Dear Editor, April 12, 2007

Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 15th-21st. Ninety-three percent of the people at Northwoods Humane Society are volunteers! Northwoods Humane Society is proud to have incredible volunteers who help support our mission by caring for the dogs and cats at our animal shelter and helping them be adopted into lifelong, loving homes.

The mission of Northwoods Humane Society is to prevent neglect, abuse, cruelty and overpopulation of domestic animals, to provide a network service to the lost or homeless companion animals, and to ensure their well-being is effectively managed by an educated and caring society.

Our mission would be unsuccessful without our volunteers. Northwoods’ volunteers are a benevolent group of people who are dedicated to the animals’ physical and mental well-being during their stay at the animal shelter. They have an immeasurable amount of energy, love and compassion for the dogs and cats. The animals require individual care and attention every day of the year; even on holidays, during snowstorms and when the temperatures are below zero or above 90 degrees (including mosquito season!) No matter the circumstances, these tender-hearted animal lovers receive nothing more than the purr of a relaxed cat or the wag of a happy dog’s tail.

In 2006, at least 240 volunteers donated well over 9,000 hours walking dogs, caring for and cuddling cats, grooming animals, cleaning cages and kennels, transporting animals to veterinary appointments, fundraising, fostering litters of puppies and kittens, answering phones, helping customers, doing paperwork, doing shelter maintenance and cleaning and many, many other tasks.

On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank all the volunteers for caring for and loving the homeless dogs and cats while they wait to be adopted. Our hats are off to you this week and always!

Molly A. Nemec, Board Secretary
Northwoods Humane Society
Forest Lake, Minnesota