(Main picture Carlos a Roti mix who has been waiting a very long time to find a new family to love him. Could that be you? For more information please click HERE.)
Soon I will be celebrating my one year anniversary as the shelters Event Coordinator. And let me tell you what a year or had been. We have done a little bit of everything this year from bowling, National cupcake day, dogfest, and most recently our live auction.
My first year in this new role was all about experimenting with new events that we have either not don’t tried in a really long time or ones that are completely brand new to us. I tried to keep our schedule full as well as have something for everyone, and I think that I achieved this with the variety that we had. I am very excited to see what the Niagara Falls Humane Society has in store for next year. I already have some thoughts as to what I want to try again and what I want to change for next time. (Picttured below, Hannah, a Husky mix up for adoption now. For more infrmation CLICK HERE).
This year I also took part in co-creating a campaign for seniors called Find Me Somebody to Love. The idea of the campaign is to find homes for senior cats and dogs with local seniors. So far this year we have rehomed 1 dog and 2 cats. By collecting donations we are also able to offset the adoption fee of these animals. Statistically senior cats stay in shelter environments much longer then your typical kitten. By staying in shelters longer it raises the risk of not only illness but depression in the animals.
People think I’m crazy when I talk about depression in animals. But I believe this to be true due to my personal experience with my own cats at home. Since starting my career with the Niagara Falls Humane Society I have adopted 3 cats, my voluptuous black cat Soliel, my happy pawed kitty Mrs. Whiskers and finally my very talkative white persian Wilford Brimley. Two of my cats waited about 6 months with zero to no interest from potential adopters.
After seeing Soliel and Mrs. Whiskers laying around at our Adoption Centre looking sad I made the decision to add them to my family. Wilford Brimley didn’t even make it to the Adoption Centre before I decided that I needed him in my life. I love the saying “I work hard so my cats can have a better life” Well I am proud of the work that I do for the Humane Society and all that I have accomplished. I am always on the go with this job and sometimes even before an event is over I am already onto the next one. (Below Gracie, up for adoption now. For more information CLICK HERE).
Speaking of next one… the Niagara Falls Santa Claus Parade is coming up on Saturday November 19th starting at 11:00 am. We will not only be walking in the parade but we will also have a booth at City Hall where we will be collecting monetary donations as well as collecting items off of our wish list. Some items that we are in desperate need of are non-colored cat and dog food, clumping and non- clumping cat litter, and Lysol wipes. We also are encouraging those that have adopted from us in the past to walk in the parade with us. We will be lining up on Jepson Street close to Victoria Ave and would love to see some of our adoption success stories in person.
Also back by popular demand we will be hosting our Annual Christmas Raffle in Niagara Square. Just like in years prior tickets will be only $5.00 for a sheet of 25. We will be selling tickets from December 1st until December 21st. We are currently still looking for donations to put in our raffle as this is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and the animals really rely on this event being a success.
I am pleased to say that we will also be doing gift wrapping at Niagara Square! This is a first for us at this location and we are really looking forward to it. We have several wrapping options to choose from and all we ask for in return is a donation. Each gift will come with an NFHS gift tag to let people know that a donation has been made.
I encourage everyone to come and visit us this holiday season. We have so many pets that would love the cuddles and the walks. Some of those animals include Honey who is our longest kitty cat resident at our Adoption Centre. She has been with us quite a few months and needs to find a home. She is a 2 year old black and white short haired cat who would prefer to be the only cat in the house hold. She is more on the independent side and is one of those cats that is not quite a lap cat yet but may potentially be one over time. (Pictured below for more information CLICK HERE)
If you want to hear more about what we have coming up then please head over to our website or Facebook page where we will be posting updates. You can also download our new app for Apple and Android! Just head on over to your phones store and search Niagara Falls Humane Society! We have just launched this and are quite excited about it.
I also want to hear from you! Do you have any ideas or thoughts about what we can try for next year? Do you want to get involved but have little time? Please contact me at ssidneywood@niagarafallshumanesociety.com or you can call me at (905) 356-4404 ext. 234
This week’s column was contributed by Shannon Wood.
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