There are more than 100 animals in the Gene Carey Animal Shelter and all of them are in need of help. Bubba, a dog who has recently gone through surgery, is in medical need which can be helped with donations. 

“Pumpkins for Pets” is a month-long event that takes place throughout October. Originally started in 2016, people can donate a minimum of $10 to the animal shelter and receive a pumpkin in return.

“Most of our donations go to [animals’] medical needs,” shelter employee Ariel Davis said. “For the dogs, they [need to be] heartworm tested when they’re 6 months or older and the cats [need to be] FIV and FeLV tested.”

Not only are the animals in need of medical attention, but toys and treats are needed to improve their quality of lives at the shelter. There are multiple ways for people to help the animals such as donations or volunteering to spend time taking care of the animals. Although monetary support is helpful, the shelter also accepts donations of toys and treats.

“[It] helps them pass the time better, whatever keeps them occupied, happy and healthy,” Animal Services Field Supervisor Crystal Palmer said. “It’s hard to be in an animal shelter in general, [being] in a small area [and only getting] limited interaction every day. Whatever we can do to enrich their time here [is] what we want to be able to provide.”

After the event not occuring last year, Pumpkins for Pets was highly requested to return this year. The community support is strongly shown this year with multiple people donating, resulting in the shelter almost running out of pumpkins.

“The event is really good because it will help the animals in need and it provides for the shelter,” shelter customer Daniel Santos said. “[More] people should definitely donate because animals that are not provided for are euthanized and more and more animals are being sent to the shelter.”

The donations the shelter receives from the event go a long way from helping to make adoptions more affordable, helping pay for expensive medical treatments of animals and enhancing the lives of the animals in the shelter. This makes their time in the shelter more enjoyable.

“The monetary donations go a long way when it comes to heartworm positive animals [because] it can be an expensive treatment,” Palmer said. “It can be a deterrent for people not wanting to adopt because it is expensive so we try to alleviate that [cost through donations].”