ROCK SPRINGS — “The Fast and the Fur-rious” was the theme for this year’s Red Desert Humane Society’s annual Fur Ball fundraiser featuring a lasagna dinner at the Holiday Inn and race-car theme décor. Guests were encouraged to wear “driver attire.”
Saturday’s evening also featured bids for silent auction items and raffle drawings such as “Purses in a Package” and a “Car Detailing Package.”
Local band Wy5 was the evening’s musical entertainment.
Red Desert Human Society board member Brenda Baker owns four dogs named Maggie, Max, Moose and Murphy. She hopes more residents will welcome pets from the humane society into their homes soon.
“I hope people will discover that there are quite a few animals that still need homes,” Baker said. “Our mission is to spread awareness and let folks know we have their forever friend.”
Fundraiser chairwoman Holly Michaelis has overseen the fundraising events for the humane society for five years.
“We appreciate the donations,” Michaelis mentioned. “A lot of people aren’t aware that we’re not federally funded. We don’t get assistance from the state either. We rely on donations and fundraisers to help us take care of the animals before they’re adopted.
”My hope is people will understand our purpose and open their hearts to our cause.”
Heidi Hernandez, Red Desert Humane Society manager, said, “We do it for the animals. The blood, sweat and tears that go into organizing this event is worth it for the animals. Fundraisers help us a lot!”
Hernandez also said that November through January are the slowest adoption months.
“We have a small community,” she said. “We have a lot of out-of-town adopters and the rough winter conditions has a lot to do with it.”
When adopting a pet, Hernandez hopes that whoever adopts it will understand the commitment of taking care of a pet.
“It’s a big responsibility,” she pointed out. “Especially when it involves a shelter pet. People have had issues with some of our sheltered pets and just couldn’t deal with them.
”You must love them for what they are. Every pet is different, and they all need to be accepted.”
Board president Stephen Shae said, “The humane society’s goal is to line up the right people with the right pets.”
By having dogs and cats neutered and spayed, births of unwanted puppies and kittens are prevented.
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