Here is a troubling number: 2,915. It’s troubling because that’s how many homeless pets were put down at the Kauai Humane Society last year. The majority, 2,042, were cats. Some will argue that’s too many. KHS shouldn’t be putting so
Here is a troubling number: 2,915. It’s troubling because that’s how many homeless pets were put down at the Kauai Humane Society last year. The majority, 2,042, were cats.
Some will argue that’s too many. KHS shouldn’t be putting so many dogs and cats to sleep, and we would agree. That so many pets are euthanized here every month is sad. We think those numbers can be reduced.
But it depends on us.
Let’s start with a simple way we can pitch in. The Kauai Humane Society’s fundraiser, “Paws for Celebration,” is scheduled Saturday at the Kauai Marriott Grand Resort at Kalapaki starting at 5:30 p.m. It will include dinner, an auction and music by Willie K. Proceeds to provide fiscal support for KHS operations.
Tickets are $95 and are available at www.kauaihumane.org and are also available at the KHS Puhi shelter.
There is another way we can help. It’s not quite as easy and means a bit of a sacrifice on our part. It’s a sacrifice, we believe, you’ll find that’s worth it. It involves making a dog or cat part of our homes. It means feeding them, walking them, playing with them, taking them to the veterinarian from time to time and committing part of our lives to them. It means giving them a place to sleep, taking them for rides in the car and giving them our love.
No doubt, adopting a dog on Kauai comes with a cost. Try finding a place to rent that accepts a dog. And there’s the monetary side. Pets aren’t cheap. And they aren’t easy to look after. It’s not just a matter of filling bowls with food and water and tying them up in the yard. Pet ownership means work.
But what pet owners receive in return is an endless amount of unconditional love that will add a great deal of joy and happiness to your home. You’ll get a companion who’s always glad to see you, wants to be with you and will prove to be a the perfect TV-watching buddy who never complains about the shows you watch. They’ll happily join you on walks, or even make you take them for one. You’ll get a friend who looks after your house and home while you’re gone, and takes care of your family, too.
The Kauai Humane Society, led by executive director Penny Cistaro, has perhaps one of the most demanding, difficult jobs on this island. KHS does wonders with a $2.4 million budget. Last year, the shelter adopted out 1,261 pets, transferred 129 and returned 1,172 lost animals to their home. That’s good. Its field trip program that allows visitors and residents to take dogs out for a day is genius, has resulted in many adoptions and is an unquestioned success.
What hurts, though, what’s really painful, is that so many pets lose their lives on Kauai each year because they have no home. Let’s do what we can to turn that situation around and put them in loving homes.
Hope to see you at Saturday’s Paws for Celebration or better yet, see you walking your newly adopted dog. Either way, the Kauai Humane Society will benefit — and so will you.
