ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Humane Society held an open house event with a goal of connecting with the community on Friday, introducing plenty of potential pet parents and furry friend fans to check out all the organization has to offer.
The once-a-year event ran from noon to 4 p.m., with plenty of staff and volunteers on hand to discuss the myriad services offered by the LVHS, in addition to a few gentle nudges toward adoptions.
Lehigh Valley Humane Society Chief Development Officer Jackie Folsom said the core of the get-together was educating the local community, and creating a stronger bond between the two.
“They’re interested in low-cost grooming or veterinary services, or if they want to talk to us about volunteering or what they could donate to help us out; any of that. We're just happy to talk to people about everything that we do, because we definitely do a lot. And not everyone knows about all of our services."Lehigh Valley Humane Society Chief Development Officer Jackie Folsom
“So we have our open house today, we try to do something once a year to celebrate the community, invite them in, so that they can learn more about our services, see some of the animals we have for adoption and always do some fun giveaways,” Folsom said.
And while this wasn’t necessarily a “clear the shelter” event – even if Folsom said “We do expect that people who are coming by are probably interested in adopting” – at the very least, it could help connect the community with the LVHS.
“They’re interested in low-cost grooming or veterinary services, or if they want to talk to us about volunteering or what they could donate to help us out; any of that. We're just happy to talk to people about everything that we do, because we definitely do a lot. And not everyone knows about all of our services,” Folsom said.
Guests were invited to meet some fuzzy little felines in the cat rooms or tour the excitable dog section of the shelter. Plenty of potential adopters and community members who just enjoy helping out and interacting with the friendly pets enjoy just spending an hour or two pitching in at the shelter.
Folsom expressed gratitude for Bananarama and Paranormal Popups, which both brought their food trucks to LVHS on Friday.
LVHS volunteer Ella Antonovich, an incoming Emmaus High School senior who is interested in becoming a veterinarian, enjoys stopping by the LVHS whenever she has an opportunity.
“I mostly do cat socialization and cat care. So I take care of the kitties, clean out their litter boxes, and then for cat socialization, I make sure all the cats are socialized and ready for people to come in and see them,” Antonovich said.
“I’m glad that I met everybody so far. Everybody has been super sweet. I love helping people, and I really hope that I can get at least one person to adopt a kitty today.”
Even if adoptions weren’t the top priority, simply getting some foot traffic in the door was enough to pique interest in at least a few new friends.
Marc and Joey Kubushefski, along with Marc’s girlfriend and Paranormal manager Lauren Strzelecki, were drawn to the event by a personal connection.
“One of our best friends adopted a dog here about a year ago, and the dog’s just so amazing. He’s so funny and so silly. We wanted to help the shelter [because of that] and also because the Humane Society doesn’t always have the best reputation, because people don’t know much about what they do, and we wanted to bring more awareness to what they do and how they’re so important for our community and the animals in the community,” Strzelecki said.
The Paranormal crew even went so far as to pony up the cash for at least one dog’s adoption fee, keeping with their vegan ethics which promote love and care for animals.
“It’s pretty important that people adopt from places like this, because these are dogs that are from this community,” Marc Kubushefski said.
“It’s not like other shelters around here who have dogs that come in from the south, and they only get a small number of dogs adopted per year. There are like a thousand dogs that go through [LVHS] per year who need to get adopted.”
Marie Bondi said that she and her two daughters love to swing by the LVHS to help the cats familiarize themselves with people, hopefully facilitating a foster or adoption.
“It’s a huge benefit for the cats, because for them to get homes, it’s nice that they’re already learning to socialize and trust people, and it’ll help somebody get a friendly cat or kitten,” Bondi said.
“I have made tons of them. The cat gave me the paw which meant that she loves me.”Abigail Joy Bondi
Bondi said she and her girls aren’t in the market for a furry friend at the moment, but they do cherish the opportunity to interact with the cats and help them learn.
Samantha Grace Bondi, who said she is partial to a pair of cats named Hello Kitty and Daphne, said she loved to spend time with her favorite animals at the shelter.
“I like to see the cute cats, and there’s one dog with a six-foot vertical leap named Alice who is very funny and I like watching her,” Bondi said, adding “Sometimes cats are dumped, so people should capture them and bring them here so they can get adopted.”
Her younger sister, Abigail Joy Bondi, said she had a blast making new friends on Friday.
“I have made tons of them. The cat gave me the paw which meant that she loves me,” Bondi said.
Folsom said even if Friday’s get-together only ran a few hours, visitors are welcome to swing by LVHS any day of the week to find a new friend, to volunteer, or maybe just to take a dog in need for a little walk.
“We're here seven days a week, and we are always happy to help our community,” Folsom said.
“We do get a lot of demand for kittens this time of year. So maybe if you swing by, but you don't see the animal that maybe you had in mind or you didn't feel a connection right away, please always come back and visit. We get new animals every single day, and we're sure we can find the right one for you.”
