Hurricane Irma paid a visit to our area recently, although there were only 2 dogs and 1 cat brought into the shelter in the days before the storm, the Humane Society of Bay County is still hurting for donations from the community. They are in need of dog and cat food, puppy and kitten food, cat litter, cleaning supplies – among many other items. As pet parents and animal lovers ourselves, my spouse and I took a load of donations over. While there, I took the opportunity to learn a few things about the Humane Society and what they do for our area.

The Humane Society of Bay County is not a kill shelter. Their website states, “Our mission is to end the needless destruction of homeless animals in our community by operating a no-kill shelter and providing protection, education, services, and support for companion animals and their families.”

I also learned from the website that in 2010, “almost 10,000 animals were accepted into animal control facilities in Bay County. In the same year, almost 8,000 animals were euthanized at the animal control facilities. The majority of these animals were healthy, adoptable animals. As a no-kill shelter, we provide a safety net – that can keep animals until a home is found.”

I spoke with Lauryn Gill, a 5-year employee with the Humane Society, as she manned the front desk, answering phones and directing community members to the kitties or puppies they were interested in adopting. Even though I asked for an informal interview rather unexpectedly, she was very cordial and answered my questions with great enthusiasm.

“We are their voice,” Lauryn said emphatically, “They cannot ask for help themselves, so we do it for them. Whether it be for donations for their comfort here, or finding them a forever home, we speak for them.”

She told me that to help prevent euthanasia of perfectly adoptable animals, employees from the Humane Society pay a visit to Bay County Animal Control at least twice a month to pull dogs from ‘death row’ and bring them back to the shelter for adoption.

Lauryn taught me about the fostering program, which is a short-term weekend escape for the animals. They are picked up on Saturday morning to go to a loving home for a weekend of pampering outside the shelter, and then returned on Tuesday when the shelter reopens to the public for the week. Sometimes however, longer term foster needs arise. These situations include pregnant or nursing mothers, newborns requiring bottle feeding, animals recovering from surgery or injury, and those taking daily medication.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Porter, one of the employees who helped us unload our donations, whose duties include taking the canine residents for their walks. One such resident that I was introduced to was Tawny – a very rambunctious puppy. Though she looks full grown, she was absolutely spellbound by the tennis ball that Porter held in his hand. Tawny prefers to fetch a thrown ball out of the pond on the property, never bothering the ducks and geese who swim there; her only focus is to get the ball.

Brenda, the store manager at the Humane Society Thrift and Gift Store, located at 1408 Harrison Ave in Panama City, shared with me the action taken when an animal is brought into the shelter. The animal is immediately quarantined after pickup in order to screen for disease and temperament. This policy is in place to protect the employees as well as the residents of the Humane Society. Brenda worked at the shelter on Bay Avenue when she began her career with HSBC, but has since moved over to the retail store. “My heart breaks for these animals,” Brenda said with a slight crack in her voice, “I couldn’t stand seeing them in their tiny cells every day, but I still wanted to help.”

There are plenty of dogs and several cats that are in residence at the Humane Society in search of their forever homes. These animals have loads of love to give and just need a family to love them back.

For more information about the Humane Society of Bay County, their fostering program, or how to donate please call (850) 215-7120 or visit them at 1600 Bay Avenue in Panama City.

“We are solely dependent upon our donors to provide for these animals.” –www.adoptme.org

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