Just in time for the holidays, two shelter dogs have found new homes thanks in part to a generous donation by a local business.
Charlie, a Norfolk Terrier, and Dexter, a King Charles Cavalier and Shitzu mix, were brought into the Southold Animal Shelter last week in desperate need of some pampering to take care of their overgrown coats before they could find their forever homes.
Harbor Pet of Greenport donated its services to shelter, sprucing the pups up and getting them ready for adoption, a day which came sooner than anticipated. With a fresh new look, the dogs were both adopted within the next two days.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Harbor Pet owner Kim Loper said. “It’s so nice to see them get groomed, all nice and pretty and get adopted. To know that you were a a part of that is awesome.”
Although it may be the giving season, it isn’t just the holiday that has Harbor Pet in good spirits. They donate their services to the shelter year-round to dogs that are in bad shape.
“Any time we have a dog that is in need of grooming we call them up and they tell us to bring them over,” shelter manager Gabby Stroup said. “I drop the dog off in the morning and when I pick it up in the afternoon it’s been given a haircut and bath, things that make dogs a lot more adoptable.”
The pet store just started offering their grooming services to the shelter this year, but has a history of supporting the local rescue, which currently houses 17 dogs. In the past, they’ve held food drives and coat drives to help fundraise for the shelter, and any money from admission fees from events held by Harbor Pet has been donated to the animal shelter.
Harbor Pet isn’t the only local business showing its generosity during the Christmas season. Sea Tow of Southold is delivering a large donation to the shelter on Dec. 16, and what could be more fitting for the marine assistance provider than hauling over a large boat full of food, blankets, toys, leashes and other necessities for the shelter’s dogs and cats. The shelter is also expecting a donation from Eastport Elementary students, from where around fifty students make the trip to the shelter each year for a tour of the North Fork Animal Welfare League’s Southold shelter and to donate goods collected through a drive.
To check out available animals or find out how you can help, visit the shelter’s Facebook page.
