Giving Tuesday pays off big time for Dartmouth animal shelter

Giving Tuesday paid off in a big way for a Dartmouth, N.S., animal shelter.

In the past, the day dedicated to donating to charities usually brought in around $5,000 for Bide Awhile. But this year, thanks to campaigning, donations large and small and a donor that was willing to match contributions up to $5,000, the shelter ended up with more than $29,000.

"I think there was a lot of high-fives and ... we were very shocked," executive director Liesje Somers-Blonde told CBC's Mainstreet Halifax on Thursday. "It means the community is listening and they're noticing and they're seeing the good and the things that we're doing to give back to the community."

Somers-Blonde said the money came at a time when the shelter needed it.

"If you consider the cost of groceries have gone up, the cost of housing has gone up, the vet bills have gone up and so too have our bills," Somers-Blond said. 

"So our numbers are high, much higher than somebody who just owns one or two pets. We're talking 500 [animals] this year for vaccines, dewormers and surgeries, and so those numbers for us are astronomical."

Sam Cole, Bide Awhile's marketing co-ordinator, told Mainstreet that highlighting costs the shelter faced on social media helped spread awareness of the costs they were facing. For example, Mr. Ginger, a stray cat positive for feline immunodeficiency virus that was brought to the shelter in the spring, required more than $5,000 in care.

"He was adopted for the summer to a lady who was 101. She entered a nursing home. So he came back to us a couple of weeks ago. They had a great summer together, full of love," Cole said. 

"He needed a full dental, so he needed all of his teeth removed. So that was that, alongside his just care costs of food and any regular vaccinations."

More animals being surrendered

Somers-Blonde said 500 animals is about double than what there had been in the past. She said they're seeing more animals surrendered lately.

"A lot of people are having to surrender animals that they themselves have not been able to financially afford the vet costs. So they're coming in not spayed, not neutered, not vaccinated, not dewormed. And so those are in turn passed on to us. We're happy to do it, and then to adopt them out for a significantly lower fee," Somers-Blonde said.

Cole said more than $8,000 of the $29,000 came through a number of smaller donations.

Donations big and small helped

"I get that a lot of people right now are financially conscious of what they're spending on right now, but as an organization that receives no government funding — we're solely community funded —we wanted to see everyone give what they could," Cole said, adding the average donor gave $25.

"Even five dollars made a difference."

Cole said there are more fundraising events in the works for next year, including cat yoga and pilates. On Dec. 10, Bide Awhile will host a holiday open house and its first tree lighting.