mellowtigger | Furry Friday: pledge drive (Reply)

You may have heard about flooding in the Fargo, North Dakota area. It has made national news recently. Plus,

huladavid is there and has posted a photo (which you can see on the right). One problem is that the Red River flows northward instead of south. The southern portion unfreezes first, leading water to rush into the northern area that is still ice and snow. We've also had some rainfall recently too. Flood levels are expected to peak as high as 43 feet (13.1 meters), setting a new record. Regional businesses and college campus have closed down, with their leaders encouraging people to spend their free time volunteering to work on dikes and sandbag efforts.
http://www.inforum.com/ (local news for current headlines)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/26/floods.north.dakota/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_re_us/midwest_flooding

People are being evacuated out of their homes and moved to other locations like Red Cross shelters, hotels, or the houses of relatives. Some animals will become lost during this frenzy of activity, and some people will find that they are simply not allowed to bring their pet with them to their new temporary home. The Animal Humane Society, along with the Minnesota Animal Disaster Coalition and Animal Ark, were asked for emergency help. My organization is joining the rescue effort to provide temporary food and shelter to an estimated 200-300 animals displaced by the current emergency. A team of 6 of our employees have already made the trip to the area, and their own food and shelter needs are being met by the local Red Cross. The team will remain there for several days until they are relieved by the Humane Society of the United States.

Besides freezing temperature and record flood levels, I heard on Minnesota Public Radio this afternoon that there is also another 6 inches of snow being predicted for them tonight. Not fun, but this is just one example of the kind of service that the AHS provides to the community.

In that light, it seems a good time to remind people that AHS receives no government funding and relies on donations to continue its operation. Our big annual fundraiser is just a few weeks away. I'm told that our "Walk For Animals" is the largest animal walk fundraiser in the nation. If you're local, do consider joining the fun on Saturday, May 2nd by bringing yourself and your well-behaved pet to the festivities. We have activities planned for both human and animal visitors. You will see many kinds of animals during the event, not just dogs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbFRbrRLVM

Anyone (local or elsewhere) can contribute donations online. You may donate anonymously if you prefer that too. I have set up my own donation link, as part of the I.T. Support team. If you can offer any contribution (no amount is too small, as far as I'm concerned), it would be greatly appreciated by both me and the AHS.

http://events.animalhumanesociety.org/goto/terry.walker

If you read my journal here, then you already know that I don't get paid much, so you can rest assured that your money is going to the care and feeding of animals in need rather than into my pockets. ;)