Mr. Thompson suggested we share our thoughts on why the Humane Society of Cherokee County should win. As an animal advocate, I've had the opportunity to work with various shelters in various cities on different projects (awareness, fundraising, changing laws). There are extraordinary animal lovers across the United States. After moving to Cherokee County almost 2 years ago, I have met some of the most dedicated friends of animals ever. The HSCC is made up completely of volunteers. There are no paid staff members, there are no state or federal funds coming in... everything that the HSCC has or receives is donated... including the time of many.
Our shelter is ALWAYS full! There are many of the volunteers who foster numerous animals for YEARS! Our community is recognizing the efforts of those dedicated volunteers and is getting behind them with much needed support.
This ZooToo contest is a way many people can help that may not have the funds to donate or the time to volunteer, but they can help by being active on ZooToo and that helps create that much more awareness. It's a win, win for everyone.
The animal abandonment rate in our county is astronomical. We are doing everything we can to generate more awareness, but as awareness grows and pet responsibility improves, our facilities must grow (and we really need that permanent sign on the highway) :>
We're the only shelter in Oklahoma who made the top 20 and I think that's pretty special that we have that much of the community behind us. The Mayor, Cherokee Nation Asst Chief, Tahlequah Police Chief, Cherokee County Sheriff's Dept, Tourism Dept, Tulsa TV station (NBC affiliate Ch 2), and LOTS of HSCC volunteers & supporters showed up for the visit with ZooToo. Jean @ Everything Under the Sun got goodies from local businesses and had a wonderful community basket for Mr Thompson and his ZooToo Crew! Good job everyone! If we would have had the parking space, I know MANY more people would have attended. That's one of our issues, lack of parking.
We have a facility that has SO MUCH potential, the HSCC could make a HUGE difference in MANY MORE animals lives by winning this contest! And with all the increased awareness we'd generate more education for the community which would result in less animal abandonment and better pet responsibility (including accountability for spaying/neutering). This is not a rich community when it to money, but we are rich with spirit and generous souls who truly care for animals and want to help make a difference.
This ZooToo contest has really promoted an intense level of teamwork and support and we certainly would like to see that continue to grow. We benefit collectively and I've benefitted individually from ZooToo.com... I've learned a lot, what a great network of information.
Thanks for reading my journal. And thanks for loving animals :>