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Columbia-Greene Humane Society
125 Humane-Society Road
Soft Paws By Aaron Clause Autumn Wishes I have always appreciated autumn, with the more comfortable, cooler weather rolling in and the stunning foliage that marks the arrival of our more festive months. This year, as my first anniversary at the shelter fleetingly passes by on September 6th, I have found even more reason to appreciate this season of nature’s molting. It has been a stressful spring and summer here at C.G.H.S., with multitudes of kittens and abandoned pets coming forth as the runaway train of animal instincts has torn through our small and ill-prepared community. The frantic yet determined staff has been reduced to resorts beyond the last to make certain that adoptable animals are placed in caring homes, and in the wake of such a strong flow of incoming, many more remain (dogs, cats, and kittens alike) that will wait here in sad safety until they claim the eyes of a willing provider. Autumn has now become the season to take a breather as the high tide of unfortunate companion animals slacks and recedes, and the time to focus on the needs of our tenants turns toward the upcoming heightened chill in the air and lessened adoptive activity. If you’re planning a trip to Hudson, and are interested in helping an animal in need, here are some great ideas: 1) Try our Cat Sponsorship Program! By coming to the shelter and sponsoring a cat, you are in fact doing a couple of good deeds. Primarily, you are helping a cat get neutered and receive the other veterinary attention necessary to place them immediately into an approved home! We can do a same-day adoption on a sponsored cat, and make it an appealing, “cost-free” process. Secondly, by getting your sponsored cat into a new home quickly, we make room to move another cat up to our main adoption rooms, thus increasing his or her chances as well. This program is vital to our felines’ health and happiness, as well as their living conditions at the shelter (currently, we have 67 cats packed into 51 cages, with 13 adult cats jammed into our Free Roam Room). Help get them home! 2) Make them pretty! A dog with an excellent appearance has excellent chances! By “excellent appearance,” I mean healthy coat and nails, bathed, and with luck, wearing a pretty (or handsome) bandana. A few select items are needed to help our staff make our tenants attractive, including high quality food (such as Iams, Purina Hi-Pro, Eukanuba and Science Diet, to name a few which can aid coat and nails), towels and blankets (to dry the animals and keep them off the floor), and, of course, bandanas. We’re especially low on bandanas! Looking and feeling good is an important part of our pets’ morale. 3) Make them healthy! Your monetary donations involve routine veterinary and medical care for our dogs and cats. Get something out of it if you like by purchasing an official C.G.H.S. T-Shirt (only $15.00, of which goes entirely to the pets’ medical supplies!). 4) Make them happy! Nothing makes our pets feel so secure as being warm in a bed with a blanket and some toys to chew and keep them occupied, especially on the long, cold winter nights! If you have an extra supply of blankets up in the closet, our pups and kitties could make great use of them (we’ll divide them up for sharing purposes!). Biscuits go kind of fast, but nice, hard play toys like rubber tugs, Nyla-bones, Kongs, catnip mousies and the like make for hours of pleasure! It’s hard to find toys and give variety to 27 canines alone, not even considering kitty toys. If you’re eager to do more, our dog beds tend to wear from use frequently, and cost about $60.00. With your help, and only with your help, can we at the shelter find the strength to battle illness and loneliness, boredom and a painfully long stay. And with your help, we can give many what they deserve as Mother Nature prepares herself for replenishment – another chance! If you have questions or would like to find out more about what you can do to help, feel free to contact the shelter at (518) 828-6044. Better yet, stop down and visit us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and until 7 p.m. on Thursday.
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