Highland County Humane Society Receives Grant to Help with Food Costs and Delivery for Highland Residents

The Highland County Humane Society has no paid staff and operates fully with volunteers. The board relies heavily on area grants to help support pets and pet owners. I recently met up with Corena Huffman, President of the Highland Humane Society board to learn more about a new grant to help offset the cost of food and supplies for our area’s pets.

“Highland County Humane Society was awarded a grant from Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region and Homeless Animal Support Network. They help rural communities with all sorts of grants,” said Huffmana. “This particular grant is specific to pet food and pet food and delivery of pet food to Highland County residents. We’ve seen the cost of everything skyrocket, including pet food. We know that there are families, our neighbors here, who are struggling trying to take care of their animals, and food should not be one of the things they’re struggling with. So, when we have grants like this we are able to provide food to specific members of the community and also to our food bank here in Highland.”

While most grants are specific to Highland County residents, the Highland County Humane Society works with many partners in the surrounding area, and Huffman encourages those outside of Highland to still make contact with the office to get the assistance they need.

“We don’t do any screening or application for the food that’s covered by the grant, but the pets in the household need to be spayed and neutered to be eligible for the grant. If they are not, we have an additional grant with another organization, the Little Swiss Fund, that covers 100 percent of the spay/neuter surgery, which we can also arrange transportation for if needed,” added Huffman. 

Always forward thinking, the Highland Humane Society provides many other opportunities to help Highland residents care for their animals.

“We do have a grant coming up this spring that will help with flea and tick control. We have an enormous problem with ticks here in Highland. It hasn’t gotten cold enough here the last couple of winters to really knock those parasites out. We’re seeing an increase in tick-borne diseases, both in animals and people, here in our community, so it’s really important to be diligent about your tick control with yourself and with your animals. ”

For help with any pet related questions, or to get assistance from any of the grants featured here, contact the Highland County Humane Society directly at 540-468-1575 or email info@highlandcountyhumanesociety.org.