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By MEG HERNDON | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The Birmingham-based BioHorizons team held a food and supply drive for two weeks in March for Shelby Humane. The drive raised over $500 worth of pet food, puppy and kitten milk, pet toys and cleaning products.

Kathy Bessiere, the director of human resources at BioHorizons said that the company enjoys giving back to the community.

“Supporting Shelby Humane reinforced our mission of community service, and many of our BioHorizons team members are pet lovers,” Bessiere said. “So, after brainstorming ideas, we thought it would be impactful to host a pet food and supply drive.”

Katrina Davis, the marketing and public relations coordinator at Shelby Humane said that donations such as the one the BioHorizons team gave them help the shelter properly care for all their animals and allows them to receive their best chance at finding them a forever home.

“Without donations or the support from the community, Shelby Humane could not keep its no-kill status as a shelter,” Davis said.

The donations from the BioHorizons team came in at a good time as the slower months for donations at the shelter according to Davis are January through March and August through September.

Bessiere said that the BioHorizons team hopes to make the food and supply drive a yearly tradition.

“They (the team) had been interested in participating in more volunteer activities, so this was another opportunity for them to come together for a good cause,” Bessiere said. “We were happy about the success of the drive and being able to help health happen for the animals in need.”

Parties interested in donating items to the shelter can find a full list of supplies needed at Shelbyhumane.org/donation.

“Each and every animal in the shelter are in need of the basic supplies needed to sustain life healthily: food, shelter, treats, litter, formula, toys, collars, etc. Those are just the basics,” Davis said. “We are always in need of laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, Karunda beds for the dogs, newspapers, and so much more.

As for items that Shelby Humane can’t use, the shelter will offer those to the community to help care for their personal pets.

“So many people will donate used pillows or shredded paper,” Davis said. “Unfortunately, we cannot utilize these items. Our puppies and kitties shred the pillows, and both the pillow bits and shredded paper clog our drains during the cleaning process.”