By Jay Lutz, Mower County Humane Society

In 2014 the Mower County Humane Society adopted a total of 100 dogs and 188 cats into new forever homes throughout the area.

So far for the first half of 2015 there have been a total of 69 dogs and 87 cats adopted to new homes. As always, the summer adoptions have been very slow so if you’re thinking about adding a new family member please come out to one of our two open house times each week and check out all the great cats and dogs we have available for adoption.

Open Houses are 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

On May 14, MCHS hosted the Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program (MNSNAP) mobile surgical unit at the shelter. More than 30 area dogs and cats were treated. The visit for this Thursday is filled, and the next scheduled visits are slated for Sept 3 and Nov. 12. Contact MNSNAP directly at mnsnap.org or 612-720-8236 to register and set up an appointment.

On June 9, the Mower County Humane Society hosted the Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event at the shelter. These monthly gatherings bring business people from throughout the community together for networking, food, prizes, and to learn more about the businesses and organizations which host them. We would like to extend a special thank you to our co-host for the event; Kyle Klaehn and his team from Double-K Specialties. Also a big thank you to Jim Stiles of Superfresh Produce and Jim Baldus of Apollo Superette for generous donations to help make the event a success with great food and beverages. Upcoming Business After Hours events are July 14 at Games People Play and Aug. 11 at the Mower County Fair.

Next up on our agenda is the annual Walk-for-the-Animals fundraiser on Sept. 13. This year we are returning to the Horace Austin Park pavilion along Austin’s Mill Pond trail for the walk after relocating the event last year due to the flood wall construction project.

There will again be hot dogs, drawing prizes, and appearances by many Mower County Humane Society alumni animals. As in the past there will be tiered prizes for the three levels of pledge collecting and also grand prizes for the top fundraisers, including a youth category. Pledge sheets for the fundraiser will be going out with our summer newsletter and also available for pickup at the Austin Public Library, the Austin Vet Clinic, Double-K Specialties, and at the shelter beginning in mid-July.

Memorials

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the following memorials we have received in memory of: Darrell King, Mary Jane Smith, “Cookie” Sandell, Lynn Webber, Carol Foster, “Wiley” Henry, Donna Nybo, Donna Snyder, Elizabeth Hagen, “Taz” Hueman, Roger Walsh, Dr. R.H. Ramlo and Dr. R. Harned Isele.

If you would like to receive our quarterly newsletter electronically via email. Just send an email with “newsletter” in the subject line to mchs.secretary@yahoo.com.