Staff
The fifth-annual “A Cause for Paws” fundraiser for the Borderland Humane Society is coming up Saturday, April 13 at Lenard’s in International Falls.
Running from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., the event is the primary fundraiser for the BHS each year.
It also will be a celebration of 40 years of the BHS.
There will be a dinner featuring pork cutlets, as well as live and silent auctions, a game, a guest speaker, and draws.
The event is sponsored by 93.1 The Border.
Tickets, which cost $25 each, are on sale now at City Drug, The Chocolate Moose, and the Rainy River Veterinary Hospital in International Falls.
Kallie Kantos-Fritz, chair of the “Cause for Paws” committee, said she also is looking for event sponsors and donations.
“Best Buddies” sponsorship levels are The Cat’s Meow ($25-$49), Pick of the Litter ($50-$99), Top Dog ($100-$249), and Best in Show ($250 or more).
Suggested donations include, but are not limited to, overnight packages, sporting events, concert tickets, special event tickets, merchandise, memorabilia, or a monetary donation.
To become a sponsor or donate to the event, contact Kantos-Fritz at 1-218-283-2928.
Funds raised at this year’s event will help support the well-being and health care of abandoned and neglected animals in the greater International Falls and Koochiching County areas, as well as the partial funding of a new holding facility (shelter).
The purpose of the holding facility is simple: to act as a temporary home for the animals while they await adoption, providing them with a safe place to live, food, water, and love.
“The BHS does well with its current resources and the simple building that acts as the holding facility,” said Kantos-Fritz.
“Put simply, the holding facility has two rooms—one for the cats and dogs and one for the office,” she noted.
At this time, however, the BHS cannot accept surrenders because of the limited space—only those cats and dogs found on the streets and brought in by the local police department are accepted.
“Due to the limited size and the age of the current holding facility, it does not meet the expectations set forth by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health,” Kantos-Fritz explained.
“Each year the holding facility is cited because it does not have an intake or quarantine area, just to name a couple of deficiencies,” she said.
But plans are in the works to construct a new holding facility near Menard’s.
The BHS, City of International Falls, and Koochiching County have partnered to help make the dream of a new holding facility a reality, said Kantos-Fritz.
The BHS adoption rate is “phenomenal,” she added, noting it is 100 percent for dogs and 95 percent for cats.
These animals are advertised through radio and print media, as well as on Facebook and at www.borderlandhumanesociety.org
“A Cause for Paws” is the largest source of income for the BHS. The fourth-annual one raised more than $16,000.
Each year, more than 25 percent of the annual budget is dedicated towards the medical care, spaying, and neutering of the animals.
The BHS is part of the Humane Society of the United States, but it does not receive any monies from this organization (there is no correlation between the two organizations).
Kantos-Fritz said the BHS and Fort Frances Friends of Animals on this side of the border work closely together—helping each other out whenever possible—whether it’s at spay-neuter clinics, through food donations, and by networking to help animals get homes.
To keep up to date on fundraiser info, visit “Cause for Paws Intl Falls” on Facebook.
