Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society, the McMinnville-based no-kill animal shelter serving Yamhill County, will hold an online version of its annual auction in late September to raise funds for its continued operation.
The organization, founded in 1975, hopes to improve on the proceeds from the 2023 auction, which raised $32,550 (plus $44,000 in sponsorships) for a total of $76,550, according to marketing communications specialist Jessica Barber. This year’s goal is to raise $36,000, plus $44,000 in sponsorships, for a total of $80,000.
“This is our primary fundraiser of the year. The funds raised through winning bids and donations to help us provide medical care for sick and injured animals, nutritious food, enrichment toys, spay/neuter surgeries, vaccines, microchips, safe shelter and lots of love to our animals while we search for their new, loving families,” she said.
The list of auction items is myriad and varied.
“We have over 100 auction packages that have been creatively put together with items and experiences that were all donated from local businesses and individuals — all the way from the San Juan Islands in Washington to McMinnville and everywhere in between,” Barber said.
Included are gift cards for restaurants, coffee houses, boutiques, grocers and others; handyman services; vacation rentals; art, jewelry and photography sessions; helicopter tours; golf, paintball, fishing trips, paddle board and kayak excursions; helicopter, wine country and hot-air balloon tours; wine tasting and BnB stops; pet photography, equine vet services and baskets of pet-oriented items; massage, hair, pedicures, tattoos and piercing services.
The organization is also raising funds to replace it’s century-old facility, which Homeward Bound has operated from nearly since its inception.
The nonprofit, Barber said, has “spent considerable amounts of its limited resources on maintenance for nearly 50 years, but repairs were no longer an option — the walls were literally crumbling around us.”
Homeward Bound is now operating out of temporary quarters until a new facility can be built.
“Amazingly, we’ve been able to raise over $3.25 million, but still need an additional $1.25 million to raise the roof on our new shelter,” Barber said.
The online auction is set for Sept. 18-22 and items may be bid upon by registering at BetterUnite.com/HBPets. Online donations for the new shelter building can be made at bit.ly/3MMtxKN.
Homeward Bound’s mission
Barber said the organization’s mission “is to improve the lives of cats and dogs through adoption events and community partnerships” and implements that mission via an animal shelter, low-cost spay/neuter clinic and a thrift shop. “Our primary goal is to ensure the abandoned, neglected and homeless dogs and cats of Yamhill County get the second chance they deserve at a life full of safety, love and companionship. We spend a lot of time finding the right home for each animal and they stay with us until they are placed in their loving home.”
The organization got its start in the mid-1970s when founder Julie Julson went to what was then a county-run dog control facility and “was shown three brindle puppies that were scheduled to be euthanized,” a press release said. “The animal control officer told her she could have them for free if she took all three — Julie went home with three puppies. She decided to keep two and put an ad in the newspaper to find a home for the third. There were many responses and the pup was soon in a new home.”
When Julson realized that the typical fate of homeless dogs in Yamhill County in 1970s was euthanasia after a short holding period, she decided she could find homes for more dogs. She began bringing dogs home, housing them in her garage and later in other foster homes, and then arranging adoptions.
“On one trip to pick up dogs, the officer jokingly said, ‘Why don’t you start a humane society?’ So, she did!” the release concluded.
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