Okanagan Humane Society raffle to benefit many animals

Photo: OHS

The all-volunteer Okanagan Humane Society receives calls for help seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The all-volunteer Okanagan Humane Society receives calls for help seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Last year, the OHS helped more than 4,150 animals and this year the group is on track to reach or surpass that number, as calls for help keep coming in.

And the public has a chance to get involved and help save local animals.

The annual Raffle to Rescue Animals is in full swing and has raised more than $40,000 for local animals, but with only a few days left, the OHS is still hoping to hit their target of $75,000.

“We have a great raffle this year with amazing prizes including a trip to Cabo San Lucas, a custom diamond paw pendant, a wine weekend at Spirit Ridge and cash,” says Romany Runnalls, OHS president.

“You can buy tickets for the raffle but also make a donation for a tax receipt and we had two generous donors step forward to match the first $15,000 in donations.”

Runnalls said the OHS does their best to answer calls, return emails and “help every animal we can."

"We try to be available and solutions-based to support people and the animals," she said.

One recent call was from a Good Samaritan who had found a box on the side of a lonely country road with five puppies inside.

Tiny, whimpering lives, discarded like trash. No mother in sight. No food. No hope.

While OHS did not name the area where the puppies were found, the quiet, rural property has become a known dumping ground for unwanted animals, the organization said.

“It’s a heartbreaking sign of the times with the cost of living and veterinary costs soaring and shelters saying no and some feel they have nowhere to turn,” Runnalls said.

This story could have ended in tragedy, but it didn’t.

Because of the compassion of a passing Good Samaritan - and the dedication of an OHS volunteer foster - the puppies were given a new lease on life.

Stories like this are all too familiar to the OHS, which provides a collaborative approach to animal welfare; working with the community, a team of rescue and foster volunteers and more than 40 veterinary partners throughout the Okanagan.

“There are so many people involved to save lives in the Okanagan and that is what makes OHS different. Our rescue work is done by volunteers, our fosters are volunteers, we have many veterinary partners and a low-cost foster model so more of our donor dollars go directly to the animals,” says Runnalls.

The charity does not receive government funding and relies on support from the community to continue to do this vital work.

Their annual Raffle to Rescue Animals is one initiative during the year to raise much-needed funds.

To support the raffle and to purchase tickets, click here.

The OHS has been dedicated to assisting animals from Osoyoos to the Shuswap since 1996.

Over the years, the charity has rescued, spayed or neutered and provided life-saving veterinary care to more than 50,000 animals.

OHS programs include spay/neuter and medical help for pets of low-income families, rescue of lost, stray, abandoned or feral animals, medical emergencies, pet adoptions and reuniting lost pets and people.

The organization takes a foster home-based approach to animal care with up to 300 animals in foster throughout the Okanagan at any given time. All fosters are volunteers.

To learn more about OHS, click here or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.