support their programs like low cost spay-neuter clinics. This organization is near to many of our hearts at Vermont Woods Studios, as we are all animals lovers, and many of us have adopted our pets from the humane society.
Tickets cost $40/person, and can be purchased on the humane society’s website, by calling their office, or on March 2nd at the door. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun, so be sure to bring a friend or two! Click here to visit their website to preview some of the items you can bid on (including our wood cutting board + coasters, and the 3 day weekend at Stratton Mountain that Peggy donated).
If you are unable to attend this event, there are many other ways you can support the Windham County Humane Society. You can make an online, tax-deductible, financial donation or donate items off their wishlist.
Hurricane Sandy and the Dog Nannies of Vermont
The Sandy Dog Nannies of Vermont are working on connecting hurricane victims with reliable, acceptable fosters in Vermont. The group is currently looking for volunteers to foster animals, transport animals from NJ to VT, coordinate transport missions, respite support, perform home inspections and volunteers for general administrative work.
Sandy Dog Nannies of Vermont
After Hurricane Sandy tore through the Northeastern coast leaving a mess of destruction in her wake, many families had to evacuate their homes and are now living in temporary shelters until they can find a way to put their lives back together. One of the consequences that many people over look when a disaster occurs is what happens to family pets when people move into these shelters. Some shelters will take pets for a few weeks but after that, these families must find other solutions for their animals. Usually this means surrendering them to animal shelters and groups that are already filled with animals displaced by Hurricane Sandy. While local humane societies are doing a fantastic job at keeping up with the influx of abandoned pets, many people are just not willing to part with their beloved pets for good.
Luckily, there’s the Sandy Dog Nannies of Vermont! This group, founded by eight caring individuals, is working on connecting families in need with reliable, acceptable fosters in Vermont. Fosters will take pets in for up to 6-8 months while their owners look for more permanent housing. The group is currently looking for volunteers to foster animals, transport animals from NJ to VT, coordinate transport missions, respite support, perform home inspections and volunteers for general administrative work.
While I wasn’t able to convince Peggy to foster a dog here at the office (yet!), Vermont Woods Studios is currently looking for ways to get involved with the Sandy Dog Nannies. We’ve volunteered to transport dogs to Vermont and conduct home visits before dogs are placed with families. I’ll keep you posted on our progress!
Other Ways You Can Help Sandy Victims
Blood Donations: The American Red Cross is in need of blood donations after the cancellation of over 300 blood drives. A few of us here in the office will be heading into Brattleboro to give blood in a few weeks. (Check back on our blog in early December to see how it went).
Meals on Wheels: Citymeals.org delivers prepared meals to thousands of housebound elderly New Yorkers everyday. After Hurricane Sandy, there was an increased need for non-perishable meals for NY CityMeals recipients. Being volunteers for Meals on Wheels here in Vernon, this organizations’ efforts resonate closely with us. They are accepting monetary donations that are 100% dedicated to the preparation and delivery of meals.
Help by Request: AidMatrix along with the National Donations Management Network and the American Logistics Aid Network has a consolidated list available for responders to see exactly what is currently needed in problem areas.
More Help Links: The New York Times Blog is a great place to find more links and lists of exactly what is needed.
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