Butte Humane Society to hold grand opening
CHICO » Party with humans, felines and canines at the Butte Humane Society Grand Opening at 13391 Garner Lane on Saturday.
The event will be held from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Nov. 6. There will be an official ribbon cutting at 1 p.m.
The opening will feature beer and wine gardens, raffles, food trucks, family-friendly activities for children such as bounce houses, face painting and rock painting as well as facility tours, music from local radio stations and BHS adoption, volunteer, clinic and programs information booths.
“After 110 years the Humane Society finally has its own forever home,” said Katrina Woodcox, executive director. “I’m so grateful to the individuals and businesses that made this a reality.”
Before the new facility was made possible, all of the Humane Society’s services were held in a variety of places and people had to travel around to use the different services. Now, everything will be housed in the brand-new 25,000 square foot facility.
“It’s cool and convenient to be under one roof,” Woodcox said. “We’re excited to create an animal welfare hub for Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties. We’re able to provide animal welfare services to benefit everyone.”
The facility will contain several components such as adoption and rescue and humane education for children and adults. The education portion will feature summer camps, field trips, workshops, animal behavior classes and information about spaying and neutering.
“We teach responsible pet ownership,” Woodcox said.
There will be what the shelter calls an affordable, non-emergency veterinary clinic for people to bring their pets to by appointment. Some examples of non-emergency situations are animal rashes or bumps or oozing eyes.
The Butte Humane Society is a no-kill facility, so only animals that are aggressive and dangerous or gravely injured will be euthanized. There is also an X-ray portion and surgery clinic and animals can get spayed or neutered. There is also a program called Scratch Pay that helps people afford vet care for their pets.
Besides everything else, there is also a lab where technicians can diagnose cancer and process blood tests. People can be educated about the best route of care for their furry friends. Woodcox said that by the beginning of 2022 there will be two full-time veterinarians.
Woodcox made sure to say that the humane society doesn’t take strays. Strays must be taken to the city of Chico or Oroville animal shelters. BHS does takes animal surrenders.
Raffle prizes were donated from various businesses for the opening. “They’ve been so generous and wonderful,” Woodcox said about the donors.
The Humane Society held a “Disco Infurno” gala Oct. 23. The event celebrated 110 years of supporting community animal welfare. The gala consisted of a catered dinner, fine wines, and ales along with entertainment and fun benefiting BHS animals.
“It was a sold out event,” Woodcox said.