Contributing Columnist
“Bow Wow” and “Meow” to all you pet lovers and pet parents out there. This is the Newberry County Humane Society and we will be “chatting” with you once a month here in The Newberry Observer. We hope to keep you informed of local animal-related issues and news and look forward to hearing from you, also.
Some of our ongoing concerns relate to low cost spay/neuter (now provided through our local Animal Shelter for County residents), tethering, animal abuse and neglect, and fostering.
If you are not familiar with the Newberry County Humane Society, we were formed in 1985 by a group of people who care about animal welfare and decided to act together on behalf of the animals of Newberry County and have been dedicated to improving the conditions at the Newberry Animal Care and Control Shelter.
We are a non-profit organization whose individual members (approximately 20) work toward the support of the Shelter, provide various community services, including school outreach and book donations to libraries and offer interesting, educational and social events.
What a blast! We drove in the Little Mountain Reunion Parade and participated in the festival on Aug. 1. We handed out brochures and animal-related flyers and low-cost spay/neuter information and chatted with many pet parents and totally enjoyed providing extra info to them.
Benefit: Thanks to two local families who made us benefactors of their wills, providing us the opportunity to supply the new Shelter with much needed items. We were able to have three signs constructed, one on S.C. 34 with well-lit animals and announcements, and two near the Shelter for directions.
We have also provided fencing and carports for the play area, so the dogs can get exercise, lots of pets and attention and for adoption-related interviews. Our next project will be a walking range, to exercise both the dogs and the walkers, through a wooded area. We will keep you posted on our progress.
In Shelter News, we would like you to visit their website and Facebook page Newberry County Animal Care and Control and see the wonderful dogs and cats available for adoption. Recently featured are “Homer,” silver-gray tabby; “Daisy,” a boxer-pointer mix; “Benny,” a beagle-mix; “Muffie,” a long-haired tabby, and “Carter,” a handsome 3-month-old kitten.
You might want to check out our Facebook page as well, where we post photos of available pets and events. Better yet, go visit the Shelter at 240 Public Works Drive (off S.C. 34). Just look for the beautiful “animal” sign and visit with the precious pets, and take a dog for a walk or play or play with the kittens. It’s a beautiful facility and the animals look forward to visits and especially to forever homes.
We will start our meetings back on Sept. 14 (second Monday of the month) at 6 p.m. We went on summer rest for June, July and August. We meet at Springfield Place, Chapel, Newberry and for our “return” meeting, will be having our usual picnic (outside in grassy area) and guest speaker with pets.
I hope you will consider joining us for this fun and informative time, especially with all the good food we always have available. In October we will participate in the annual Oktoberfest, along with the Newberry County Animal Shelter, at Livingston’s Garage on Main Street. Just look for our white canopy and lots of adoptable pets.
This is a fun time and a very “visible” time for the Shelter animals that will be on display for adoption. Our volunteers will be selling Humane Society T-shirts, baked goods, home-made doggie and kitty treats, craft items, children’s toys, and a lot of miscellaneous goodies. All our proceeds benefit local animal welfare.
Now, for some birthday wishes to our loyal members: For July, happy birthday to Christy Ochitree (July 11), staff member at the Newberry County Animal Care and Control; Karen Short (July 20), vice president of NCHS and one of the originators; Pam McAlister (July 23), NCHS member, and Doug MacFarlane (July 25), NCHS member. For August: Lorraine Bradley (Aug. 6), president of NCHS; Jeanne Cushway (Aug. 23), NCHS member, and Patricia Armfield (Aug. 26), NCHS member.
Make sure you provide fresh water for your outside pets, more than once a day, during the hot summer months. Dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, all need extra care during the hot, humid days. Always make sure they are in a safe, loved environment, as they love us unconditionally until their last breath.
If you would like to contact us or join our group, here’s how: Newberry County Humane Society, P.O. Box 558, Newberry, SC 29108; by e-mail at NCHS29108@yahoo.com, on the Web at www.newberrycountyhumanesociety.org, or by phone at 803-413-5206.