Pandemics are better with pets

Fundraising challenges addressed with a moving film premiere

This year has brought an abundance of both opportunities and challenges for Stray Hearts Animal Shelter. Our community has stepped up to provide loving homes to so many pets that our average length of stay at the shelter has never been shorter. Pandemics, it turns out, are better with pets.

But COVID-19 also brought an unexpected and crushing halt to our planned fundraising events for the year. While one-third of our budget comes from the town of Taos and Taos County, the remaining $500K required to maintain and run the shelter must come from grants, donations and our annual events.

Faced with such a daunting challenge, Stray Hearts turned to local filmmakers Andrew and Karen Yates and those who know the many benefits of the shelter firsthand: our adopters and the animals they save. There, they discovered remarkable stories of people and animals overcoming the odds to find one another, and enriching each others’ lives in immeasurable ways in the process.

Now we’re thrilled to use this beautiful short film to help us reach the community and help Stray Hearts overcome its funding shortfall. We invite everyone to join us for a live premiere of “Hearts at Home” on Friday

(Oct. 23), at 7 p.m. at strayhearts. org

Every dollar donated will go directly to continuing our work reuniting pets with their families, rehabilitating shy pets, training rambunctious pups, providing medical care for sick and injured animals and funding our community vaccine clinics and pet food bank.

Please support this true community effort. Join us from the comfort of your home. Watch the premiere and donate to support Stray Hearts. Many of your donations will be doubled by generous donors in the community who have already pledged up to $30k in matching funds.

We genuinely appreciate the support Stray Hearts Animal Shelter has received over the years, and hope you’ll consider us in your charitable giving this year too. Thank you!

“Hearts at Home” will also be available for viewing at strayhearts. org after the premiere.

Weekly shelter report

OCT. 13-19

TOTAL POPULATION: 61 cats at shelter, 7 at Cat Café; 71 dogs INTAKES: Stray, 59

ADOPTED: 8 cats; 18 dogs TRANSFERRED: 18 dogs

RETURN TO OWNER: 1 cat; 7 dogs Half-price adoptions start Friday (Oct. 23) and extend to Oct. 30. Find out more and see the animals looking for homes at strayhearts.org.