This information is provided as a public service from FOMCA (Friends of Madison County Animals):

Pet Pantry

Pet food is available to families in financial crisis who are having difficulty feeding their cats and dogs. Pantry hours are any time during normal business hours, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, Monday & Wednesday; 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Tuesday & Thursday.  We partner with Manna Food Bank in Asheville, NC who supply us with most of our pet food to be donated.  We also welcome food donations from individuals and other companies.  Ingles has donated dog and cat food to our cause as well. 

Low Cost Spay/Neuter

Every other Wednesday is an opportunity for residents of Madison County to get low cost spay/neutering for their cats and dogs. Call  828-649-9798 for an appointment, and plan to spend fifteen minutes going through a registration process over the phone.

Call during office hours (Monday and Wednesday 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM; Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM; Closed Friday) for more information or to register your cat or dog.

Educational Programs

Gather your favorite hiking buddy, canine or human, and explore the amazing trails in the Hendersonville, NC area thanks to the work of Conserving Carolina in support of Blue Ridge Humane Society.

• Bearwallow Mountain: a moderate 2 mile round trip through beautiful woods to an open bald that is accessible thanks to a conservation easement and trail building by Conserving Carolina
• The Oklawaha Greenway: Walk any segment of the 3.25 miles of Greenway between Jackson Park and Berkeley Mills Park. The greenway provides a paved pathway through vital wetland areas with little elevation changes. Conserving Carolina is a founding member of the Friends of Oklawaha Greenway, an organization that stewards the existing greenway path as well as advocates for extending its length with new greenway segments and connector routes.
• The Park at Flat Rock: The park is 68 acres with a 1.5 mile crushed cinder perimeter trail and other walking paths that intersect the main trail. Conserving Carolina aided in establishment of The Park at Flat Rock in 2014, helping to secure funding for land acquisition including authoring an NC Parks & Recreation Trust Fund grant. The grant provided significant funding to help defray the costs of acquiring the land.

You love your dog every day, of course, but on Saturday, February 20, you can show even more love (if that's possible) because that day is designated National "Love Your Pet" Day!

To help you celebrate, here are "10 Ways to Love Your Dog" on Love Your Pet Day from DogTipper.com :

1. Take an extra-long dog walk
2. Spend time together at your pet's level
3. Plan a trip together
4. Take your dog to lunch
5. Make a new pet toy
6. Go shopping with your dog
7. Teach a new trick
8. Bake some homemade treats
9. Learn pet massage
10. Experience the moment.

More about each of these tips here: https://www.dogtipper.com/tip/2020/01/national-love-your-pet-day.html

Photo by Ryk Porras on Unsplash

Blue Ridge Humane Society is offering an expanded free pet food giveaway schedule this year.  

• Monday, February 8, 10 am-1 pm, at the Adoption Center, 88 Centipede Lane, Hendersonville, NC.
• Saturday, February 27, 10 am-1 pm, Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County, 1304 Ashe Street, Hendersonville, NC.

Blue Ridge Humane Society is offering an expanded free pet food giveaway schedule this year.  

• Saturday, January 23, 10am-1pm, at the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County Parking Lot, located at 304 Ashe St, Hendersonville, NC.
• Tuesday, January 26, 3pm-5:30pm, Interfaith Assistance Ministry, 310 Freeman Street, Hendersonville, NC as part of Drive-Thru Tuesday.

Watauga Humane Society, 312 Paws Way, Boone, NC 28607 is holding a "Holiday Howl and Meow Open House" on Saturday, December 12, from 1-5 PM, as they celebrate the season and wish their animals love and cheer for the upcoming holidays. The WHS pets have sent a wish list to Santa Paws to make your holiday shopping much easier!

Please go to their wishlist here and bring a gift to place under the tree. Monetary gifts are also welcome. Visit our kitties to enjoy pets and purrs and experience happy barks and wagging tails as our dogs welcome you. For a donation, take a holiday picture with your pet or a shelter animal in our outdoor photo booth. SNIPS crafts will be available for early holiday shopping and we have goody bags everyone!

To ensure the safety of everyone, face coverings are required and temperatures will be checked at the entrance. In order to observe social distancing, only ten visitors are permitted per hour. Please use our online signup to reserve your time at the shelter by clicking here.

The Animal Hospital of North Asheville (AHNA) is sponsoring its annual "Warm Hearts * Full Bellies" Holiday Pet Food and Supply Drive through Saturday, January 2, 2021.

Join Blue Ridge Humane Society online through November 21 for their 70th Birthday Silent Auction! Chock-full of all kinds of great things, this is the purr-fect opportunity to get a leg up on holiday gifts for loved ones, your pet, or yourself! 

You'll find great items to bid on -- trips, gift cards, jewelry, amazing pet packages, and more to tickle your fancy and raise funds to support the work of Blue Ridge Humane Society into the next year.

Bidding ends November 21 at 9 pm, so check out the Silent Auction here:
https://blueridgehumane.rallyup.com/brhs-birthday-auction

The Mills River Valley races feature a 10K, 5K, and 1 Mile Doggy Dash on Sunday, November 15th at the Mills River Community Park and surrounding area with a flat, scenic course. The races are hosted by the Mills River SDA School and benefit the school and Blue Ridge Humane Society! Registration is open and precautions will be taken in the race format to ensure social distancing.

Details and registration here: https://millsrivervalleyrace.com/

Blue Ridge Humane Society is holding a free pet food giveaway on Monday, November 9 from 9 am - 1 pm at the BRHS Adoption Center at 88 Centipede Lane, Hendersonville, NC. Supplies will be given out while they last, first come, first serve. Social distancing and protective measures will be taken by all staff and we ask the public to do the same (contact free, wear a mask, and keep a 6 foot distance).

