Shelter seeks donations to help with housing, veterinary costs

Duchess the German Shepherd and her two puppies had been living in a hole dug outside before they were brought into the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society a few weeks ago.

All three have hookworms, but after receiving care at the shelter, they are well on their way to recovery.

The story is one of many Diana Burkett has learned after working with the animal shelter for a decade. And with every story comes an unexpected set of costs, she explained.

“We have to do what we can to help them, and all of that costs money,” she said.

“We have a lot of stories like that. We recently found a litter of kittens in a ditch. We had eight puppies brought in in a cardboard box. Heidi over there has a torn ACL, and her medical treatments are expensive,” she said gesturing to a friendly brown and white pit bull.

The majority of the shelter’s annual budget, Burkett said, goes not to food or cleaning, as many of the shelter’s patrons expect, but instead towards veterinary costs.

Deworming treatments alone can range from $50 to $150 per dog, depending on its size and the severity of the infection. A heartworm treatment can run $450.

“The medical costs are rough on us,” said Burkett. “I mean just to get animal intakes done, get their shots, get them to the vet when they need something is costly, and there’s no way we can adopt them out without them being healthy.”

“We don’t just put them in a kennel and give them food and water and leave them. They are maintained. They are cared for.”

While the shelter receives funding from the city and county and sporadic grants every year, it does not cover the entirety of the shelter’s approximately $25,000 monthly budget. 

The remainder, Burkett said, is funded through donations, most of them sizable. 

“But we’re trying to make it more accessible,” she said, “with a monthly donation program.”

“If everybody will just give a little bit, then it takes the burden off of the board and the staff, and it is so much simpler than trying to get somebody to give a large amount.” 

The Humane Society is asking for monthly donations from the community ranging from $10 to $30, which they say will help them care for an average of 50 dogs and 20 cats who call the shelter home at any given time.

Those interested in donating can do so by visiting https://givebutter.com/PAWSOMEPALS.

The Humane Society is also running an adoption special for the next few months. The adoption fee for dogs has been reduced to $30, and the adoption fee for cats has been reduced to $10.

The shelter is also seeking volunteer dog walkers and foster placements for animals at the shelter. For more information, call (850) 227-1103 or stop by the shelter at 1007 10th Street in Port St. Joe.