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The Chattahoochee Humane Society is doing good work while handling an almost impossible task. Their goal is to have no more homeless pets in their service area, which is all of Chambers County and the City of West Point. The only public funding it receives is from the Chambers County Commission and the cities of Valley and Lanett. Everything else comes from private donations and adoption fees.

“We do the best we can on less than a shoestring budget,” board member John Radford told members of the Kiwanis Club of Valley on Wednesday of this week.

There are 10 things the Chattahoochee Humane Society wants the public to know:

(1) Animals are not in the shelter because they did anything wrong. Most of the time they were picked up and taken to the local “pet jail” they were simply walking.

(2) Adopting an animal saves two lives. When you adopt a pet, another pet moves up in the rotation to be adopted.

(3) Dumping animals is cruel. The person who dumps an animal is more than likely giving them a death sentence. The abandoned pet is at greater risk of death from starvation, injury or being killed by predators than from dying from euthanasia.

(4) Bonded pair intakes need to stay together. Studies show that pets can feel a sense of loss similar to humans when they are separated from a family bond.

(5) It’s not good to take a long time to adopt. According to PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, animals can feel loneliness the same way people can when they are isolated for a long period of time. Volunteers coming to the shelter to show them some attention and to pet them can make a big difference. Pets need love, too.

(6) When dogs and cats are in a shelter they are frightened, and it shows. That all changes once they are adopted by a loving family.

(7) Trust the animal shelter staff. They know which animal is just right for you. They are the first to examine the animal and to prepare it for adoption. The staff will work with you to find you the perfect animal. Shelter Director Shon Sims is a certified master K9 trainer, certified K9 behaviorist and is certified by the National K9 School of Dog Training.

(8) The $100 adoption fee is cheaper than free. When you pay the $100 adoption fee at the shelter, it includes the cost of the animal having been spayed or neutered and has all the required shots. It will cost you more to pay for that yourself, something you’ll have to do with a “free” adoption.

(9) Your donations help. The shelter cherishes monetary donations, but gifts of pet supplies mean a lot. Feel free to donate such items at cat litter, cat/kitten food, dog/puppy food, cleaning supplies or your labor to maintain projects that are required from time to time.

(10) Adult adoptions are better than adolescent animal adoptions. A grown cat or dog has a set personality; not so with an adolescent. The grown pet will be easier to maintain.

The Humane Society is deserving of our support. Volunteering your time and skills can be useful at the current time when the shelter is planning a much-needed expansion. The CHS is looking to enlarge kennel space from 16 units to 31. Monetary donations can help with the needed supplies, but what’s most needed are volunteer carpenters and welders to help with the planned expansion. The needed work can be done in your off hours.

“There’s no profit to be made in taking care of animals,” Radford said Wednesday. “We lose money, but we are doing the right thing.”

There’s nothing more important than doing the right thing.