Kennel sponsors wanted
Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Bella Vista Animal Shelter is looking for sponsors to purchase kennels that house abandoned animals.
The shelter has 13 kennels, or runs as they are commonly called, available for sponsors in its newest building, which opened in May.
For donating $ 50- $ 249, sponsors join the Best of Breed club. A donation in the range of $ 250- $ 499 earns sponsors a spot in the Best of Class tier. The Best in Show club is available to donors contributing $ 500- $ 999. Donations of $ 1, 000 or more place sponsors in the Kennel Club, where they receive a plaque to be placed on either a cat room or dog run. Sponsors can decide exactly what they want to put on a plaque.
“ Everybody’s a little different, ” Shelter Manager Donna Miles said. “ Some people dedicate them to former pets that have passed away, or memorialize past pets; but people do different things. ”
About 20 additional runs have been sponsored already.
The shelter, which has been taking care of abandoned animals for close to two decades, houses hundreds of animals each year.
A sponsorship — which is tax-deductible — can go a long way at the shelter, said the manager.
“ The money helps to support what we do here, ” Miles said.
For the cost of a sponsorship, she said about 45 dogs can be spayed and / or neutered.
The money can also help keep the animals healthy.
“ We can buy distemper shots for all the animals we’ll see this year, ” she said.
Miles also said the plaque will be in place as long as the run is there.
“ We’re not going to re-sell it in five years or anything, ” she said. “ It’s a one-time thing. It will be on there forever. ”
According to Miles, the money would help a lot right now as the shelter has more animals to care for this time of year.
“ We have lots of great adoptions in the early months, January, February, March. But now, people leave on vacations a lot. Then it’s time to go back to school, so there aren’t as many people looking for pets. ” That does not mean, however, that business is slow at the shelter. “(Many ) stray cats and dogs are coming in now, ” Miles said. For more information on sponsoring a run, or to find out more on pet adoptions, call the Bella Vista Animal Shelter at 855-6020, or stop by during normal business hours, 10 a. m.-4 p. m. Monday-Saturday. The shelter is located at 32 Bella Vista Way just before the Missouri line.
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