Humane Society nearing deadline for matching funds

An important deadline is almost here for those in the Yuma area who care about animals and want to ensure that they are well-treated.

Wednesday is the final day for a special opportunity to help the Humane Society of Yuma build a new facility to better care for the many animals that come to them as strays or because pet owners can no longer care for their animals.

The goal is to get at least $100,000 in contributions by Wednesday. The day is important because an anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations received by April 30 up to $100,000. So the Humane Society would actually double the money if this is possible. They were on their way to hitting the goal as of last week, having passed the $62,000 mark.

Of course, much more than $100,000 ($200,000 when matched) will be necessary before the the animal shelter can actually be built. The goal is to ultimately raise $3.5 million and only about a third of that has been contributed so far.

The money will be used to build an 18,000 square foot shelter, more than double the size of the current facility. That will enable it to house more animals, something that is needed due to the ever-growing number of dogs and cats the Humane Society must handle.

Of course, humane treatment of the animals is a priority and that can be difficult to do in the current facility which lacks proper climate control and has a design that makes it difficult to provide proper sanitary conditions and to control diseases. The animals also have to remain in cages because there is no outside exercise area.

All of that will change in the new facility.

It is not an easy task to raise that amount of money from private donations, but supporters are working hard to achieve their goal.

One of the most critical steps was acquiring property for the shelter. The Glen Curtis family and Sam Perricone donated 6 acres on the southwest corner of 40th Street and Avenue 4-1/2E for that purpose last May.

Other donors - including the one who has agreed to match $100,000 in the current fund drive - have steadily been adding money to actually build the shelter on the donated land. It is a worthwhile cause deserving of support, whether small or large.