With snow rolling into town and temperatures dropping, Cochranites are invited to help keep furry friends warm and off the streets this winter by supporting the Cochrane and Area Humane Society Nov. 19 and 20 by donating to the non-profit’s inaugural SPCA Blanket Drive.
Although this is the first year of the blanket drive, Jana Husmann, part of the team behind the event, hopes it will become an annual initiative that is supported by the community.
Husmann a realtor with Royal LePage Benchmark Cochrane, said she will be working alongside Joni Ferguson, a mortgage broker with Brokers for Life; Sylvia Penner, the owner of Pet Valu Cochrane; and Jim Corrigan, a home inspector at Buyer’s choice.
“All four of us are huge animal lovers and we are very involved in community work,” Husmann said. “We all think the Cochrane Humane Society is doing a fantastic job with helping animals in need, but we also understand that institutions like that are always depending on donations.”
As winter weather shifted into full gear at the start of November with a heavy snowfall, Husmann said a driving factor behind the blanket drive is the change in weather.
“The SPCA is doing so much, but they are always in need of donations and people helping them,” she said. “We just don’t want animals sitting in the cold, so that’s why we support the humane society.”
The Cochrane and Area Humane Society operates as a non-kill shelter, meaning all healthy and treatable animals are not out down, regardless of shelter capacity. Husmann said she personally appreciates that policy a lot.
A variety of goods will be accepted for donation aside from towels, blankets, and flat sheets. The humane society is looking for dog toys, liquid laundry detergent, non-clumping cat litter, paper towels and toilet paper, poop bags, canned tuna, pure canned pumpkin, and industrial garbage bags.
“That’s what they use most, and that’s what we are trying to get as much [of] as possible,” Husmann said.
Anyone interested in participating in the drive, whether it’s via donations or volunteering, is asked to email [email protected]. On Nov. 19 and 20, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Husmann and her team will pick up donations from porches around Cochrane. Donations will also be accepted at the Pet Valu in Cochrane, located on 80 Bow St.
As a supporter of the Cochrane and Area Humane Society and their work in the community, Husmann asks Cochranites to help out with the inaugural blanket drive.
“They’ve done so many good things for the community and I think it’s time we give back to them,” she said.
