JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Humane Society is asking community members to make a donation to help reach its goal of raising $24,000 in 24 hours on Friday, July 24,
It’s part of the Humane Society’s “Focus on the Pawsitive” campaign, which will conclude with the “Day of Action” on Friday.
”This program really is paramount to keeping our city no kill, because if we keep pets with people who love them, we then have more space for pets who don’t have people and who are waiting for the right people to come and get them” JHS Assistant Director Lindsay Layendecker said.
The campaign celebrates the special bond between people and their pets and how JHS supports families in crisis so that pets can stay in their homes. To support this initiative, JHS created a guidebook that outlines how to access free and low-cost resources for pet owners in Jacksonville.
“It could be pet owners that are maybe low income, we have a pet food bank where people can come once a month. Or it could just be someone that’s in crisis, we have people that are trying to flee domestic violence situations maybe they’re going into chemo therapy, they’re entering into rehab and just need some resources to keep their pets,” Layendecker said.
This program also provides access to the free pet food bank, behavior health, and emergency boarding. In 2019, the program helped just over 35,000 families and their pets.
JHS said more people are needing help due to COVID-19 and the economic impact.
In addition, the Humane Society will help the community “Focus on the Pawsitive” by sharing uplifting stories on social media for five days leading up to the “Day of Action” on Friday, when JHS invites community members to make a donation.
“We’ve seen about a 20% increase in our food bank and that’s usually a good indicator of people coming to us for more services, so there’s definitely been an uptick since the spring,”
All donations will help fund the JHS Pet Safety Net program, which supports more than 3,500 families with pets each year by providing free or low-cost veterinary care, a pet food bank, behavior support, rehoming assistance and emergency boarding.
According to JHS, the Pet Safety Net program is an important part of a no-kill community because it keeps families together while also keeping kennels open for pets without homes.
Visit jaxhumane.org/pawsitive to download the guidebook, make a donation or both. Follow the campaign by using #FocusOnThePawsitive on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and following the Jacksonville Humane Society using @jaxhumane.