Join us in making 2014 a great year!

As 2013 comes to an end, we’re delighted to look back on a banner year for homeless animals! With 378 adoptions, we exceeded last year’s total by 62. And we have one important New Year’s resolution for 2014 – to accomplish even more! 

In partnership with the Pitt County Animal Shelter and Spay Today, we’re working every day to save lives and lower the number of unwanted animals in Pitt County. But keeping up with the costs of feeding, housing, vaccinating, spaying and neutering, and providing medical care is an ongoing challenge.

Moving forward into the new year, we’d like to add you to our lifesaving partnership. By adopting, volunteering, or donating, you can be part of the solution to this heartbreaking problem. Your year-end donation will allow us to continue providing hope and homes for cats and dogs in need.

We wish you a blessed New Year, and hope you’ll join us in making 2014 a great year for the animals of Pitt County!

Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities

We have several exciting events and opportunities coming up this fall!

To volunteer for any of these events, please sign up through our volunteer website.

Adoption Stands - stop by and meet your forever friend!

Clay - available for adoption!

Selected adoptable dogs and cats will have the opportunity to get out into the community and potentially get adopted!

Loreeta's Frozen Yogurt (dogs) on the first Saturday of each month (next stand is this Saturday, October 5th), 1-4 pm.

Sweet Pets (dogs) on the third Saturday of each month (next stand is on October 19th), 1-4pm.

PetSmart (cats) from October 14-27. Several volunteering shifts are available, check out the schedule here.

*Volunteers needed to take care of leashed dogs or puppy pens. An adoption counselor will be present to facilitate adoptions.

Fluff & Puff Dog Wash - bring us your dirty dog and we'll give you back a meticulously maintained mutt!

Our final dog wash of the season will be held Saturday, October 12th from 10-2 at Memorial Baptist Church. Services available include a bath ($10 for small dogs, $15 for large dogs), nail trim ($5), and anal gland expression ($10). Baths also include a free ear cleaning!

*Volunteers needed for this event - washers, runners, and support (registration, etc). 

Bow Wow BINGO - feeling lucky? Even if you don't get BINGO, you still win by

Who wants to play some BINGO?

contributing to this joint fundraiser between HSEC and Spay Today!

Our last BWB for the season will be Thursday, October 17th at the Pitt Community Schools and Recreation Complex in Alice Keene Park. Doors open at 6, games begin at 6:30, and tickets are $20, which includes a dabber and six playing cards.

No volunteers needed, thanks to those who have signed up!

Yard Sale - get a deal, help us empty our overflowing shed, and contribute to our mission!

We are very excited for our upcoming yard sale, Saturday November 2nd 7-11 at the HSEC facility. Items for sale include pet supplies, household items, and furniture.

Have something to donate to our sale? Hooray! We are accepting household items and furniture (NO clothing, please!). Sorry, we don't have any room to store items, so donations must be dropped off only on Friday November 1st between 4-7pm.

*Volunteers needed on November 1st to organize and price items and set up for the sale. Volunteers needed on November 2nd to work the sale and clean up afterwards. You do not need to have gone through orientation to volunteer for this event.

Facility Volunteer - we rely on you to keep us up and running on a daily basis!

We always need volunteers to come out and help us care for the dogs and cats at the facility. Volunteering includes dog walking; cat socialization; cleaning and sanitizing cages/kennels, toys, bowls, etc; and assisting the techs in other duties as needed. You may sign up to work with the dogs, cats, or both (though not simultaneously).

Right now, weekday dog shifts are our area of greatest need, though all shifts could use extra hands. Stop by the volunteer website to sign up.

Education Outreach - bring HSEC to your group!

We provide educational outreach for groups of all sizes and ages. For kids, information presented includes dog and cat behavior, how to approach and handle a dog or cat, fundraising ideas, and general information about our work with the pets in our care. For adults, educators focus on animal welfare in Pitt County and HSEC's place within that system. Let us know what you're interested in, we can tailor to fit any group, from Girl Scouts to Kiwanis!

