YANKTON, S.D. (KTIV) -
Wendy Mathis walked into Heartland Humane Society with the intention of getting a cat. Not only did she come out of the Yankton shelter with that cat, but a dog named "Oodles" as well.
Mathis said, "When you come home and they're running to you, like "Oh you're home, you're home" it's like, someone really cares."
Whether it's "Oodles" the dog or "Paris" the cat, the Heartland Humane Society has seen an astounding number of small animals coming through.
Kerry Schmidt, executive director of Heartland Humane Society said, "Historically, we've been able to live off of donations when it came to food so, we're still trying to keep that going since there's not quite enough money in the budget this year to go out and purchase it and we've had some great people come in the last week and try and start restocking the shelves."
Those great people have been helping out the 148 pets that have been come through since Jan.1st.
That's nearly triple the amount of dogs and cats in the same time frame as last year.
That means a shortage of food and cat litter, but the community is trying to take up the slack.
Schmidt also added, "It's been great to see a community come together and support a shelter that is really working hard to save all the animals."
New owners tell us, you really don't know how rewarding the experience is, until you adopt a shelter pet.
"They bring so much to you, they're so unconditionally loving. Besides the joy that they bring you, it feels good to you to give them a place to stay and a good home," said Mathis.
For more information on how you can adopt a pet from the Heartland Humane Society in Yankton call (605) 664-4244.
