Week of 6/24/12 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin

Steve, helping with ground-keeping at Desert Haven this summer

During the summer months, Desert Haven Animal Refuge and Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe seem to slow some of their activities down, as some of the volunteers who can be counted on through the rest of the year either at the sanctuary or at P&C reserve the summer months to visit family and friends who live in cooler climates. The lack of adequate volunteer help in many non-profit organizations throughout our Sierra County communities has become the norm every summer. The skeleton crew who keeps Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe and Desert Haven Animal refuge operating during the summer months deserves a huge "thank-you" from everyone who believes in the cause of unwanted companion animals in our area.

 This past Tuesday, our active volunteer team gained two much needed new members: Nancy and Debra. Nancy is a long-time TorC resident and a member of our organization for many years now. Debra moved to the area only recently and is already becoming actively involved at Desert Haven. Both are cat aficionados and they are helping not only in the office on Tuesdays, but also in the Cool Cat Neighborhood, home of 30 felines of all sizes and temperaments. We are all very grateful that Nancy and Debra both have chosen our organization to donate some of their valuable time. We certainly need and welcome their help. We also wish to thank Glen and Nola who keep P&C open for business two days a week. A huge "thank-you" also goes to Steve who answered our plea for help at Desert Haven several weeks ago. For now and a little while longer, Steve drives almost 40 miles round-trip each day to help care for the animal and bird residents of the sanctuary.

We have several small projects on our Desert Haven priority list. If you are a handyman and you enjoy being helpful, let us know or visit Desert Haven on a Tuesday. We will show you what needs done and you can decide if this is for you.

We need a yard foreman at Paws&Claws Thrift Shoppe, to take in and sort through donated items. We also need someone to test donated small electrical appliances and electronics. Two hours or more a week is all that is necessary to make a difference. Interested? Drop by at P&C on a Friday or Saturday or call us at 575-894-2639 for more information. You can also e-mail us at weR4pets@gmail.com. Desert Haven is open for visitors and for adoption purposes every Tuesday, between 9AM and 4 PM. Check us out at http://www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge and http://www.Facebook.com/deserthaven. Write to us at POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.