by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
The goal of the 28th annual Tri-County Humane Society’s Woofstock Companion Walk is to raise $62,500, an increase of 25 percent from last year’s goal.
The event will take place from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Wilson Park in St. Cloud. The actual 5K walk will start at 10 a.m. Organizers of the event are encouraging people to form walking teams and to start raising funds as soon as possible. For information on how best to do it, go to tricountyhumanesociety.org/events/companion-walk. Or call Marit Ortega, TCHS director of philanthropy, at 320-252-0896, ext. 14. Many people set up their team’s fundraising page online. People can also donate, any time, via the TCHS website, where there are photos and descriptions of pets up for adoption.
Woofstock is one of the local humane society’s most important fundraisers, vital to allowing the organization to continue helping animals and finding them good adoptee homes.
The increased fundraising goal is necessary because as more animals are brought to the shelter in east St. Cloud, the more the expenses increase. The TCHS has a 93.5 percent animal-placement rate, which is considered outstanding statewide and nationwide. Despite the superior placement rate, the TCHS ranks 29th among similar-sized humane society’s for its annual budget. Those shelters with adoption/placement rates in the 90s, like the TCHS, have average annual budgets of $2.5 million whereas the TCHS budget is a mere $930,000, almost one-third less than what it should be ideally.
TCHS provides services for more than 3,000 animals (mostly cats and dogs) every year, and as stated above, almost 95 percent of them find new, happy homes.
At the TCHS headquarters/shelter, each animal that comes in is evaluated, examined for problems (fleas, for instance), de-wormed if needed, spayed/neutered, and treated for sicknesses or injuries. A lot of time and tender-loving care goes into the process.
There is no time limit for an animal in the care of TCHS. On average, a pet is adopted out within 10 days of when the staff deems it ready for a new home.
Without donations, the TCHS staff and volunteers could not do their work. Even small donations add up and contribute to making the following possible: $10 is enough to vaccinate a shelter pet; $25 is enough to microchip a pet; $50 is enough to spay/neuter a pet; and $100 is enough to X-ray an injured pet.
At the Sept. 10 Woofstock Companion Walk, there will be prizes for the top 40 fundraisers, a special prize for the top fundraising team, games for pets and people, food, a silent auction, pet demonstrations, a hotdog-eating contest, exhibits, music and a costume contest for best dressed pet and best dressed human.
The 28th annual Tri-County Humane Society’s Woofstock Companion Walk hopes to raise $62,500 this time around to help the animals at its shelter. TCHS has achieved an outstanding 93.5 percent adoption rate.
