Funding from the 2005 Dogwood and Cattails Ball

The Washington County Humane Society raised a net profit of $15,000.00 at the 2005 Dogwood and Cattails Ball. In the history of the society, this was the most ambitious project we have completed to date. Our mission is to help the animals of Washington County, and we feel that this ball is the way to raise funds to complete this mission.

Of the $15,000.00, the board voted to give $2,500.00 to the Washington County / Johnson City Animal Shelter to establish an emergency medical fund for any animal brought to the shelter that needs emergency medical attention. These animals may have been hit by a car, or they may have been abused by the previous owner. Many dogs are brought to the shelter with their collars embedded into the skin around their necks because of the owners' neglect to get bigger collars for the pups as they grew. We feel that this is extremely worthwhile, and we hope to raise the amount that we can provide for the shelter after the 2006 ball.

Our biggest priority has been our spay / neuter campaign. We designated $8,000.00 to be used for television and newspaper advertising, giving the people of our area some hard facts: In 2004, 6 out of every 10 animals brought to the shelter were euthanized. Most of these pets were killed simply because of pet overpopulation.

Also, in a six year span, a cat and her offspring can produce a staggering 420,000 kittens. In that same period, a dog and her offspring can create 67,000 puppies. Is it any wonder that we have so many animals--healthy animals--euthanized each year? Spaying and neutering are the only viable means to stop pet overpopulation; therefore, we are committed to educating the public in the hope that more and more people will spay and neuter their pets.

We are using $2,000.00 of our profits to help with the spaying and neutering of cats. The grant we have received only covers the spaying and neutering of dogs; therefore, the board unanimously agreed that we must fund feline spays/neuters in order that the cat population might be controlled.

The last $2,500.00 has been designated for our educational program. We have purchased coloring books dealing with the issues of being a responsible pet owner. These are distributed to young children in the hopes that they will take some of this knowledge with them as they grow toward becoming adult pet owners. Also, we have set up spay / neuter educational centers at the Appalachian District Fair, the Tri-Cities Dog Jog, and at Walmart.