(photo: (left to right) Gateway Lodge member Diana Mills, Mary Henry, OHS Donor Relations Manager with temporary resident “Gretchen” in the foreground)

Everyone likes to curl up with a nice warm blanket from time to time.  Somehow a blanket, all warm and fluffy, instills a sense of peace and security.  And that is just what is needed when animals first come to the Oregon Humane Society center on Columbia Blvd.  Coming into a strange place with strange sounds and smells and people all around that they don’t know can be overwhelming to an animal.  A nice warm blanket helps to assure them that all will be well.

The members of Gateway Elks Lodge #2411, understanding the situation, made a slight detour from their normal community efforts to assist their less fortunate 4-pawed and tail wagging neighbors.  The Elks gathered together material and supplies and member Diana Mills set to work making hand-made, pet-sized quilts to be donated to the Oregon Humane Society for use by the temporary residents of that facility.  Odd sized scraps of durable material in festive colors were fashioned into 22 quilts that ranged in size from “baby kitten” to “Great Dane”.  Oregon Humane Society Donor Relations Manager Mary Henry and temporary resident “Gretchen” (shown above) received the quilts from Lodge members Diana Mills and Esteemed Leading Knight Ralph Hartmann in the lobby of the Columbia Blvd facility.  Ms Henry stated that she hoped this act of kindness by the Elks will help others realize the need these animals have for our help and understanding.

The Oregon Humane Society has a terrific record saving and placing lost, neglected or abandoned animals.  In 2008 they proudly reported a 96% save rate for their sheltered animals.  That means that 96% of their animals were either adopted, reunited with their owners or placed with another group (such as a specific breed rescue group) committed to finding the animal a home.  They never put a time limit on how long an animal remains available for adoption at the shelter and they never euthanize one pet to make room for another.  Their high adoption rate – many times higher than the national average – are made possible by a caring community, dedicated employees, committed volunteers and thousands of generous donors, like the Gateway Elks, who make this work possible.

But there is more to the OHS than finding new homes for animals in need.  OHS is dedicated to making a difference in their community: OHS educators reach out to youths to instill humane values; OHS volunteers bring therapy animals to hospitals; the OHS animal rescue team works to save trapped animals that need human help.  Making the community a better place for pets makes it a better place for people.

Diana Mills and the members of Gateway Lodge make and donate quilts through-out the year to human recipients as well.  Chief among the organizations that receive them are the Veterans Hospital in Portland and the VA Nursing Skill Care Unit in Vancouver, WA, Meadowood Springs Summer Camp for Speech and Hearing Impaired Children in Eastern Oregon, the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic at OHSU and local Senior Care facilities.  In the past couple of years, Diana, with fabric and supplies donated by the Lodge members, has personally made over 1,545 quilts to be donated by the Lodge.  Leading Knight Ralph Hartmann said that “it is not unusual for her to periodically show up at the Lodge with a hand truck stacked with boxes that are stuffed full of newly made quilts.  And this new venture, quilts for animals, is just another example of her dedication and that of the Elks motto…
‘Elks Care – Elks Share’, even with our animal neighbors.”