AWL Benefits From Pictures With Santa Event
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews
PIERCETON — Children are able to have their pictures taken with Santa around Christmas every year.
Some animals got to have that experience at the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County on Saturday, Dec. 11.
The animal shelter at 1048 S. 325E, Pierceton, offered people the chance to have their pets photographed with Santa then. People could also be in the photo if they chose to.
The event was the brainchild of AWL Volunteer Coordinator Martha Whetstone and started last year with just cats, said AWL Executive Director Tonya Blanchard.
This year people could bring in any type of pet or be photographed with one of the shelter’s animals. There were mostly dogs, plus at least one cat and rabbit that took part Saturday.
Blanchard noted a few of the animals had actually been adopted from the AWL.
The event was a fundraiser for the shelter with people asked to make either a $10 donation or bring in bags of pet food in exchange for the photos. The shelter obtained at least $240 and not only a good amount of food but also leashes, toys, blankets and laundry soap.
The money is going to the shelter’s Hope Fund.
“If we have an animal that comes in that is sick, we have to use the Hope Fund,” explained Blanchard. “Since we’re a 501(c)(3), we don’t have funds for extra stuff like that … we had the Parvo dog if you remember not too long ago and that … was thousands of dollars and so the community was great with the GoFundMe, but we always use the Hope Fund for that.”
Volunteering his services to play Santa was the shelter’s Maintenance Director Duane Klinger. Blanchard said Klinger grew his beard long to play the role.
Blanchard said it’s important to her to have events like this to bring people into the shelter.
“I just like to see families coming in here and you know I do a reading program for the kids, so I already have kids coming in already, but getting families to come in here and just realize that they can come in here,” she said. “It’s not all about the adoptions; it’s about having the families come in, walk the dogs, having the dogs be part of the family and you know to take them on a walk. It’s basically like a field trip for our dogs, just loving them so much that they forget about the bad.”