SFAS News:
Did you know the Santa Fe Animal Shelter averages around 750 puppies and kittens per year and a majority arrive in the spring?
But due to COVID-19, the annual kitten and puppy shower will now be held on the shelter’s Facebook page noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 5. The virtual shower entitled, “New Hope for New Lives”, will focus on all aspects of the shelter’s New Hope, who handles all the foster programs within the shelter.
New Hope is a unique program that helps find temporary and long-term homes for homeless animals. It specifically supports new kitten and puppy arrivals, those long-term resident animals that might need a break from shelter life, and animals in hospice that need a safe place to spend their last days in comfort.
“Because of the pandemic, we’ve had to adjust and get creative,” said Murad Kirdar, the public relations officer of the shelter. “This year, our annual kitten and puppy shower will be held on-line and I will host ‘New Hope for New Lives’ from my home.”
The live hour-long event will feature puppy and kitten programming, stories of foster families and more, all while raising funds and collecting supplies for their New Hope department.
“Kitten season is an extremely busy time of year from May to September when we have a large influx of kittens come through our shelter — last year alone we cared for over 750 kittens and puppies,” Kirdar said. “This event is vital to our New Hope foster program, so we took the idea of a baby shower and turned it into a kitten and puppy shower. What could be cuter?”
The shelter has had to suspend their “trap-neuter-return” and “spay & neuter” programs due to the governor mandate.
“We expect the suspension of these critical programs to have an impact on our operations this season, as lack of spay and neutering will drive even more animals in need through our shelter,” says Kirdar.
The virtual “New Hope for New Lives” event will be held on Giving Tuesday, a broader nation-wide push for people to donate to nonprofits, at noon on the Santa Fe Animal Shelter’s Facebook.
Donations can be made at SFHUmaneSociety.org or via their Amazon wish list at bit.ly/ShowerSFAS