Humane Society of Wilkes

Thank You ...

As we move from 2007 into 2008, we would like to take a moment to thank all of you who helped us during the past year.

The Humane Society of Wilkes had a successful year in 2007, and we accomplished a great deal. These accomplishments were made possible by hard work, dedication, generosity, and the willingness of many people to pitch in and help.

We held three large fund raising events in 2007: Cruisin’ for Critters in June, Brushy Mountain Apple Festival in October, and Responsible Dog Ownership Day in November. Thanks to all of you who donated your time, your talents, and your financial support to make these events successful.

Our 2008 Best Friends calendar was one of the best ever. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos, and to those who worked on layout, design, and proof reading.

A big thank you goes out to those who helped with our adoption program. Our adoption volunteers fostered pets, trained and socialized pets, provided veterinary care, held frequent adoption fairs, located rescue organizations, transported pets to rescues, washed dogs, and counseled prospective pet owners. All of these efforts helped to find permanent loving homes for many, many homeless pets.

We had more members joining in 2007 than in any previous year – thank you for your support.

We are also extremely grateful for your financial support. Your donations provided vital support for the following programs:

Our spay neuter program helps to pay for surgery for pets in Wilkes County. We provided more assistance in 2007 than in any previous year.

We supply Kind News newsletters for each kindergarten, first, and second grade classroom in Wilkes County; this is a total of nearly three thousand children

Our adoption program provides necessary veterinary services and supplies for pets in our foster adoption program.

Finally, thank you to all our board members who serve our organization. They are an extremely dedicated group, and they give freely and generously of their time, their talents, and their support. We appreciate their commitment.

Now we are looking ahead to 2008. We would like to accomplish even more in the coming year, and we count on your support to make this possible. I challenge each of you to increase your involvement in 2008 – your support really does make a difference.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandi

Easiest Fund Raiser Ever!

SunTrust Bank has given us an unprecedented fund raising opportunity. As part of their community involvement, SunTrust Bank will donate $ 100 to the charity of customers’ choice if they open a new checking account and meet certain criteria.

To participate, just follow these steps:

1. Open a new personal or business checking account by March 29, 2008. The minimum deposit to open an account is $25.00
2. Accept a SunTrust Visa Check Card.
3. Make any purchase using your new check card before May 15, 2008.
4. Complete and submit a redemption form by May 15, 2008. You may do this at suntrust.com/mycause, or call 866-266-2802 to complete your redemption over the phone.

Accounts may be opened at the local SunTrust Bank branch in North Wilkesboro. If you have any questions call Sandra Watts, SunTrust branch manager, at 667-5331.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to raise some money easily and painlessly. We have already received several hundred dollars from this program, and would really appreciate the participation of other Humane Society members. Think about it - no putting up and taking down tents and tables!

Fund Raising Committee Meeting

In order to expand our programs and help more animals, we will need to increase our fund raising efforts in 2008. We could really use some additional volunteers for this committee – along with their new ideas and enthusiasm.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 26 at 6:30 PM at the North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church.

This will be an informal meeting; bring a sandwich and a drink if you would like. We’ll be considering new projects, as well as doing some planning for the June Cruisin’ for Critters poker run. We’d love to have you join us. Please contact Heather Lawson at 984-9229 or Heather_hsow@yahoo.com for more information.

2009 Best Friends Photo Contest

Can you believe that we are preparing to publish our twelfth annual calendar? Time does indeed fly! Our twelfth annual Best Friends Photo Contest will begin accepting entries on March 1, 2008. Send us a photo of you and your pet(s) – or just your pet(s). Entries will be accepted through May 31, 2008, and winners will be notified in July.

All photos submitted must be horizontal and in color to be considered for the cover or monthly pages. Any photos will be considered for honorable mention pages. Digital photos will be accepted, but it is important that they be printed using high quality techniques and photographic quality paper so that they will reproduce well.

The judges’ selections will be featured in the 2009 Best Friends Calendar.

The entry fee is $ 5.00 per photo. Please put your name, address, and telephone number on the back of each photo. Also include the name of the person(s) and pet(s) in the photo. Include some brief comments about your pet. If you want your photos returned, include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Mail all entries to:
Humane Society of Wilkes
P. O. Box 306
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659

Cruisin’ For Critters 2008

The fourth annual Cruisin’ For Critters Poker Run will be held on Saturday June 21. Heather Lawson will again be the event coordinator, and she will be contacting our members later with more details. This is one of our major fund raising events each year, and we will need lots of volunteers to help. If you would like to contact Heather, she can be reached at Heather_hsow@yahoo.com or at 984-9229.

