Rollie Pollie is a 6-month old Jack Russell Terrier puppy. He came into the shelter as a stray with his brother. His brother has since been adopted, but Rollie Pollie is still searching for a new home.

He is mostly house broken as he was adopted for a bit, then brought back due to apartment living circumstances. The sweet pup is energetic, very affectionate and playful. He gets along very well with people and other dogs. His current adoption fee is $125.

Specials

All adult cats have a reduced adoption fee of $25 through the end of the year.

“Throughout the year, we have almost always been at 100 percent capacity, so we’re always looking at ways to be creative and getting our cats adopted,” Animal Shelter Society Director Jody Murray said.

There are about 35 to 40 adult cats at the shelter, currently. Murray said this year has been exceptionally busy for cat intake and hasn’t slowed down. While it’s unclear what the cause of extra cats this year is, Murray said that people, oftentimes, will begin feeding a stray cat to get it healthy. That cat then has kittens, the person continues to put out more food for them, and the cats just multiply over the year.

His best advice is to bring the initial stray cat to the shelter to get spayed or neutered. That keeps the cat in the neighbor for people who may want to keep it around but not necessarily claim it, but it also cuts down on the amount of stray cats in the community.

The Animal Shelter Society, Inc. is one of a dwindling bunch of shelters across the country that still takes in cats. The cost of cats versus the adoption rates of cats doesn’t justify the financial investment.

“It is and it isn’t a financial thing. You hate to put a price on a pet, but if you can’t run any business and lose money everyday,” Murray said.

All adult cats at the shelter have received up-to-date vaccinations and have been spayed or neutered.

Pet safety for the holidays

Keep all of the holiday foods away from pets as many ingredients can be harmful to animals. Take into consideration all of the wiring and electrical work that is attached to decorations around the home and keep pets away from that as best possible. There are also many small piece that come with gifts that pets could get into.

Lastly, the holidays can be stressful, and pets can feel that starin, as well. With the added volume of people in the home, all the commotion and excitement, Murray said giving animals some time to themselves to regroup throughout the holidays could be beneficial.

“If it’s stressful for humans, it’s stressful for the pets,” Murray said.

Comedy night

The shelter is having its annual comedy night fundraiser at Bryan’s Place on Jan. 12. Murray said tickets for the event make great Christmas gifts while also supporting the shelter.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from the Animal Shelter Society located at 1430 Newark Rd. The event is not for children as it provides adult humor.

All proceeds from the event go to benefit the shelter.

Opportunities to help

There is a giving tree in the lobby of the shelter. There are hanging lists on the tree that list items the shelter is in need of. People can go pick up a list, shop and return the items to the shelter for Christmas.

People can also sponsor a kennel for a year, either in their name or someone else’s. Kennel Sponsors get a plaque that is displayed in the lobby of the shelter throughout the year and is publicized on the shelter’s social media. Sponsoring a kennel is $100, and plaques can be in memory of or in honor of a person near and dear to people’s hearts.

Anyone interested in other donations can also sponsor adoption fees or make monetary donations to the shelter.

Murray extended a huge thank to the community for their support and financial contributions to the shelter throughout the year.