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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 16 ,2 02 1 | 42 egarots elttob llat htiw gnivlehs rood detargetnI noitces rezeerf tnednepednI rotaregirfer yticapac .tf.uc 1.3 SERUTAEF repsirc elbategeV metsys gnisnepsid egareveb ®rotSnaC noituloS tcefreP eht era segdirF iniM ybnaD DDLSB1B130RCD - NWOHS LEDOM egdirf gniwoflrevo ruoy rof egarots artxE 7491 ECNIS moc.ybnaD ta segdirF iniM ybnaD fo eroM eeS When Winston, a small Shih Tzu cross, was found in a wooded area in Oak- ville a month ago, his eyes were swollen shut, his body was covered in sores and he couldn't walk on one of his hind leg. "We're lucky we found him when we did," said Ro- byn Dmytrow of the Oak- ville and Milton Humane Society. "I'm not sure he would have survived much longer out there," Winston had surgery on his knee last week after the sores on his body had healed. Though he is doing quite well, he'll still require dental surgery once he's fully recovered. The OMHS usually treats a couple of animals each month that require expensive medical treatments. The shelter, which is ful- ly funded by donations from the public and corpo- rate sponsors, is currently nearing capacity. "The shelter has seen a steep increase in surren- ders," Dmytrow said. "There are people going through tough times and one of the reasons (they surrender animals) is they can't pay for their care." One program to help keep pets with their fami- lies is the pet food bank. The OMHS began the pro- gram with the Kerr Street Mission and has now ex- panded to work with 11 agencies to help provide food for pets for people ex- periencing financial diffi- culties. The OMHS expects to provide 122,000 pet meals in 2022. The OMHS works with those same agencies to help people experiencing homelessness by caring for their pets until they can find accomodations. "It's one of the ways to keep pets and their people together," Dmytrow said. The OMHS recently launched its holiday matching campaign (omhs.ca). All donations up to $70,000 will be matched by an anonymous donor, doubling the impact of each donation. That allows the OMHS to care for the animals in the shelter, and provide emergency medical care for both injured wildlife or lost or abandoned pets, like Winston. "He's a sweet guy and he loves being held," Dmy- trow said. "I'm sure he'll find a home as soon as he recovers." HUMANE SOCIETY LAUCHES HOLIDAY MATCHING CAMPAIGN Care for rescued animals like Winston is one way in which the Oakville and Milton Humane Society uses donations to its holiday matching campaign. OMHS photo HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com NEWS