News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Friends of DeKalb County Animal Shelter is hosting a polar plunge this Saturday.
The Plunge for Paws event will take place at the Holmes Creek Road Lake Access, better known as Redneck Beach at 10 a.m. Animal Shelter Director Emmaly Bennett said that Friends is a volunteer organization that provides support to both shelter staff and the community.
“With spay and neutering, helping with the community trap and release programs, education, just kind of being our aid and helping us with anything that we need,” Bennett said. “They also do a monthly food drive for pet food fo098r people in our community that are in need, so just all-around helping our shelter out.”
Bennett said that the funds raised in events like these play a huge role in the ability of the shelter to serve the community. She said that right now they have a huge feral cat problem in the county.
“And these guys are helping people in the community trap these cats, get them spayed and neutered and get them vaccinated so they can stop reproducing,” Bennett said. “We have cat colonies of 20 plus cats all over the DeKalb County. So we’re trying to get the population under the control, but that’s a lot of money. So these fundraisers are really helping put a dent in that.”
Bennett said that they have business owners, church leaders, and even Smithville Mayor Josh Miller taking the plunge.
“It’ll be fun for us to just watch these people jump into a cold lake,” Bennett said. “But also to support our organization. We’ll be passing out donates and hot chocolate.”
To sign up or sponsor a jumper, Bennett said you can message the shelter on Facebook or give them a call at (615) 597-3647
