Antietam Humane Society is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year! Established in 1973 thanks to Mrs. Florence Lyon, we have been saving homeless animals in our community for 5 decades, fulfilling our mission of promoting the well-being of animals and our community through education, care, adoption, and outreach.
In 2021 we also focused to increase life-saving for the animals in our care. We are so proud to say that we ended 2022 with a save rate of 94% for all animals that entered our shelter, without ever having to turn away any animal truly in need of our care.
Take, for instance, Tiny Tim, who came to us as a stray right before Christmas. He was extremely sick, unable to eat, severely dehydrated, and battling a severe case of calicivirus. In the past, Tiny Tim would have been euthanized; today, although his eye will always have scarring, he is available for adoption because we have expanded our medical knowledge and found away to treat him effectively.
Then there’s Brody. This boy came to us in November underweight and with a terrible skin infection. We immediately began treating him for numerous issues, such as yeast infections in his ears and his skin, sarcoptic mange, and allergies. He is now at a healthy weight and his mange is gone, but we are still actively working to pinpoint the root cause of his allergies while his skin continues to heal.
2022 was also our first full year offering spay/neuter services for stray cats, fixing almost 400 community cats. We look to increase that number while also adding low-cost spay/neuter services for owned cats and dogs.
We also implemented a pet food bank for those struggling to feed their pets. We believe the best place for any animal is in the home where it is loved. If a few bags of pet food are what is needed to keep a pet with its family, we are happy to help.
All this is in addition to the services we already offer, such as microchipping for the public, low-cost rabies clinics, animal cruelty investigations, humane education, accepting stray and owner surrender animals, and adoptions. In 2022 we adopted 262 dogs and 572 cats – the most cats we have ever adopted in one year!
But all of this is not possible without you. Our funding comes exclusively from our generous donors to maintain these programs, keep our lights on, our buildings safe, and our animals healthy. We invite you to invest in this organization that has invested so much in our community.
On behalf of all of the animals, thank you for your consideration!