Seeking a home

Friday, February 5, 2010
Lucy Lou is a grey tabby cat who loves attention. She is up for adoption at the Putnam County Humane Shelter. There will be all sizes and types of cats and dogs available to adopt on Feb. 13 from noon to 6 p.m. at Family Video in Greencastle.

Adopt-a-thon will take place at Family Video

GREENCASTLE -- The walls of Family Video will soon be filled with hearts, including biographies and pictures of available pets from the Humane Shelter of Putnam County (HSPC).

Better yet, on Feb. 13 from noon to 6 p.m. the actual animals will be in the store and people can meet them in person.

Family Video is very supportive of the community and participates in some sort of local grassroots event each month. In February, they are going the extra mile in supporting the Humane Shelter's Adopt-a-thon with the actual pets up for adoption available.

Anyone adopting a pet on Feb. 13 will receive coupons for free movies. Family Video is also offering a two for $5 sale of movies during the event.

According to Family Video Store Manager Mindy Cook, the company is mandated to have some sort of community event every month.

"All Family Videos across the country do it, and we are always looking for nonprofits who need help with something," said Cook. "We've had food drives, donated turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas, had car washes and raised $210 for the Humane Shelter by giving away a Blu-Ray player.

Currently, the Girl Scouts have hung hearts around the store with pictures of adoptable animals so people can get an early peek.

"We're going to bring as many animals as we can. Space is a little limited. But as animals are adopted, we'll bring more out to replace them. Hopefully we will have a large variety of younger and older cats and dogs," said Lynelle Cullen from HSPC.

With frigid temperatures, the shelter is full, with a few animals staying inside in crates.

"We've gotten quite a few more dogs in and people are calling animal control because they are more concerned with them in this type of weather. We have to keep them inside at night because of the cold. Hopefully adoptions will pick up in the next couple of weeks," said Cullen.

Emma is a great example of the type of animal you may might on Feb. 13. Last winter, she was left at the shelter on an extremely cold day. She was in pain, underweight and pregnant.

After suffering a c-section because of a complicated pregnancy, her puppies were all stillborn. Emma was able to recover with the help of a foster family.

Her picture was posted on the shelter's Website and a family fell in love with her picture. She went home with them and is completely healed and healthy.

Reese is a female Labrador mix looking for a home. She is currently living at the Putnam County Humane Shelter awaiting a forever home.

Her family reports that she is filled out with no ribs showing, is housebroken and loves her beagle sister Jesse. She roams her family's 200 acres, chasing everything that moves.

As a side note, Emma sleeps in her adoptive mom and dad's bed at night and in dad's recliner during the day. She is happy and very, very loved.

Emma is one of the lucky ones. Every day in the United States, thousands upon thousands of puppies and kittens are born and abandoned. Every year, between six and eight million dogs and cats enter U.S. shelters; some three to four million are euthanized because there are not enough homes for them.

There are lots of ways to help. Number one, spay or neuter your animals.

Help support the Putnam County Human Shelter by adopting or fostering animals.

Financial donations are accepted along with gifts of food, bedding and other items.

Purchase a "Shelter Baby" stuffed animal and help support one of the many animals at the Humane Shelter. For a minimum donation of $20, you will receive a small lookalike stuffed animal with an HSPC bandana and gift certificate. For a $16 donation, you receive a gift certificate and description of an animal. You can register online to receive updates about your sponsored animal.

"These make great gifts," says Lynn Bohmer. "We'll handle gift wrapping and mailing them for an additional charge."

The shelter has received lots of good comments back from the program.

"People who have tried this program have given us really good comments," said Cullen. "It's a great thing for people who can't have actual pets."

There are also a lot of volunteer opportunities at HSPC. The shelter depends on volunteers to keep payroll expenses down.

These activities include bathing dogs, socializing cats, clipping nails, training dogs, temperament testing dogs and cats, transporting animals for spay and neuter and off-site adoption and helping with laundry.

Foster parents are needed for animals that are too young, too sick or simply need a place to live when there is no room at the shelter.

People are needed to help with adoptions at the shelter, offsite locations like PetSmart and other locations. They also perform follow-up on recent adoptions and visit potential foster homes.

Fundraising help is always appreciated. Some of the shelter's ongoing events include a dinner and auction at Almost Home, a garage sale, the Cause 4 Paws, Paws on Parade and adopt-a-thons like the one on Feb. 13.

The girl scouts will be at Family Video for the Adopt-a-thon along with lots of HSPC staff and volunteers.

"Family Video will have plenty of staff, so if it gets busy you can get in and out quickly," added Cook. "We think this is going to be a great event and lots of animals will find new homes."

Family Video is located at 820 Indianapolis Rd. in Greencastle. They can be reached at 653-2323.

For information about the adopt-a-thon or to reach the Humane Shelter of Putnam County at call 653-5739.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: