The Estevan Humane Society celebrated its commitment to helping people and animals alike during the organization’s 25th anniversary bash Sunday at the animal shelter.
Highlights included a large garage sale with lots of items, a carnival with games and activities for children, a taco in a bag lunch, bake sale, birthday cake and cupcakes, and tours of the animal shelter.
“We’re taking people throughout the shelter and letting them know what each area is,” said Angela Prette with the EHS. “They get to see all of our animals and hopefully we get some adopted.”
The Estevan Police Service and the Estevan Emergency Medical Services were at the event with their vehicles for children to tour.
While this year’s festivities marked a quarter century of being in Estevan, the Estevan Humane Society has held anniversary celebrations the past few years. This year was probably the best turnout they have had, as there were lots of people.
“There’s a lot going on this weekend, too, so it’s nice to see so many people coming out to support us,” said manager Elizabeth Murphy-Dryden.
Due to the heat outside, many of the people present were eager to take the shelter tour, not only to meet the animals available for adoption, but to enjoy the air conditioning inside the building.
Activities on Sunday were designed to create awareness of the services provided by the humane society, and to raise funds for the shelter, with about $1,300 being generated through the festivities.
Murphy-Dryden was a young person when the humane society opened, and had its shelter at the city yard. They had a small building at that time, and about 15 years ago, moved into their present home in the southeast corner of the city.
“We’ve come a long ways in that amount of time,” Murphy-Dryden said. “We’re in a big facility now, and we’re a no-kill shelter. We have lots of kitten rooms. We have a nice big cat room. We have lots of areas for dogs, and two big yards. As far as humane societies go, it’s a pretty nice one.”
Prette said it’s hard to measure just how many animals they have cared for over the years, and Murphy-Dryden estimates about 300 animals are adopted each year.
“If people have lost their pet, we help them post it and find it,” said Prette.
“One of our major things that we do is getting animals back to their owners when they’re lost,” added Murphy-Dryden.
The dog numbers at the shelter are pretty manageable, Murphy-Dryden said, but the cat count is high. The number of stray cats that they have taken in has been higher than in previous years.
“We’re at capacities for cats, but not quite for dogs,” said Murphy-Dryden.