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
- Theodore Roosevelt

2007 Adoption Committee Totals

In 2007, we arranged adoptions for 33 cats that were in foster care. We also placed 2 cats with rescue groups. We found homes for a total of 254 dogs – 115 went to rescues, 126 were in foster care and were adopted into permanent homes, and 13 were placed in other ways.

Our foster adoption committee worked extremely hard to achieve this success – we are very, very proud of them!

Foster Adoption Committee Report

2008 has been a busy year for the HSOW Foster Adoption Committee, and it is only February! We held two adoption fairs in January and another on February 9 at the Wilkes County Animal Shelter. These were successful fairs, allowing people to visit with both foster dogs and shelter pets for extended Saturday hours of 10:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

During January and early February 2008, committee members have had as many as nineteen dogs and eight cats in foster care. Recent fosters include a beagle, Pomeranian, Papillion, boxer mix, chow mix, Chihuahua, blue tick hound, Saint Bernard, and several good-natured mixes of uncertain heritage. For the most part, these dogs and cats are pulled from the Wilkes County Animal Shelter when their time is up, and live in approved foster homes until good “forever” homes can be found for them. They are listed on three websites: www.humanesocietyofwilkes.petfinder.com, www.humanesociety.org, and www.1-800-save-a-pet.com. Most of these pets get adopted within a few weeks or months, although a few take a little longer. Joanna Cates, Mary & Ed Parsons, Melinda Crawford, Katie Parsons, Matt & Sarah Faw, Phyllis Smith, Mary Elmore, Donna Peterson, Jennifer Steele, Deb Zelensky, Kay Hall, and Blair Hancock currently have or recently have had HSOW foster pets in their homes.

HSOW foster homes are always in need of pet supplies such as flea & tick treatments, collars, leashes, bedding, and pet food, so we welcome donations. Monetary donations can be designated for the foster adoption program

If you are interested in becoming a foster home for dogs or cats, contact Donna Peterson at (336) 667-4306 or dpete1010@aol.com for more information.

The Humane Society of Wilkes Foster Adoption committee would like to thank our long-time chairperson Arlene McGrane. Arlene brought us from a fledgling group of three or four volunteers to a true rescue organization of twenty active committee members and foster homes, working with the financial and moral support of the rest of the membership. Though Arlene continues as an active Humane Society member and mentor she is stepping down as chairperson in order to devote more time to her daughter Erin and to her work. Joanna Cates will now serve as our representative to the board and as our fair coordinator. Lynda Black, Melinda Crawford, Donna Peterson, Mary Parsons, and Blair Hancock have divided and assumed Arlene’s many other duties.

Profit and Loss Statement
Jan 1, 2007 – Dec 31, 2007

Income:
Foster adoption income	$15,302
Donations	$8,792
Calendar entries, sales, ads	$3,585
Membership dues	$2,505
Poker Run Fund Raiser	$2,393
Dividends and interest	$2,090
Apple Festival Fund Raiser	$2,009
Responsible Dog Day	$1,053
Kind News Sponsors	$1,550
Misc. Sales	$724
Food Lion	$177
Dog Park Donations	$130
Total Income	$40,310
Expenses:
Foster adoption expense	$21,617
Spay Neuter Expense	$10,975
Administrative	$2,896
Kind News	$2,596
Calendar expenses	$1,854
Poker run expense	$1,047
Responsible dog day expenses	$715
Misc. fund raising expenses	$623
Dog park expenses	$213
Total Expenses	$42,536
Total Income – Expenses	$-2,226

Spay Neuter Program

More dogs and cats were spayed and neutered through our program in 2007 than in any previous year. We issued a total of 440 vouchers; 253 of them were used. The breakdown was:
84 female cats
37 male cats
89 female dogs
43 male dogs

Of the vouchers used, 88% were used by low income families. Ours is a need based program; we try to give the most assistance to those who are most in need.

The 2007 expense for this program was $10,975. We anticipate even more demand in 2008, as more and more people become aware of this program. The funds to cover this program come from our fund raising projects, as well as donations. Monetary donations may be designated specifically for the spay neuter program.

Membership

Membership dues for the Humane Society of Wilkes are $ 15.00 per year for adults, and $10.00 per year for students. Your mailing label indicates when your membership will expire. If your records are different, please contact Sylvia Smith at 667-1109 or sjsdvm@aol.com.

If you receive your newsletter in the mail, please consider passing it along to a friend, or possibly posting it on a bulletin board for others to see. If you would rather receive your newsletter by e-mail, please contact Sylvia as above.

The following people have joined the Humane Society of renewed their memberships from August 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Thank you all very much.

