The Weyburn Humane Society saw an improvement in their finances in 2019, but will need to continue fundraising for a new animal shelter as they are not yet at the point to start that major project, board members and volunteers heard at their annual meeting on Tuesday evening.
President Pam Arndt-Schick said their fundraisers held during the year continued to be supported by the public, with events ranging from bake sales and barbecues to a large garage sale and golf tournament.
She noted the biggest fundraisers for them are the spring garage sale and the “Raise the Woof” comedy night.
“To date, we still do not have adequate funds to move forward,” she said of the project for a new shelter facility.
In the past year, there were 165 animal control calls, the Weyburn Police Service had 27 calls with 132 out-of-town calls. The Humane Society had 289 adoptions of animals, and 147 animals were picked up and claimed back by their owners, with 22 animals having to be euthanized in 2019.
Donations of pet food, cat litter and cash was up, totaling $101,296, up from $73,311 the year before, and grants from the City of Weyburn were up slightly to $35,912, and there were bequests and legacies totaling $11,426. The total revenues on the year was $262,027, which is up from $233,029 the year before.
On the expense side, salaries and wages were the biggest expense for the Humane Society at $101,087, with expenses totaling $231,969, and the total of revenues over expenses was $31,141, and this is up from $25,564 in 2018.
The board was urged to record everything that gets donated to them, so if people aren’t able to donate to the Humane Society, they will be able to budget for what the real costs are to run the animal shelter.
In the board elections, nine board members let their names stand for 2020, and two new board members were added. The board includes president Pam Arndt-Schick, vice-president Carol LaCharite, treasurer Pat Anderson, secretary Wendy Pitre and fundraising chair Elizabeth Livingstone, new board members Cassidy Pope and Kaylee Vanbeselaere, members Kelly Linnell and Randy Bakaluk, shelter manager Colleen Morrice and Lisa Webb.
