As of May 18, 68 of the 91 animals brought into the Greenville Animal Shelter during the month had to be euthanized. Six were reunited with their owners and none were adopted. It’s a heartbreaking statistic that the Butler County Humane Society would like to change.

“It’s a shame to have to see any of them euthanized, although we know health reasons may dictate it at times,” said BCHS president Herbert Morton on hearing the latest report from Animal Control.

“Obviously, any time we have animals fixed, it is decreasing the numbers of unwanted animals in our community and decreasing the numbers who end up being put down,” Morton said.

The group’s board recently agreed to pay an additional charge per animal being spayed or neutered by Greenville veterinarian Dr. Bill Watson and are working on a plan to underwrite the spaying and neutering of more animals each month at a fixed rate.

“We are looking to assist the people in our county who would not otherwise be able to do this,” Morton said. “Once we meet with Dr. Watson and the plan is approved, we will form a group to work at getting the word out to the small communities, the churches, and so forth. We also need to communicate why spaying and neutering is beneficial to the pets.”

BCHS members learned the Daniels Foundation had donated $1,000 to the humane society, which will go to the no-kill shelter project. A total of $3,000 has been donated since the beginning of 2010, with a total profit from donations and fundraisers of $9, 421 since January 1.

“We had tremendous success with both the calendar and the dogutante ball for the first time out for each project,” Morton said.

Monies raised will continue to support both the day-to-day operations of the city’s animal shelter and the Second Chance shelter fund.

A current fundraiser for the society is the raffle of an unusual hand-stitched Alabama quilt now on display at The Smokehouse Restaurant. Tickets are $1 each and the quilt is slated to be given away at Old Time Farm Day in October.

The next fundraising event for the group will be the Annual Wag n’ Wash, set for 8 a.m. to noon June 5 at The Pet Laundry.

A yard sale is also planned in conjunction with the pet wash. Donations are welcome, said Morton.

The next regular meeting of the BCHS is June 8 at 1 p.m. at Old Mexico.