“I don’t know how to put it into words. I was in shock when I was told,” said Becky Felton, CPHS outreach and development director. “There aren’t enough tail wags of thanks to represent how grateful we feel.”

Felton explained that since she began her fundraising efforts at the shelter nine years ago, she has signed emails with “many tail wags and thanks.” It’s a reference to how the animals express their gratitude.

While the shelter runs its own fundraising campaigns, the committee that selects Season of Sharing recipients feels that the shelter’s efforts would be augmented through this annual appeal program by reaching potential donors who may not know of how it helps the greater community.

“The shelter is in dire need of greater financial assistance. They face an uphill battle in repairing an old building with outdated, inefficient furnaces and windows and leaky roofs. Plus they face rising utility costs,” said Publisher Dan Slep. “We hope to reach readers and others in our community who are unfamiliar with the valuable services the shelter provides and will dig into their wallets to help. The shelter has helped the community for decades and it’s time for the community to help them in a bigger way.”

CPHS Volunteer Skyler Fogle spends time with Phoebe, a domestic short hair mix. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The Season of Sharing annual holiday appeal uses the reach of the local newspaper and its online community at altoonamirror.com, the expertise of the Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation and residents’ generosity to help area nonprofits. It has raised $394,266 since its inception.

“We are once again thrilled to work with the Altoona Mirror on the Season of Sharing and to help CPHS grow to meet their financial need by expanding beyond their usual network of loyal pet lovers and donors,” said Jodi Cessna, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation. “Their dedicated staff and volunteers help control the community’s pet population through its spay and neuter practices and finds forever homes for surrendered pets. Without the services CPHS provides, pet cruelty and abandonment will increase. And the number of feral cats and stray dogs is likely to rise further as pet overpopulation is unchecked.”

Founded in 1894, the shelter’s original building on its current site, 1837 Pleasant Valley Blvd., was erected in the 1920s. “It’s literally coming down around us,” Felton explained.

“We expanded in all four directions — the last time in the 1950s — we can’t expand any more,” Felton said. Because it is so outdated, the buildings lack proper insulation and have drafty windows. Heating bills between November and March run $3,200 a month. Its piecemeal construction necessitates five furnaces. A sixth furnace heats the wellness center where veterinary care is provided to the animals and is a separate building so staff and animals go outside to access it — which prompts other problems.

“I’m constantly calling someone to repair the roof, every time it rains it leaks. The last time we had $12,000 worth of water and electrical damage,” she said. “It seems like it’s one thing after another and we’re taking good money and keep throwing it at it.”

The organization became a nonprofit in the 1980s and its mission is “to prevent animal neglect and cruelty through education and enforcement while providing a safe haven and finding forever homes for those in need.”

About 11 years ago, it became a no-kill shelter, which means no matter how unadoptable an animal may be, it won’t be euthanized. One dog stayed at the shelter for more than five years and was unadoptable because of aggressive nature that severely injured two people.

Felton is tasked with connecting with individuals and businesses in the area to sponsor fundraising events to raise money for shelter operating costs. When the shelter advertises an event or campaign, a sponsor has paid for the billboard or ad. Donations earmarked for the animals’ care aren’t used.

In addition to rising maintenance and utility costs, there’s been an ever-rising demand to care for pets surrendered by owners, found as strays, or discovered neglected and ill in pet hoarding circumstances. The constant demand outpaces the shelter’s physical capacity.

“Being a no-kill shelter is part of the reason we are bursting at the seams. Being a no-kill shelter means unadoptable animals stay for their entire life,” she explained.

Shelter Manager Dylan Kotrick said the shelter faces criticism for its limited capacity from those who call seeking to surrender a pet.

“We’re only allowed so many animals and animals must be in a crate that is compatible with its size. We can’t put a 70-pound dog in a crate that’s for a Jack Russell.”

When police discover a pet hoarding situation, the shelter responds as it did when 96 ill and neglected animals were discovered earlier this year. Hoarding situations are becoming more and more common and each incident strains already stretched resources, officials said. The hoarded animals suffer from neglect and have many health problems, so with two large hoarding responses, veterinary bills are expected to exceed the budgeted $400,000 by an additional $50,000 to $100,000, Felton said.

The shelter receives on average three calls a day from owners who can no longer care for their pet. A record high of 22 surrender calls from dog owners occurred in one day this year. The reasons vary, but surrenders are most often caused by the owner moving into a new living situation that doesn’t allow pets, Kotrick explained. The shelter also receives about five calls a day from cat owners wishing to surrender their pets and many more calls about stray animals that are found wandering.

To provide care — vaccines, microchipping, neutering and food — for one dog costs an average of $300 per month, Kotrick said. It costs on average $170 to prepare a cat for adoption and feed it for a month.

The shelter is planning for a new, larger facility that would help it better meet the community’s needs. However, the build is expected to exceed $3.5 million. The new shelter would increase dog capacity from 48 to 78.

“It’s a big difference in how we can help our community and our animals,” Felton said.

“We do our best with what we’ve got,” Kotrick said, noting that more and more often that isn’t enough. “The new shelter, designed to be more functional, will help us make more of a difference.”

While an anonymous donor generously provided the land for a new shelter, the organization doesn’t have the cash to start to build, Felton said.

“People want to know that the money they give is going to help the animals. Everything we do is for the animals,” she said. The four-member paid staff is assisted by 13 part timers. “You don’t get rich working here. The people who work here are here because they love the animals. Everything we do is for the animals,” she said.

Those wishing to donate to the Central PA Humane Society through the Mirror’s Season of Sharing, should use the form on Page A9 in today’s Mirror. For convenience, a self-

addressed envelope has also been inserted into today’s newspaper or those making a donation may use their own envelope.

Staff Writer Patt Keith can be reached at 814-949-7030.

Past Season of Sharing recipients:

2005 – U.S. Armed Forces Mothers

2006 – Brian Morden Foundation

2007 – Shriners Hospitals for Children

2008 – Gloria Gates Foundation

2009 – Food for Families Soup Kitchen

2010 – Zack Hinish Foundation

2011 – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County

2012 – Home Nursing Agency’s Healing Patch

2013 – The Miracle League of Blair County

2014 – Mountain Lion BackPack Program

2015 – Family Services Teen Center & Shelter

2016 – Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services

2017 – Hurricane relief

2018 – Blair County Suicide Prevention Task Force

2019 – Skills Of Central PA

2020 – Altoona Food Bank

2021 – Blair County Library System

2022 – St. Vincent DePaul Assumption Chapel Food Pantry

2023 – Sweat for Vets

2024 – Central PA Humane Society