Local Animal Shelter To Remain Open

The Valley Humane Society will live on after reaching its fundraising goal of $125,000 on Saturday, days after it announced that it would have to begin cutting staff and programming and eventually .

Because of the sagging economy, the animal shelter saw its donation totals dip 30 percent so far this year after dropping 25 percent in
2010. Tied with an increased demand from people losing their homes, this put the shelter in a financial bind.

Community members realized the "urgency," the humane society's
Executive Director Melanie Sadek said, and stepped up to help the struggling animal shelter.

As of Saturday, the organization had raised roughly $175,000,
including a check from an .

"We've had little kids come up and give us a dollar out of their piggy bank," Sadek said. "I never thought we would get this response from the community."

Several local businesses, including Round Table Pizza and Pet Food
Express, are hosting promotions to raise donations for the center.

Sadek did not notify her staff or volunteers of the shelter's financial troubles until last week, before the public announcement, and found
it hardest to tell her volunteers. Sadek said that, for some, the center was a second home.

But the staff of six and the 250-person volunteer crew never hung
their heads.

"They all rallied. Failure was not an option for anybody," Sadek said. "No one really accepted that we wouldn't be able to stay open."

Part of the fundraising effort involved offering new educational
courses that included Boy and Girl Scout camps, corporate development and veterinary health and wellness courses.

Sadek's goal is for these courses to become a major portion of the
center's continuous fundraising. The shelter is also planning a Halloween event and a dog walk to raise money.

Sadek hopes "to [make] a better shelter than we had before."

The shelter moved into a new 5,200-square-foot facility in May, but operational costs have not been affected.

The humane society has an operating budget of $500,000 and has
been open since 1987. It continues to serve the Tri-Valley area, which
includes Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, but has taken in animals from all over the Bay Area.

--Bay City News Service