Humane Society

The Humane Society of Washington County is participating in the new Food Lion Community Rewards program in an effort to raise additional funds. The shelter encourages Food Lion shoppers to help by signing up for the program naming the humane society as the organization to receive the benefits, to shop at Food Lion and purchase Food Lion Private Brand products. Supporters are asked to go to the Food Lion MVP site at www.foodlion.com and click on MVP Rewards to link their Food Lion MVP Cards to the humane society, organization code 252476.

With kitten and puppy litter season arriving early this year, the Humane Society of Washington County is experiencing shortages of supplies. The shelter is asking the public for its assistance. The shelter is in need of Pedigree Small Crunch Bites adult dog food, Pedigree puppy food and Purina Kitten Chow. It also needs Yesterday's News cat litter. With the mild winter, there have already been litters of puppies and kittens brought into the shelter. If anyone is able to help, bring items to the shelter at 13011 Maugansville Road in Hagerstown.

WILLIAMSPORT - Muttin' for Mutts, a benefit concert at Odyssey Pewter & Gifts at 25 E. Potomac St. in Williamsport, raised $550 for the Humane Society of Washington County. Bags of dog food, toys and cleaning supplies were also donated to the Humane Society. The concert featured the band Cassandra Syndrome. In addition to the musical entertainment, caricaturist Laura DiCrisi was on hand to sketch attendees and there were several raffles featuring items from Odyssey Pewter & Gifts and pet care baskets.

Allstate agent Terry Fincham recently presented a $1,000 Allstate Foundation "Agency Hands in the Community" grant to Habitat for Humanity of Washington County. Pictured are, from left, Alex Heishman, Terry Fincham and Stefanie Stevenson of Allstate and Carol Barr of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County. "Agency Hands in the Community" grants recognize the efforts of qualified agents who volunteer in their communities. For more information, go to the Allstate Foundation's website at http://www.

Students in Lincolnshire Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Ann Mathena's H-OWL 4 Hope group recently held a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Washington County.  The students presented their donation at the school Friday to Katherine Cooker, the animal shelter's manager of development and community relations. Students held a Pennies for Pups drive and put on a play for other students in an effort to spread the word about their project.  “The kids did this all on their own,” Mathena said.

The eighth annual Pooch Plunge, held Aug. 24 at Claude M. Potterfield Pool in Hagerstown, raised $900 for the Humane Society of Washington County. The event drew approximately 233 people and 108 dogs. The city of Hagerstown Parks and Recreation Department provides the pool each year for the event.   

Kitten season is still going strong at the Humane Society of Washington County and the supplies of kitten food and litter are dwindling. The shelter is asking for the public to help. The kittens are fed Purina Kitten Chow. The shelter is also in need of nonscoopable cat litter, preferably Yesterday's News. Donations can be brought to the shelter during normal working hours, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Humane Society is at 13011 Maugansville Road in Hagerstown.

There seems to be only one area of agreement in Washington County where animal control is concerned: No one is happy with the status quo. A rural county is bound to have its share of four-legged issues, but a Herald-Mail report shows an apparent lack of cohesion among public officials and definite confusion among the public about how to deal with problem animals. Unlike many jurisdictions, Washington County's animal control unit is an arm of the nonprofit Humane Society of Washington County.

If Hearty Pet sells 500 raffle tickets, it has pledged to donate more than $1,000 worth of food, treats and toys to the Humane Society of Washington County. To enter the raffle, customers must purchase an item at Hearty Pet and then donate it to the humane society drop-off box at the store. The customer will then receive raffle tickets. How many raffle tickets the customer receives depends on the retail value of the donation. Hearty Pet is expecting an additional $1,000 worth of products to be donated by customers.

“Kristin Aleshire, Mr. Don Munson, I thought you all were going to do a little bit better job than what you are doing now, talking about raising taxes. First thing the city needs to do is quit spending. You give a $1,000 bonus to all the city employees, which should be none. What you people on the city council needs to do is ride around Hagerstown and see how many houses are up for sale and take a study on how many people can't pay the light bill and water bill before you raise taxes.” - Hagerstown “It's Saturday at 2:30 and raining very hard, the roads are really wet and a black car went down the road just fast as he could go wanting to show all of us, I guess, that he can go spinning in the rain and maybe he could go off the road and hit a tree.

The second annual Paws on the Pavement 5K drew more than 400 walkers and runners Saturday and raised more than $10,000 for the Humane Society of Washington County. A total of 413 people registered for the race at Martin L. “Marty” Snook Memorial Park and many used the opportunity to take their dogs for an extra long walk. “This is the second year of the event, and we had hoped it would grow and it did. We are thrilled,” said Ben Cross, events coordinator for the humane society.

Name: Wilhelm Age: 2 years old Color: White with brown Breed: Boxer mix ID: A19801374  Wilhelm is hearing impaired and has done very well to learn how to sit with hand gestures.  He loves treats and should be easy to train with love and patience. Wilhelm and many other animals are available for adoption at The Humane Society of Washington County, 13011 Maugansville Road, north of Hagerstown. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Women's Club will sponsor a house and garden tour Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eight houses will be on the tour, including some on Oak Hill Avenue and South Prospect Street in Hagerstown. Also included on the tour will be the Women's Club, the Brennecke home and a home in Sharpsburg. Lunch will be available at the club from 11 a.m.  to 2 p.m. The lunch will cost $7 on the day of the tour. The cost of tickets covering all the homes is $20, or individual homes can be viewed for $5. Tickets are available at the Women's Club, Lena's of Hagerstown, Wisteria Cove, Dollies Tea Room, Cake Walk, Carol and Co., Village Florists and Gifts, Fahrney's Hallmark, Roostervane Florist and the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Washington County branches of Susquehanna Bank and its loan center recently held a two-week pet supply fund drive for the Humane Society of Washington County Inc. The donations filled delivery vehicles to the brim. On April 30, branch managers presented the donations to Mike Lausen, executive director of the humane society.

According to statistics from the Humane Society of Washington County, which in the past have not been made public, March's total of 142 adoptions reflects an increase of 43 more than this past February and 48 more than in March 2012. The number of animals that were euthanized or died at the facility in April decreased by 12 percent, or about 335 animals, as compared to April 2012, said Michael Lausen, executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County. As of April, the euthanasia/death rate for the current year - statistics are tracked by fiscal years that end June 30 - also comes in slightly lower than the 2010-11 year, according to statistics.

Reducing obstacles for adoption, decreasing euthanasia rates and increasing the number of animal control field service officers are top priorities listed by Michael Lausen, the recently hired executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County. Lausen, who took over the executive director job Feb. 4, said recently that the humane society had 142 adoptions, including 73 cats and 65 dogs, in March - its highest recorded one-month total ever - simply by relaxing the requirements in the adoption application process.

The Humane Society of Washington County will break ground this summer for a $2.2 million low-cost spay and neuter clinic, Executive Director Michael Lausen said Thursday. “We take the animals to vets around the area” for spaying and neutering, Lausen said Thursday. “Now it's going to be brought in-house as a cost savings.” The 7,000-square-foot clinic is expected to be completed in March or April of 2014, Lausen said. This fall, the society will begin recruiting a veterinarian to run the clinic, he said.

Dog Adult hound mix, male, tan and black, found on Shepherdstown Pike in Sharpsburg For more information, call the Humane Society at 301-733-2060.