By Oliver Sheehan
Corsicana Daily Sun
Corsicana —
Paws will be the cause next month as the Humane Society of Navarro County begins its campaign to raise funds towards building a new animal shelter in Corsicana.
Activities will be taking place throughout the day on Saturday, Oct. 9, with a number of free activities for kids between 12-5 p.m. before the main event between 6:30-10:30 p.m.
The ‘Cause for Paws’ event will begin at noon with face painting, vendors, professional pet photographs, a performance by Bill and Star, a bounce house and hot dogs for $1 each.
The main event in the evening will be a barbecue dinner which will include home made macaroni cheese, corn bread and three types of meat.
A silent auction for free veterinary services, certificates for oil changes, a hand bag, fine china, dinners in Dallas restaurants and a home made dinner for 10 cooked by five star chef David McMillan will also be available along with a raffle and a country and western band and dance.
“Everybody has worked very, very hard on this and I think there is a great deal of interest in building a new animal shelter,” said Julie Maupin, president of the Humane Society of Navarro County. “We are looking for a lot of participation from our friends all over the county.”
“This is a city shelter but it serves the whole county and while the HSNC is separate from the shelter, we work very closely with them. We are very excited about raising funds for this new facility,” she added.
The present animal shelter on Main Street experiences regular over crowding, meaning that around 35 percent of animals put in their care will be euthanized if left unclaimed for more than two months. Some of those euthanized are also due to factors including behavioral problems or injury or illness.
One of the aims of the new animal shelter is to provide extra space to help prevent future animals being put down, explained Corsicana Animal Shelter manager, Julianne Burkhalter.
“I think they are looking at just under 10,000 square feet, its basically going to be double the capacity we currently have,” explained Burkhalter.
“On average we have around 125-200 animals at any given time. The sooner we are able to get that money raised, the faster we are able to get that built. We would very much like to get into that new facility.”
Between 30 and 35 volunteers will help out on the day, and the Corsicana High School National Honors Society will also be helping during the afternoon events.
“There’s going to be all kinds of family orientated activities,” added Fran Townes, one of the organizers for the event. “People are welcome to bring their pets as long as they bring stuff to clean up with them.”
This event is going to be the first of many as the HSNC works towards raising the $1 million necessary to build the shelter.
“I thoroughly believe it’s going to be fun because we are going to have so many things going on at the same time. There is going to be something for every age and I promise the food is going to be delicious,” said Townes.
“We desperately need an animal shelter. Ours is way to small,” she added.
The proposed new animal shelter is going to be built on 45th Street near the Tiger’s Stadium and Griffin-Roughton funeral home.
There are only 300 tickets available for the “Cause for Paws” event. Prices will be $35 per person or $50 per couple if booked by Oct. 3, or $40 per person on the day of the event.
For more information call the Humane Society at (903) 875-1060 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday to Friday. Tickets can also be purchased at Victorian Sample Florists on Beaton Street in Corsicana.
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Oliver Sheehan may be reached by e-mail at oliver@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