Bow Wow BINGO - This Thursday!

There was a farmer had a dog and BINGO was his name-o. …. Oh no wait, that’s the wrong

Your participation benefits dogs like Sadie Lou!

thing. We’re here to talk about our upcoming event, BOW WOW BINGO.  

Join us Thursday, July 18 at Pitt County Community Schools & Recreation (4561 County Home Rd) for a fun night of BINGO play. 

This won’t be your ordinary game of BINGO. There will be cash prizes, and you will be supporting two great causes. Bow Wow BINGO is a FUNdraiser for Spay Today, our local low-cost spay/neuter clinic, and HSEC. We’re working together to reduce pet overpopulation in eastern North Carolina. 100% of the proceeds are split evenly between the two nonprofit organizations. 

Admission is $20, which includes 6 cards to all regular BINGO games and a dabber. Additional cards, jackpot specials, 50/50 raffle tickets and light refreshments will be available for purchase.

Come out for a night of fun. And when you get five in a row, don’t forget to yell, “BOW WOW BINGO!”

Doors open at 6:00pm, and the game starts at 6:30. We hope to see you there!



Can’t make it this Thursday? Make your calendar for upcoming Bow Wow BINGO nights: August 15, September 19 and October 17.

We're Having Kittens!!

Just one of our babies! Click here for more HSEC kitten photos!

It's kitten season, and like many animal rescue organizations all over the country, we have been inundated by tiny, fuzzy babies!

In order to keep up with this blessed (and yearly) event, we turn to you, our supporters, with our kitten registry. We'd love your help in "showering" HSEC with items necessary for proper kitten care.

• Canned kitten food is our #1 need!
• Little legs need little litterboxes - small, shallow litter pans allow for easy entrance and exit.
• Stretch and scratchers are great for all our feline residents, allowing for cats to express their natural need to scratch.
• Kitten receiving blankets? Sure! Kittens need extra warmth just like any newborn, and blankets allow us to create a soft, snuggly nest.
• Some kittens love to snuggle up with small stuffed animals.
• Toys, toys, toys! We especially would like wand toys and ball chasing toys (like this)

Check out our Amazon kitten registry here!

Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities!

It's summer! As much as we love hanging out in the sun, summer is usually a slow period at HSEC in terms of adoptions and volunteering. Let's buck the trend this year and work hard to help homeless dogs and cats in Eastern Carolina. Here are our upcoming summer fundraisers, events, and volunteer opportunities. Get involved for a good cause!

To sign up as a volunteer for any of the below opportunities, please visit our volunteer website. If you haven't yet used the website, check out the tutorial to get started.

Empty the Shelter:
Now - end of June
Starting Monday, June 10th, Pitt County Animal Shelter must close for mandatory renovations. For the next three weeks, the shelter will have only 10 dog runs available and will not be able to accept owner surrenders. In order to reduce the number of pets that will face euthanasia due to this closure, HSEC and other rescue groups in the area have teamed up to Empty the Shelter! HSEC has already taken in 16 dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens, putting us at full capacity. Read more about the situation here.

How you can help:
Adopt, adopt, adopt! If you, a friend, or family member is considering adoption, now is a great time to save an animal's life. Head on over to Pitt County Animal Shelter, or swing by HSEC or one of the other organizations participating in this effort. HSEC will continue to transfer pets from PCAS whenever space becomes available in our facility.


HSEC Social Media Meeting
Monday, June 10th, 7:00pm
Peasant's Pub, 114 E 5th St
Want to volunteer with HSEC as part of our vital social media outreach effort? We're always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help with the blog and other social media avenues, as writers, photographers, and technical support! Click here to learn more about being part of the HSEC blog. This is a great volunteer opportunity for anyone who wants to help out, but can't work with animals due to allergies or other reasons.

How you can help:
Come to our next meeting and find out what we're all about!

