Animal shelter fundraiser deemed success

More than 700 animals have been adopted from Pahrump’s Never Forgotten Animal Society this year. But Executive Director Pat Leming said the agency aims to find homes for additional pets by year’s end.

About 200 attended the nonprofit’s fundraiser at the Pahrump Nugget banquet room earlier this month.

“It was amazing and we had tremendous community support,” said Leming, who reported $8,000 in contributions from the event. “It helps me pay my vet bills, my vaccines and gets my microchips [for the animals], so that kind of community support is absolutely necessary for all of our operations here.”

The event coincided with a program founded by the Bissell Pet Foundation’s “Empty the Shelters Holiday Hope” campaign, which runs through Dec. 20.

“We’ve done almost 100 animals through their events and we really thank them for stepping up and helping the pet community because without their support,” Leming said. “A lot of these animals would be spending their Christmas holidays in cages and that’s not right.”

A big thanks

Leming lauded the efforts of Ski Censki and Ron Gipson, who served as auctioneers at the event.

“Ski was very entertaining and so much fun,” she said. “I’d never been to a real auction before, so that was a real hoot. We really had a great time and he puts on a tremendous show to help us raise an incredible amount of money for the care of these animals.”

Leming also thanked the foundation’s volunteer, Maxine Brown.

“She’s an incredibly talented woman,” Leming said. “She just astounds me with her creativity and her ability to put this together for us and she’s done an amazing job all year long.”

But Brown said the event wasn’t possible without tremendous support from the community.

“Every time I’ve done an animal event, the community has just really given us a lot of support,” she said. “With COVID-19 last year, people were hesitant to get out and really do something. With the spirit of the holiday season, there were a lot of people who came together to make it successful and we managed to pull it off. Everybody was really pleased with the food, the tables, the music, and everything.”

Additionally, Brown applauded the efforts of a local business that assisted in the event.

“There needs to be a huge thank you to Lou and Suzanne of P-Town Air, as they donated the dinner in memory of their family member, Java, who this year crossed the bridge.”

Brown also thankedsinger and musician Jeffrey Michaels, who provided entertainment throughout the evening.

“He entertained and had everybody up and dancing and just having a ball, all night long after the auction,” she said. He’s quite the entertainer and he plays in Los Angeles and also works in Las Vegas. We had him playing until 10 o’clock and we just danced our feet off. It was way too much fun.”

Matchmaking

Leming highlighted a new program the foundation is offering to area seniors.

“It’s where we have older animals that need a lap to sit on and I know we have seniors that want an animal in their lap too,” she said. “We try and put the two together and make it work. It’s been very successful. We’re trying to get all of these guys out of here and into nice, loving homes.”

Never Forgotten Animal Society is located at 520 East Street, Pahrump.

For information on adopting an animal or providing donations, call 775-537-8674.

Additional information can be found at neverforgottenanimalsociety.com.

Business hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes.