Animal Shelter raising funds to complete move

The Healdsburg Animal Shelter is holding their annual rummage
sale this weekend to raise money for the finishing touches on their
new building to open this October.
The ‘Barking Lot Sale’ will be held at their current location
off of Westside Road both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A wide range of goods will be available for purchase and proceeds
will be put toward the expansion of the shelter.
“I feel confident that this is going to be the biggest Barking
Lot Sale ever because we are getting multiple calls every single
day from people who have quite a bit to donate,” said HAS Executive
Director Julie Seal.
Furniture, antiques and collectibles to clothing, housewares and
toys are just a few of the categories that organizers say will be
for sale. The shelter also received calls offering the contents of
two storage units to add to their sale. The fundraiser will help
build kennel systems, play yards and cat habitats at the new
location.
After serving Healdsburg and surrounding areas for more than 50
years, the shelter is moving out of its 2,200 square foot facility
to a brand new location across the street that will offer its staff
and animals over 7,000 square feet in hopes of serving the
community for another 50 years.
“The board has great praise and appreciation for the years of
diligent work and sacrifice our board member George Dutton has put
into being the project manager on this building,” said HAS Board of
Directors President Kathleen McCaffrey.
Paired with the good news of expanding their operation, the
shelter has also hit record-breaking adoption numbers this summer
with 42 adoptions in the month of June and 56 in July.
“Recently our dog adoptions were up 600 percent from the same
month the previous year, it is just phenomenal,” said Seal.
Seal noted that a lot of their success could be attributed to
their outreach to the community and efforts to seek out support and
adopters rather than wait for people to come to them.
“We have people as far away as Marin, San Francisco, Ukiah,
Oakland, and people say that they have found us online and we do
have a strong website presence,” said Seal.
Animals at HAS are photographed and listed online for adoption
along with a description of their characteristics. Although the
shelter wants each animal to find a home, staff says it is not
without first asking adoptees to participate in the screening
process to identify a good match.
“We want to make sure, to the extent that we can, that the
animal’s next home is a home for a lifetime,” Seal said.
In past years, the shelter has had dogs that would stay with
them for several years before they found homes but with their
recent proactive outreach, on average they now find homes for the
dogs in less than three weeks.
Not only is social media playing a large role in the increase in
adoptions but recent partnerships with the Healdsburg Police
Department, Animal Care and Control and other rescue organizations
have helped open the lines of communication and assistance that the
shelter staff say they have never had before.
“Our partnership with Sonoma County Animal Control and Care is a
wonderful thing for both Animal Control and for us,” said Seal
about taking animals from the county to free up space also provides
HAS with animals that are updated on shots, neutered or spayed and
adoption ready.
To find out more about the Healdsburg Animal Shelter and how to
participate in their fundraiser or to adopt a pet, visit www.healdsburgshelter.org.
Robin Hug can be reached at Ro***@hb*****.com.