Fluff and Puff Dog Wash
Saturday, June 15th, 10am-2pm
Shell Rapid Lube and Auto Spa, 1625 E. Firetower Rd
Dirty dog? Treat them to a spa day at the first Fluff and Puff Dog Wash of the summer! Services available include a bath ($10 for small dogs, $15 for large dogs), nail trim ($5), and anal gland expression ($10). Baths also include a free ear cleaning!

How you can help:
Volunteers still needed! Volunteers for the dog wash will wash and dry dogs, assist with other procedures, direct traffic, and register participants for the service.


Bow Wow Bingo
Thursday, June 20th, 6:00-9:00 (games begin at 6:30)
Pitt Community Schools and Recreation Complex
4561 County Home Road 
Support HSEC and Spay Today - and maybe win some money! Our next Bow Wow Bingo will take place on June 20th. Tickets are $20, which includes 6 BINGO cards and a dabber. Tickets are available at the door only. BINGO nights take place the third Thursday of each month.

How you can help:
Volunteers needed, for this and future BINGO nights. Volunteers will help sell snacks, check cards, and generally assist with the fundraiser.


PetSmart Adoption Stand
June 10-23

PetSmart, 600 Greenville Blvd SE

Come out and meet some of our adorable adoptable kitties at the PetSmart adoption stand! You might even meet a kitten walking on a ferret leash. A great opportunity to interact with the kitties outside of the facility, and to chat with adoption counselors about which cat may be your next best friend. Here is our upcoming PetSmart schedule.

How you can help:
Guess what - volunteers needed! You can help by staffing the adoption stand, playing with the kitties and chatting with visitors.


Facility Volunteers
Always!
HSEC facility, 3520 Tupper Drive
We always have a need for facility volunteers to help out around the facility. This involves exercising and playing with the dogs and cats as well as some cleaning and other basic assistance. Our current schedule has multiple shifts each day. Filling these shifts is very important for the mental and physical well being of our fuzzy residents. As a facility volunteer, you will make a huge difference in the daily lives of multiple adorable animals - and what's better then that?

How you can help:
We're always happy to have volunteers. If possible, consider taking a recurring shift (for example, every Wednesday afternoon) to make the maximum impact!
 

Thank You, Canine Crawl Supporters!

Yesterday, the 13th annual Canine Crawl brought the luck of the Irish to the Humane Society!  A dog lover’s dream, the event was a winner all around. 

Grey skies didn't stop our supporters!

Canines and their humans arrived in style.  Many pups were sporting St. Patrick’s Day bandannas, hats and entire outfits as they milled around the Town Commons, making and sniffing new friends.  They and their people ran the event’s first-ever 5K, or did the one-mile walk.  The chilly day was a perfect one for the runners and walkers, many of whom brought donations beyond the registration fees.

Our doggy guests ran the gamut, from teacup-sized Chihuahas and Yorkshire Terriers to pony-sized Great Danes and Saint Bernards.  We were visited by many former residents, whose tail wags reported their happy new lives in their forever homes.

Like a three-ring canine circus, there were events for everyone.  The costume and human-dog lookalike contests were a big draw, while vendor booths offered merchandise, information and even microchips to help lost dogs find their way home.  The food truck kept the crowd well-fed, featuring hot dogs, pizza, drinks and other festival food.

The Canine Crawl depends upon a large cadre of human supporters sprinting to the finish line.  We’d like to thank our sponsors and vendors, our volunteers, and all who attended and contributed to the cause with registration fees and donations.  Without you, our work and the happy endings we see every day would be impossible.

If you attended, we’d love to hear your comments!  And if you couldn’t join us, it’s not too late to make a donation.  Our homeless dogs depend upon you, and send a heartfelt woof of appreciation for all you do!

Sponsors Wanted!

