LUMBERTON — Three-fourths of the cats and dogs from the Robeson County Humane Society that were featured in The Robesonian in late February have been adopted — and others are waiting on that perfect family.
“The advertisement helped big time,” said Jason Britt, president of Robeson County Humane Society. “It helped us immensely and we hope to do it again soon.”
The Robesonian on Feb. 28 published photographs and biographical details for 28 animals — 18 cats and 10 dogs — and 21 of them have since left the Friends for Life shelter.
The adoptions made room for 22 new dogs, including four newborn puppies, and 16 cats, including four kittens.
Donnie Douglas, editor of The Robesonian, said he was thrilled that many animals were adopted and the newspaper will try to make the gallery a recurring feature.
“While we had hoped that all of those dogs and cats might find a home, 75 percent of them being adopted is a great thing,” Douglas said. “It was very easy for us to do, so this is something that we are committed to doing periodically, perhaps a couple of times a year.”
Douglas said he is unsure when the newspaper would publish a new gallery, but said it would probably be in the fall.
Established in 1990, the Robeson County Humane Society is funded entirely through donations and works with an annual budget of about $125,000. The nonprofit routinely plucks dogs and cats from the county pound, where animals that are not adopted are euthanized to make room for new arrivals. Thousands of animals have to be put down each year at the county pound.
“The great thing is,” Douglas said, “when one animal is adopted from the Humane Society shelter, two are saved — the lucky one that goes into a home, and the one that gets off death row at the county pound and takes his place in the no-kill shelter.”
In addition to finding permanent homes for dog and cats, the Robeson County Humane Society offers discount spay and neuter services to cut down on the number of homeless animals. More than 4,200 animals have been sterilized since the program launched in 2004. The organization also teaches children how to care for animals through a pet-education program.
The Robeson County Humane Society shelter, located at 3180 W. Fifth St. in Lumberton, is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information on Robeson County Humane Society, visit RobesonHumaneSociety.org, call 910-738-8282 or find the society on Facebook.