August 2007

• Marsha Pipes
• Dorthy Beamon
• Larry Stone
• Diane Stone
• Robert Efird
• Mary Efird
• Carol Childers
• Heather Lawson
• Lyman Williams
• Stephen Laws
• Debbie Laws
• Ellen Laws

September

• Hughes Vandervort
• Gretchen Vandervort
• Darren Betbeder
• Candace Betbeder
• Ally Cheek
• Amanda Adams
• Martha Adams
• Paul Adams
• Robby Blackburn
• Earl Brewer
• Frances Brewer
• Larry Roope
• Judith Orszula
• Henry Orszula
• Tiffany Shepherd
• Deb Zelensky

October

• Joanna Cates
• Carole Vestal
• Tommy Gregory
• Ann Roberson
• Lilly Roberson
• Blair Hancock
• Barbara Gray
• Kelly Byrd-Johnson
• Brian Johnson
• Joyce Shew
• William Watts
• Karen Watts
• Ginger Edmiston
• Mary Elmore
• Jessica Elmore
• Fran Cantrell

November

• Jackie Kocar
• John Steadman
• Lillian Royal
• Yvonne Williams
• Sue Berrong
• Brenda Haynes
• Denver Haynes
• Kay Lanning
• Thomas Lanning
• Dennis Smith
• Lisa Lofland
• Jeri Martin
• Louise Pennell
• Matthew Faw
• Sarah Faw

December

• Julie Garland
• Janet Derick
• Theresa Aaron
• Kenny Barlow
• Penny Barlow
• Dean Ledbetter
• Susan Ledbetter
• Gloria Miller Watson
• Mike Leone
• Cassie Strickler
• Anthony Strickler
• Paul Breden
• Cindy Breden
• Lynda Black
• Ginger Coats

Contributions

The following contributions were received from August 1 through December 31, 2007. Thank you very much for your support and generosity. Your contributions are used to support our spay neuter and foster adoption programs, as well as for Kind News subscriptions.

General Contributions

• Marsha Pipes
• Mr. and Mrs. Darren Betbeder
• Jimmy Felts
• John and Debra Pearson
• Barbara Ringlien
• Joanna Cates
• Ann Roberson
• William and Karen Watts
• Margie Edgerton
• Fran Cantrell
• Brenda and Denver Haynes
• Louise Pennell
• Robin and Mike Walker
• Tim and Rita Kinney
• Wilkes Central HS FFA
• James and Stacey Ruszczyk
• Gloria Watson
• Noon Circle, NW Presbyterian Church
• Barbara Hubbard
• Ned and Betty Pierce

Hidden Oaks Dog Park

• Martha Adams, In memory of Gus,
• Cody and BoBo

Kind News

• Carol Childers in memory of Drexler
• Carol Childers in memory of Molly (Hoffman)
• Carol Childers in memory of Charlie
• Carol Childers in memory of Sybil
• Carol Childers in memory of Lillian Kokora
• Carol Childers in memory of Molly (Freeman)
  Diane Walker in honor of Wade and Vicki McInnis
• Carol Childers in memory of Millie Bell

Foster Adoption Program

• Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cranford
• Linda Long
• Larry and Diane Stone
• Mary Parsons
• Harold Bayerl
• Donna Peterson
• Lynda Black

In Memory of Pets

• Junior - Dorthy Beamon
• Rudy - Margie Edgerton
• Yukon - Jane and Frank Lucas
• Charlie - Jackie and Ted Hall
• Wags - Margie and Wendell Edgerton
• Pumpkin - Mr. and Mrs. Moe Musani

In Memory of People

• Suzanne Frank
  David and Terrie Stackhouse
  Carl and Brenda Page
• Brad McDaniel
  Gordon Chambers
  Marcelle Wysocki
• Lillian Kokora
  Mary McDermott
  Tiel Yardley
  Estes Elementary School
• Ramon Eugene Cameron, Jr.
  Wilkes Regional Medical Center
• Ann Haislip
  Dr. and Mrs. Harry Baldwin
• Yates McConnell
  Libby and Clay McConnell

In Honor of Pets

• Lady Pat and Lolly Pup
  Dorthy Beamon
• Hershey
  Glenda Goodman
• Stumpy and Princess
  Kathy Dillard and Susan Johnson

In Honor of People

• The Journal Patriot Staff
  Dorthy Beamon
• Margaret McConnell
  Libby and Clay McConnell
• Carol Childers
  Dean and Susan Ledbetter
• Wilkes Veterinary Hospital
  Dean and Susan Ledbetter
• Tony and Melva Pezzella
  Sue and Harry Padgett