We love hearing stories of the pets people are dedicating lights to during our Lights of Hope campaign this season and the cats who traveled across the country are no exception! While the origins of this story happen prior to digital cameras, it’s where we meet Blue and Mambazo. “After I had lost my cat, Boudicca, a good friend brought me a tiny, frightened kitten that I named Mambazo. Later, a neighbor had to move and left me a very active, very cute young cat called “Blue”. Bazo and Blue got along well and moved with me from California to W-S in 2000. They are gone now, but I enjoyed both of them very much. Mambazo lived to be 16 and Blue, 14.” says Lights of Hope donor, Mary. Mary continues, After Blue and Mambazo came Meow Ming, April and Kato. Not long after, I got a cat named -I don’t know why- “Mouse” as a companion for Kato in 2016. Kato was 13 when he died this year. Mouse is still with me and has been, I think, comparable to a human brat! She and Kato got along fine, but she has never learned to socialize with people and may be the only cat I ever had who will not sit on my lap! Here at Forsyth Humane Society we absolutely love hearing all the stories about the varying personalities and adventures of the animals our community loves. This is just a simple example of a lifetime of love, thank you for sharing, Mary! If you would like to dedicate a light to a special pet in your life to be displayed throughout the month of December, check out our Lights of Hope page! Prepared by Kristen Williams
Forsyth County Pet Food Pantry
Forsyth Humane Society has an incredible pet food pantry that supports the needs of those in our community who find themselves faced with the harsh question of, ‘will I have to surrender my pet if I cannot afford to feed it?’. Unfortunately, we hear this a lot. Perhaps is someone who has lost their job, who has experienced health issues and can no longer work, the situations are abundant and we don’t really ask questions, instead we show up and we support. Why? Because if we, through the help of pet food donations, can not only feed the pets in our care but also the pets in the community, that is one less pet that comes in our doors. That is one less pet that has to be surrendered due to unforeseen circumstances. That is one more person that can eat without giving their human food to their pet. We found through our partnership with Meals on Wheels that often people would feed their meals to their pets and go hungry themselves before letting their pet starve. We partnered with a local scout troop who comes to our pet food pantry, gets food and packages it for Meals on Wheels. The route runners know who has animals and in addition to providing food daily, they provide pet food when needed. Additionally, we have partners who pickup food from us and distribute all over Forsyth County to organizations as seen on the map below: All our Pet Food Pantry Partners support many elements of care in Forsyth County not just of pets but the people who love them. It’s how we practice the Wellness of Companionship, it’s how we lean into the heart of our organization, Compassion. As much as we love pets, we don’t want anymore coming into our shelter so a piece of our work is on keeping pets and families together and reducing the barriers that may be in place forcing peoples hands to surrender the pets that they love. If you or someone you know is in need of pet food, please connect with some of our partners to organize a time to pickup pet food. Written by Kristen Williams
