Albany Humane Society extends invitation to ‘Bark at the Moon’
Special Photo: AHS
By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY – Get ready to “Bark at the Moon” again this spring as the Albany Humane Society’s long-running and biggest fundraiser of the year returns on April 26 following a two-year hiatus.
The organization is currently seeking sponsors and donations of auction items for the pet-friendly event that brings in money to assist the Humane Society in its mission to care for animals and help them find forever homes.
“It’s been around for over 30 years,” Sam Threadgill, development director for the organization, said. “We just haven’t done it for a couple of years for various reasons, COVID being one of them. We wanted to bring it back because it’s a community-favorite event, plus we want people to have a little fun.”
About 2,700 animals are brought to the Humane Society shelter each year, Threadgill said. The animals are held for a period of time to allow owners the opportunity to retrieve them, but those that are not picked up are left in its care.
Since 2020 the Humane Society has been a certified no-kill facility and strives to adopt dogs and cats either locally or through other organizations. The 2023 live-release rate of 90% is nearly double the rate for 2017, which was 46%.
“All of the money from Bark at the Moon goes to the care of the animals,” Threadgill said. “The more support we have, the more we can do for animals that come through our care. We give them the best love and care we can until somebody adopts them or we transfer them to somewhere else.”
Operational costs in 2022 were about $600,000, Threadgill said, and costs have gone up since that time.
“Animals need special care until we move them on to the next adventure, or second chance, I should say,” she said, “We do everything we can to keep the animals with us until they find their forever home.”
The April 26 Bark event will be held from 7-11 p.m. at Pretoria Fields Brewery in downtown Albany. It will feature music and a taco and nacho bar catered by San Joe’s of Albany. Pets also are welcome.
“And we’re going to have a little bar for pets, like a treat bar,” Threadgill said. “We’ll have a photographer at the event taking pictures, plus some ‘ambassadogs.’”
The shelter’s doggie ambassadors have been a hit and give a cute face to the organization.
Tickets are $30 for a single and $50 for two, and admission includes dinner and one drink each.
“We’ll have an auction ranging from art to baskets for various businesses to trips, again with proceeds going to help the animals,” Threadgill said.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, make a donation or provide a sponsorship, go to https://givebutter.com/c/P4IRef.
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