By Jay Lutz

Mower County Humane Society

2014 was a good year at the Mower County Humane Society.

Thanks to the support of the community and the dedication of our volunteers we rescued and adopted 288 cats and dogs into new homes. This is 18 percent more than in 2013. Also, in 2014 MCHS sponsored multiple reduced cost spay/neuter events for Mower County pet owners.

Last spring the feline spay/neuter clinic, held in cooperation with the Austin Vet Clinic, treated 135 area cats. Since 2007 this annual MCHS program has fixed more than 1,200 cats, and we’re doing it again this year.

Registration begins Monday, Feb.16. Call the vet clinic directly at 507-433-5225 to schedule an appointment. Spays are just $50 and neuters are only $40.

Also during 2014, MCHS sponsored visits by the Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program (MN SNAP) mobile surgical unit. The next visit of the MN SNAP unit is already scheduled for Thursday, May 14. Register at www.mnsnap.org or call 612-720-8236.

MCHS reduced operating costs in 2014 by turning to the power of the sun. Thanks to the incredible generosity of two donors, we were able to install a new 40 kilo-watt solar panel system. With a total of 144 solar panels arranged in four ground-mounted arrays, the system sits on the northeast side of the shelter.

The power produced by the system is reducing our monthly electric bills by half.

Mark your calendars for one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Our annual Pasta Dinner and Silent/Live Auction is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22. This year’s event will again be at the Holiday Inn Grand Ballroom in Austin.

We are still looking for items for the auction and baskets. We are in need of new items and any new or lightly-used baskets that could be used to assemble gift baskets for the auction.

If you have something to donate or baskets please call and leave a message at the shelter at 507-437-9262, or drop them off during open house hours.

You can help us save paper, printing costs , and postage by receiving our quarterly newsletter electronically via email. Just send an email with “newsletter” in the subject line to mchs.secretary@yahoo.com.

Or, do you have a pet that is an alumni of the Mower County Humane Society and would like to have their story told in our “Tail Tales” section of the newsletter? Just drop a note to the secretary at the email address above or mail to the shelter and we will get back to you to gather the information. Don’t forget to have some photos too.

With the new year here, it is time to renew memberships for 2015. For all those who have already renewed your memberships, we thank you for your continued support.

Membership fees are: $25 for individual, $35 for family, $50 for a sponsor $50 and $100 or more for patron.

Mail to: MCHS Secretary, 101 22nd Street SE, Austin, MN 55912. Happy New Year and here’s to an even better 2015.