Faced with some critical budget needs the Circle of Friends Humane Society in Grand Forks is camping out in front of the adoption center on South Washington hoping to raise some significant cash.
CEO LauraLee Tupa says the cost of taking in animals is far outpacing available resources. Tupa says recent hoarding cases and abandoned animals have only made the situation worse. “What do we want in our community? The budget got blown months ago for what we planned this year. Last year’s budget got blown. Over 98% of the animals are from Grand Forks and Grand Forks County.”
Tupa adds Circle of Friends has already spent $889,000 dollars on pet care this year alone. She says Grand Forks is not the only shelter feeling a financial crunch. “It isn’t just here but animal shelters across the U.S. We just want to make sure our (shelter) stays on the map while all those other shelters are closing.”
The camp-out is scheduled to run through next Wednesday – or until the necessary funding is secured. So far in 2023 Circle of Friends has had over 13-hundred animals come through the doors.
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