Food will be distributed car-side, so all you need to do is pull up and we’ll direct you from there! Staff will get your info (zip code, number and type of pets), and place the food in your car trunk.

The 3rd Annual Strut Your Mutt: A Casual 5K hosted by Blue Ridge Humane Society, and WTZQ Radio  is a human and pet friendly 5K and 1 Mile walk benefiting Blue Ridge Humane Society.

Presented by: Hunter Subaru

Strut Your Mutt goes virtual! 

The entire course for the 5K and 1 Mile will be marked for you to run or walk starting on Saturday, October 31 and will remain marked until November 8, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery and routes. You’ll also have the option of completing your 5K or 1 mile on any route you choose and submitting your time. At the end of the submission period our overall winners will be announced and receive their prizes, as well as some extra fun things that will be announced closer to the event! Parking will be available at the courthouse overflow lots located at the corner of North Pine Street and 4th Avenue.Complete information is at the link below. All participants receive a pet-friendly swag bag.

Online registration will close Friday, October 30. Sign up here:
https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Hendersonville/BlueRidgeHumaneStrutYourMutt5k

In this upside-down year, Sarge’s reimagined the annual Furry Friends Benefit Bash, a fall tradition. Since a large gathering for a sit-down dinner with auctions is not safe right now, the event will be held as an online auction through October 25 on Facebook.

“When we realized we couldn’t have Sarge’s Furry Friends Benefit Bash, we still wanted to have some fun,” said Paula Gatens, Sarge’s board member and auction committee leader. “Many small businesses in Haywood County stepped up to help us with this effort. We are thankful for their continuing support. We have more than 150 items for the auction.”

Returning to the auction will be the ever-popular rights to have your pet pictured on the 2021 Sarge’s Dog Walk T-shirt. New this year will be the rights to have your pet featured as Pet of the Month on Sarge’s website.

Auction items include dog and cat items, collectibles, golf certificates, plus area store, restaurant, and brewery gift cards. New items include a stay in a Waynesville Main Street apartment, five days of dog camp, pet laser therapy sessions, a salt room experience, personal training sessions, and handmade beaded ornaments.

“As the holidays approach, the gift cards in Sarge’s auction will make great gifts, and are easy to mail for those who are gifting this holiday season,” said Fred Strohm, Sarge’s administrator.

Sarge’s will use the services of Helping PAWS, Inc. to administer the auction. Helping PAWS is a group of dedicated animal lovers who run online auctions, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to rescue groups and animals in need.

Visit the Sarge’s FunRaiser event at: www.facebook.com/events/246139396749503; the auction will be active Oct. 21 – 25.

Sarge’s is grateful to Haywood County businesses, local artists and Sarge’s volunteers for donating items for the auction.

The 2020 Mutt Strut presented by Papa John’s has gone virtual! Register online to support the homeless pets of the Greenville Humane Society! All registrations include a free large one-topping pizza from our presenting sponsor Papa John’s, this year’s awesome t-shirt, a race bib, finisher medal and more! Packets will be mailed in mid-October. Be sure to check out the virtual Mutt Market and visit the awesome sponsors whose support makes the Mutt Strut possible year after year! 

Competitors can complete the 2-mile walk/run any time between Sunday, November 1st and Sunday, November 8th. If you aren’t competing you can strut when you want with (or without) your pup, in the place of your choosing, for as long as you want or not at all! The proceeds of your registration will still help Greenville’s most vulnerable pets! 

Looking to compete? Race Director, Scott Bagwell, will send instructions on how to be timed and submit your results to all participants the week before the event. There are prize categories for race winners and for fundraising! Winners for each of the categories will be mailed trophies and be announced on social media on November 9th! Be sure to share photos of your strut with the #2020MuttStrut to be featured on our Facebook and Instagram!

For complete details including registration for the Greenville, SC Mutt Strut, visit http://www.ghsmuttstrut.com/ 

The 3rd Annual Strut Your Mutt: A Casual 5K hosted by Blue Ridge Humane Society, and WTZQ Radio  is a human and pet friendly 5K and 1 Mile walk benefiting Blue Ridge Humane Society.

Presented by: Hunter Subaru

Strut Your Mutt goes virtual! The entire course for the 5K and 1 Mile will be marked for you to run or walk starting on Saturday, October 31 and will remain marked until November 8, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery and routes. You’ll also have the option of completing your 5K or 1 mile on any route you choose and submitting your time. At the end of the submission period overall winners will be announced and receive their prizes, as well as some extra fun things that will be announced closer to the event!

All participants receive a pet-friendly swag bag. Registration deadline for guaranteed race t-shirt is October 4 , 2020. Online registration will close Friday, October 30.

Parking will be available at the courthouse overflow lots located at the corner of North Pine Street and 4th Avenue.

Register here: https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Hendersonville/BlueRidgeHumaneStrutYourMutt5k

The 12^th Annual Blessing of the Pets at Mills River Presbyterian Church, 10 Presbyterian Church Road, Mills River, NC 28759, will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2020, with a  “drive thru” ceremony that offers a safe, socially-distant blessing for their pets.

From 10 am to noon, Rev. Merri Alexander and members of Mills River Presbyterian Church will offer pet readings and blessings as vehicles drive through the one-way pet blessing.

Vehicles coming through the Drive-Thru Pet Blessing will meet with church elders for prayers and readings, get a doggie bag of treats, and then continue through the planned route to receive personalized blessings from Rev. Alexander. At the final stop, people are invited to donate unopened bags and cans of pet foods to representatives of Blue Ridge Humane Society (BRHS). The collected items will be used to fill the Pet Pantry at BRHS that supports the needs of area residents who cannot afford food for their pets.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay