It's that time of year again! Doggie Dash is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Oregon Humane Society, and I'm asking animal lovers to show their support by donating if they can. In addition to finding homes for thousands of pets every year, OHS supports the pet community in so many ways. Last year, we opened our Community Veterinary Hospital, which provides low-cost medical care to families in need. We also opened our Behavior and Rescue Center, which will let us assist in more animal rescues and help animals who require a more TLC before they are ready to go up for adoption. We spay and neuter thousands of unaltered cats in the community, investigate animal cruelty complaints, advocate for progressive animal legislation, provide education in the form of classes, camps and presentations... we even have trained Technical Animal Rescue volunteers who save animals from precarious situations!

My passion is helping animals who struggle in the shelter find their confidence, manners, and eventually a home. This past year has seen even more growth in our Behavior Foster Program, which has saved the lives of many pets who might not have had a chance otherwise. While this program runs largely on the gracious support of our amazing volunteers, we need to be able to fund programs like these so that we can continue to help more and more animals, as well as the people who welcome them into their families. Every dollar helps, so please consider donating if you can! (Or, volunteer or donate to your local animal shelter if you'd rather support the animals in your community!)