MONETA, Va. – A majority of animal shelters in Southwest Virginia are at capacity and struggling to take on more animals. That is why the Bedford Humane Society and Friends of Bedford County Animal Shelter are teaming up on Saturday, April 28.
The two organizations realize the need to help animals is growing every day, so they wanted to come together for a common goal.
This weekend, they are hosting an Adopt-A-Thon and community awareness event. It is taking place at the Smith Mountain Lake Pavilion located in downtown Moneta from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
While you are there, you can meet more than a dozen adoptable animals that are looking for their forever home.
Stacy Epperson, the President of Friends of Bedford County Animal Shelter, says, “Adoptions are super low right now. Getting those animals out there, getting them some exercise and some stimulation from their kennels and also hopefully getting them adopted is so important right now. It is a county facility, and with it being a county facility, when it gets full, sometimes, we hope not, but difficult decisions have to be made. So anything we can do to get these animals adopted.”
In addition to these animals, there is going to be live music. The Stray Dogs Band is performing. There will be a children’s game and a prize as well. Also, personalized pet I.D. tags will be available and made on-site.
Besides adoptions, the main focus of this event is community awareness. Volunteers will be on-site talking to the public about the shelters and how they operate. Most shelters are at capacity, so foster families are a big help for animals.
Right now, the Bedford Humane Society has twelve foster families, but they are always looking for more.
Susan Leary, the Director of the Bedford Humane Society, says, “We get calls every single day saying please can we surrender our animal, but if we don’t have fosters, we can’t take them in and it’s really sad.”
All proceeds from the event go to support the animals and these shelters, which operate completely off of donations and grants.