Update:
This happy news is sure to get you into the holiday spirit!
You may remember a story we shared last month about the Pickens County Humane Society, a no-kill shelter in Liberty, South Carolina, who lost their government funding. They were facing closure, and in a last-ditch effort, set up a GoFundMe page in hopes that they could raise the funds themselves.
This story touch the hearts of animal lovers everywhere, including many of our readers. Today, they announced that they surpassed their donation goal of $70,000!
An update on the donation page reads:
“We hit our goal of $70,000 that keeps our doors open for 6 months into 2018, giving us time to put into place our strategic plan to not only maintain our shelter, but grow. All donations coming in from this point will go directly towards funding our shelter operations for the remainder of 2018. Please continue to be involved in our growth. Contact us and ask how you can help.
More WONDERFUL news: Thanks to the Christmas miracle our supporters have made possible, we will be accepting animals beginning January 2, 2018, giving them a miracle of a warm bed, full bowl of food, and loving care while at our shelter and beyond.”
We wish the staff and volunteers the very best, and hope that they will be able to continue doing this life-saving work! When we all work together, it is truly amazing what we can accomplish.
Original Story:
We all love animals, and we all wish that every shelter was a no-kill shelter. Sadly, lack of funding means that this is not always possible. But those shelters and rescues that don’t euthanize due to overcrowding heavily depend on government funding and donations to continue the life-saving work that society dumps on them.
This was the case for the Pickens County Humane Society in Liberty, South Carolina, who worked tirelessly to rescue animals and keep them safe until they found their forever homes. The local government allotted them $120,000 a year to support their efforts, which was cut down to $70,000 a few years ago. Now, they have decided to pull funding altogether, and the safe haven is projected to close its doors on December 31st.
According to a story by Greenville News, the money is being re-routed for a new project, an expansion of the animal control division which includes an adoption center. And while the staff at the Pickens County Humane Society are glad that the funds are still going toward homeless pets, humane society officials heavily opposed the decision. That’s because they fear that the facility will not be able to handle the amount of surrendered and stray animals all by themselves.
Humane Society Director Samantha Gamble said in the story,
“Now that the county has opened their own facility, people are definitely supporting that, and we support that as well. But at the same time, I feel like with us closing our doors they’re going to be facing a lot of overcrowdedness.”
“Without us, it’s not going to be efficient for Pickens County,” Humane Society shelter manager Megan Brown also noted.
As we all know too well, overcrowded shelters often lead to euthanasia. But in light of the season, Gamble says they’re hoping for a Christmas miracle.
According to the story, local residents have gathered together to pool funds for the shelter in the past, especially around the holidays. It’s the rest of the year that the facility struggles financially. She’s hoping that they’ll get an outpouring of support one more time – but this year, the challenge is bigger than ever.
“That’s been an ongoing issue, that we just don’t have that community support that really stays behind us,” Gamble said. “It’s always when we’re at the verge of closing our doors do we then in turn get this rallying of support.”
The shelter has stopped taking in pets for the time being, and almost all their dogs and cats were adopted at a recent event, according to their Facebook page.
If the Pickens County Humane Society shuts down before the new year, the animals will go to animal control. As a last ditch effort, they’ve set up a GoFundMe page in an attempt to raise $70,000. If they do not reach their goal, they will donate any funds to other local animal care facilities.
While the amount may seem insurmountable, they’ve already raised over $20,000 toward their goal. All they’re asking is for big-hearted animal lovers to give $20 and spread the word, because together, we can make a difference!
If you’d like to help, click here to donate – and don’t forget to share this story!
(h/t: Greenville News)
