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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com The Pet Pages - Kim Aranha
I have now had the hardworking pleasure of being the President of the Bahamas Humane Society for two years …it has been a rollercoaster experience with days of tremendous elations and days of dreadful despair and depression… I feel that trying to move forward and get people to understand works with three steps forward and two backwards…we are making progress with the general population but it is an uphill struggle…
2009 was a good year for
us. A year of changes? Yes… But over all, a good year, with people coming
forward to help us, people who care, giving of their time and money….We need
both.
BAARK was created by
some very proactive and dedicated people and they work very closely with the
BHS…we are lucky to have their support and assistance.
A very sad and bleak
note to the end of 2009 was when Jay Albury, a dedicated and enthusiastic
member of BAARK got killed riding his beloved motorcycle in December. Jay was
helping BAARK build the quarantine kennels in the Bahamas Humane Society
shelter to house the animals that come over from the pound to ensure that they
are not sick with any contagious diseases. Jay has been active in the animal
world of New Providence for many years and was the person who collected 1000
pounds of dog food to send down to Inagua after Hurricane Ike during the course
of one weekend! We hope to go ahead and build those kennels and name them after
Jay!
The Bahamas Humane
Society has been very proactive encouraging people to bring in dogs that they
no longer want and any strays that they can catch. The net result of this
enormous effort is that we have lots of very nice and beautiful dogs in our
adoption kennels. There is the most amazing selection of exciting mixed-breed
dogs. We have dogs with shepherd in them, dogs with Labrador, Chow, Terrier,
Setter, Retriever, Jack Russell, Doberman, Rottweiler and Pitt Bull...all sorts
of really beautiful animals... and of course, we have some Potcakes too, but
not as many as the crossbreeds. These dogs are just begging for a good home,
they are faithful, intelligent and just waiting to protect and love you. And
there are too many of them… I am being told that soon we will be too full. I
could not stand the thought of some lovely, healthy dog, full of hope and
future having to be put to sleep because there is “no room in the Inn”…
I am asking you that if
you are thinking of getting a dog in the next few months; NOW is the time. We
are FULL, we need to have some of these animals homed NOW...If you can't offer
a forever home and are only here for a short time; then please consider
fostering an animal so he can have a chance of finding a home...I just hate to
think what will happen if we overflow. All these waggy tails, and wet noses
deserve a chance just as much as the dog sitting at your feet, or on the sofa
right now..
Please help us to find homes...we need you help.
If you cannot offer a
home or to foster, then, please forward this article to as many people as
possible !!! The snowball effect of the Internet is absolutely magical, if we
all forward it to at least 30 people at the end of the day it will reach out to
hundreds of thousands…just a few clicks and you could be saving lives…Feel
good?
It should!
Of course (you knew this
was coming didn't you) any donations would be welcome because it costs a lot of
money every day to feed all those mouths. The Bahamas Humane Society receives
$15,000.00 a year from our Government; this keeps our doors open for just a few
days. The BHS has running expenses of well over one million dollars a year…..We
need help from the public sector every day. I am reaching out to all those good
people today in my article…put a little love in your hearts and help us today.
I believe if we can get
a few more dogs out and adopted, then we will not have to worry…Somebody out
there must want another dog…If you are in the out-islands we can help with the
travel arrangements…We have great photos on face book that show lots of the
animals looking for homes. Link up and see if your future family member is
there.
We also need towels and
blankets to put in the cages to help keep the animals warm in this unseasonably
cold weather... Every cage and pen needs to have a warm nest in the sheltered
back section for the animals to curl up in and be warm…I look at my 14 year old
Abigail on the sofa in my den, and Buddy and Chief on my son’s bed and I think,
if only every body could be that lucky! As BAARK say, “Until they all have
homes”…
I am sorry to pull at
your heart strings, but, I need to get some of these guys out into homes before
I am informed that we are faced with a horrible reality.....there's nothing
quite like saving an animal! Let's make this a Happy New Year for the animals
at the Bahamas Humane Society!
Being President of an
organization like the Bahamas Humane Society is a very interesting proposition.
Not everybody wants to get involved because it is not always a very glamorous
project. It is sad at times and other times it can be happy and funny. The one
thing it is, and there is not doubt about this, is continuous…There is never a
day that goes by without a phone call, a question, a query…For me, there is no
such thing as a day off. Over the weekends I write letters, prepare speeches,
plan lessons, and organize future fundraisers…It is tireless, demanding and yet
the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Every time somebody calls to tell me
one of our dogs or cats have been adopted, I feel like it’s Christmas all over
again…because of this I will not give up, I will not despair and I will
continue to ask you for your support!
It does not take much to
make a difference and you have it within your power to do just that!
Note: Cheques can be sent to the Bahamas Humane Society, P.O. Box 242, Nassau, Bahamas…any queries contact Kim…info below
About
the author:
Kim Aranha grew
up in the Berry Islands with her first dog, a beloved potcake named “Friendly”
(who was anything but!). First educated at home, and then in boarding school in
Switzerland, Kim moved to Rome, Italy in 1974 to pursue a career in the
dramatic arts and ended up working as an interpreter. She moved back to The
Bahamas in 1980, and now lives in Nassau with her husband Paul, and their two grown
sons. Kim has 3 dogs, 3 goldfish fish, a tank of freshwater exotic fish, 11
turtles (2 babies, 6 adolescents. 3 adults), 1 Asian box turtle and 4
Budgerigars. Her idea of relaxing is being home to take care of all her pets.
Kim is President of the Bahamas Humane Society, and serves on the board of
BREEF, and is co-chairman of the Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group. Kim can
be contacted at
berryislandgirl@gmail.com
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