PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — The ladies who run the Pike County Humane Society are often overwhelmed with the expenses, the work, and the sheer number of animals they care for. But all that isn't stopping them.
"We will do anything we can. I don't care how much it costs," said president and treasurer Stacy O'Connell. "I know I freak out with the bills because I'm the one paying, and I know how much money we have and how much money we spend, and I get on them. I'm like, 'We've got to save money, save money,' But when it comes to an animal, if they need to go emergency vet, I don't care how much it costs because it's their money. The money is for them."
But recently, there just isn't enough of that money to go around.
"Donations are way down. I guess because of the economy, and you know, food prices are up, so we haven't had as many donations as we used to get," O'Connell said.
"We've been getting a lot of stray dogs, owner surrenders. We like to call them the COVID dogs—people that got their puppies during COVID, now they're back to work, and they don't have time for them. And so, it costs a lot of money," said Christine Cahill from the humane society.
Kerry Marcus is a title agent at a company called Crescita Abstract in Blooming Grove Township. She spends a lot of time scrolling the shelter's website and noticed how many animals they had up for adoption recently.
"Because you know, although I have a cat, so I'm trying not to adopt a dog, I'm always scrolling to see if the perfect dog is there for me. So, I just knew that they had a need."
That's why she decided to host a fundraiser for the humane society at her office that will double as an adoption event.
The main fundraising driver is a basket raffle.
"It's a win-win because we feel like we're supporting the local community, but we're also supporting other local businesses by reaching out to them. They donated their baskets, we give them a shout-out, and everybody wins," said her co-worker Valerie Neckers.
The event is taking place here at Crescita Abstract, in Hemlock Farms, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
More details can be found here.
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