Kingston Humane Society hosts first in-person event since pandemic began
Global News
The Kingston Humane Society's flagship fundraising event was held on Saturday. This marks KHS's first in-person event since the pandemic began.
After over a year of holding virtual events, Saturday marked the in-person return of the Kingston Humane Society’s (KHS) annual Big Paws fundraiser.
“Losing those events during the pandemic was really, really difficult,” says KHS Executive Director Gord Hunter. “This is like a big coming-out party for everybody to be back in person. We’re just happy to be able to do this and hopefully go forward with more in-person events, because we raise about $80,000 from in-person events.”
Those donations make a big difference for the organization, as 70 per cent of KHS funding comes from the public.
Hunter says that he’s seen an 85 per cent jump in the number of animals in their care. Last year at this time, KHS was caring for 133 animals, and as of this week, they have 233 animals in care.
“Right now we have more animals in care, more animals available for adoption than we’ve ever had at a single point in time,” says Hunter. “Our goal is to make sure we get those animals into forever homes and Kingston has been great and the community has been amazing, not just in supporting events, but in supporting us through adoptions as well.”
While waiting for adoption, many animals enter foster care.
For some Kingstonians, the pandemic has made fostering a more viable option.
“I think the pandemic helped in our decision because we were at home,” says Julia Hale. She and her family are currently fostering a dog with KHS.