We're gearing up for our biggest yearly fundraiser, the Canine Crawl! The countdown calendar on our wall tells us the event is 31 days away on Sunday, March 17th - St Pawtrick's Day! This event is a family-friendly festival featuring food, fun and fitness. We hope you'll put it down on your calendar.

What's that? You'd like to know what YOU can do to help make this great event a reality? Well! Have you come to the right place! We'll talk about how to become involved in our fundraising walk or 5k another time. Today, we want to spread the word that we are looking for sponsors to support us in this endeavor.

HSEC sponsors are our angels in the business community. We are one of the only no-kill rescues in the region and receive no funding from local, state, or federal tax dollars, nor do we receive financial support from the Humane Society of the United States. We rely only on donations, and as the economy has turned downward, your generosity becomes all the more crucial. Even if you can't become a sponsor, you can get the word out by sharing this post.

So help us help them - and attach your company's name to a great cause.

Click here for more information about becoming a sponsor, and here to learn about Vendor Village. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or vendor for Canine Crawl 2013, or if you just have questions about the process, please contact Kimberly Benson - caninecrawl@gmail.com

Follow news about Canine Crawl on Twitter - #caninecrawl

Donate Today!

As 2012 comes to an end, we have a lot to celebrate – lives saved, happy endings, sick and injured animals nursed back to health.  But looking ahead to 2013, there’s so much more to do.  Sadly, the number of homeless animals who needs our help far exceeds our resources.  The problem extends across our community, and that’s why we’re reaching out to you to ask for your support to touch the lives of animals in need.

We are an organization with a modest budget, operating on a shoestring to keep our efforts going.  Even a small contribution can make a big difference! 

• For about $50 per month, or less than $2 per day, you can support the purchase of antibiotics or deworming medication.
• Rabies vaccines cost us over $25 per month, less than $1 each day.
• Spay and neuter surgery, preventing the tragedy of more unwanted animals, is an expense of $260 each month, or less than $9 per day for cats; dog surgeries are nearly $400 per month or $13 daily.
• Supplies to keep our facility clean and stop the spread of disease come at a cost of $90 per month, or $3 per day.
• Life-saving formula for kittens and puppies too small for solid food is an expense of $25 per month, or less than $1 each day.

While these numbers may seem small, these and other costs add up, and only represent a few items on our annual budget.  But if you can support a month, a week, or even a single day of expenses in caring for our homeless animals, it will make a difference. 

We’re hoping that we can count on your support to help us help pets who have nowhere else to turn.  Even a small donation can help us save a life.   Let’s make 2013 a successful year – donate, adopt, or volunteer.  Tail-wags of appreciation are sure to come your way!

Donate today!

HSEC Holiday Wish List

If our homeless pets could write letters to Santa, we’re sure their first wishes would be for a warm, loving home for the holidays – and forever.  But even if you can’t adopt, you can make their season brighter.

We’ve made it easy for you to add your furry friends to your Christmas list by taking a few minutes to do a bit of cybershopping:  we’ve posted our wish list on Amazon. Our shipping address is already entered to make the gift-giving process as smooth as eggnog. 

Our list has something for everyone, with wishes starting below $10!  Our canine pals will love you for the kongs that can be filled with treats, and cats and dogs alike will love the treat balls, which help overcome the boredom of life in a shelter.  Cat scratchers are a popular item among our feline friends, and for the practical gift-giver, our list includes garbage and freezer bags, always needed at our facility. We also are always happy to receive bleach, paper towels, and other basic cleaning supplies.

A wonderful one-size-fits-all present is an Amazon gift certificate.  This will allow us to purchase a variety of items for our animals, as well as for the office that keeps our year-round workshop running. We have so many needs and our resources are limited, so every gift helps! For that animal-loving person that has everything, how about a donation in their name to HSEC?

We know from experience, and Santa has confirmed, that your generosity will make your Christmas merrier and guarantee you a spot on the nice list.  There’s no doubt that your human ho ho hos in the spirit of giving will be returned by an enthusiastic holiday chorus of meows and bow wows of thanks!