Highland Humane Society Plans Two Events

The Highland County Humane Society has two upcoming event, and we spoke with members to learn more.

“My name is Jack McConnell, and I’m with the Highland County Humane Society. We were founded in 2012, and since that time, we’ve saved nearly 1,300 animals – lots of dogs and cats, a few horses, and a donkey – so we’re pretty proud of that. We have a very strong spay-neuter program, which is free to those who ask for it. Naturally, all of our adoptive pets are spayed or neutered, as is appropriate, before they can be adopted. We’ve also got a catch and release program for feral cats. Now what we do is we trap them, get them spayed or neutered, and then re-release them, maybe not in the same place, but where somebody wants barn cats.”

Mr. McConnell talked about the first event.

“What we’ve done the past three years now, is the Polyana Flats Fall Festival, which happens to be on October 1^st this year. It’s a fundraiser for the Humane Society – there will be some games, some contests. We’re serving pork bbq’s, beef roast brisket, with all the fixings, from noon until it’s gone. And we’re also having some dog agility demonstrations at 11:30 and 1:00 pm. We’re also going to have a frog-fling elimination tournament.

“Also, David Cockerham will be photographing people, with a fall background or fun cut-outs, with or without your pets, and there will be some visits by P-h-y-d-e-a-u-x, Phydeaux, which is essentially my wife in a dog suit – she seems to be very popular with the kids.

“1240 Potomac River Rd., which is 1.2 miles north of the traffic center on 220, and we’ll have signs up for the event, and there are flyers up in town, even now.”

The Society’s Annual Family Fun day will be held during Highland’s Hands and Harvest Festival, as Corena Huffman explained.

“The Family Fun Day Fundraiser is one of the largest fundraisers for highland County Humane Society. It will take place October 8^th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Monterey Firehouse in Monterey, VA. All day, there’s going to be free kids events, including a bouncy house, games and prizes – there will also be an appearance by Phydeaux. From 10:00 until noon, we’re going to have a rabies and micro-chip clinic, and silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and food all day long. The food’s going to be provided this year by the Blue Grass BBQ and also Highland County Rescue Squad. They’ll be serving sausage gravy and biscuits, their famous steak sandwiches, hot and cold beverages, and I hear there is pumpkin soft-serv ice cream and hot apple pie.”

The funds raised from both these events go to support the Society’s programs.

“We don’t have any staff or any building to pay for, but it does go 100% back into our programs to take care of the animals in the community in need.

“The Humane Society can always use cash donations, gift cards, gas cards, also blankets, sheets, towels, pet food, kitty litter, toys, that kind of thing, those are always needed by our foster animals and the animals in our care.

“If you’d like to know more about this event, or the Highland County Humane Society, you can visit our website, www.highlandcountyhumanesociety.org, or call 540-468-3288 or cell phone 540-908-9152. You can also find us on Facebook under highlandhumane.”