Dickens, Dacia and Dazzle played without a care Wednesday morning in an animal shelter room.
The three siblings were unaware of the preparations going on around them as they entertained themselves.
Those preparations, however, might lead to the three cats finding a new home Saturday.
That’s just one of the purposes of the annual Bring Christmas to the Animals open house at the Humane Society of Jackson County, 1109 G Ave. West in Freeman Field Industrial Park. That event is set for 1 to 4 p.m.
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“Our annual open house is so people can come in and visit the shelter, see the animals that we have for adoption and give people the opportunity to bring out donations,” said Ellen Mirer, who is a member of the society’s board of directors.
The shelter also will offer refreshments and give tours.
The shelter is always in need of a variety of items, such as paper towels, dog toys, treats for cats and dogs, and Purina brand food for dogs, puppies, kittens and cats. The most needed item, however, is bleach to clean the kennels and exercise areas.
Monetary donations also are accepted to help pay for medical expenses for animals and other needs.
“We don’t write an animal off because it’s sick,” Mirer said.
The main reason for the open house is to help find homes for some of the 500 animals that come through the shelter each year. Many of these animals find homes through rescue programs throughout the United States.
“Every effort is made to find homes for the adoptable animals at the shelter,” Mirer said. “We work with pure-breed and mix-breed rescues from all over to find them homes.”
Mirer said there are several new services, such as petfinder.com and the Southern Indiana Save a Pet website, sisaveapet.com, that help in the adoption process.
“We get people that drive from Indiana, Ohio, California, Canada, all thanks to the websites,” Mirer said.
Those sites allow people looking to adopt a dog or cat to narrow their search by breed, age and gender. The sites also have contact information, expanding the area the local humane society can reach.
Despite the increase in exposure for the animals in the shelter, it still has limited space with only 13 indoor/outdoor kennels and space for about eight cats. Some of those house animals the shelter is holding for law enforcement in cases involving neglect, mistreatment or aggressive animals.
Mirer said that use makes finding homes for animals quickly more important.
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Anyone interested in visiting the Humane Society of Jackson County may stop by between 10 and 11:30 a.m. or 1 and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday; or by appointment.
For information, call 812-522-5220.
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