Founder hopes to have the facility open by November this year
(Below left: Singer Bella Rosenthal, right: Walton County Humane Society Founder Miranda Poreba)
WALTON COUNTY, GA (Aug. 28, 2023) The Engine Room in Monroe was the place to be Saturday for all animal lovers in Walton County. It was an evening of fun, food, high energy auction courtesy of Paul Rosenthal, music by the talented Bella Rosenthal and her band, and some cute kittens and puppies to cuddle to top it off.
A great time was had by all.
And the cherry on the top was the $120,000 plus that was raised to help bring to fruition the dream of Miranda Poreba and her associates of a functioning Walton County Humane Society.
“While we are still finalizing all of the exact figures on money raised, we are excited to announce that we raised over $60,000 on Saturday evening with the help of our local community! Then we were able to immediately double that figure through the extreme generosity of an anonymous donor, so Saturday evening in total brought in over $120,000 to help jumpstart our efforts here at the Humane Society of Walton County,” Poreba said.
According to Poreba, not only is the society that was founded in January this year well on its way, but she hopes they are able to open the doors to it by early November.
“Our building is about 45 days out from completion,” Poreba said. “Our facility is located off Highway 138 in Monroe. Our plan is to start in this building and then graduate into a new, larger facility in the next few years. We know we will need the space in the long term to best accomplish our goals. Our goals include placing as many animals into loving homes as possible, reducing unwanted litters by spaying and neutering pets in our care, and teaching the community how to be a responsible pet owner. We will work to reduce the number of animals euthanized in our county. We plan to pull all of our animals from the Walton County Animal Control Shelter at first. This will free up space in their kennels and hopefully help move the animals into permanent, loving homes quickly.”
Poreba said she grew up with a lot of animals and developed a compassion for their wellbeing. It was a coming together with others who share this compassion that has resulted in the formation of the Walton County Humane Society.
“Growing up, I always had animals – dogs, cats, rabbits, goats, ponies…so I’ve always been sensitive to the welfare of animals. In college, I volunteered at a humane society and knew then this was something I wanted to pursue one day. Two years ago, I grew more serious about it and began having a conversation with my dad,” she said. Poreba’s father is Walton County developer Darren McWaters. “It has taken some time, but this past January, we incorporated the Humane Society of Walton County. Around the same time, Kris and DeeDee Rosendahl contacted us wanting to help. Since then, altogether, we have been steadily working on all aspects to get our doors open.”
The benefit went a long way to helping them do just that. Attendees from across the age spectrum were able to enjoy the music of Bella that ranged from old classics like At Last to today’s music that had the teens and pre-teens singing along with her. And all age groups equally enjoyed the cuddles with the puppies and kittens.
And it is that love of animals in the community that the organizers of the Walton County Humane Society hope will help the society grow from strength to strength.
“Our community will play a major role in our success. We will be needing many hands-on volunteers. Also, donations are crucial as we are a nonprofit. Monetary donations can be made on our website, humanewalton.org. Supplies donations (food, bowls, leashes, etc) can be coordinated by calling us at 770-800-PETS(7387),” Poreba said.
And in the meantime, before those doors are able to open, there are still many pets in Walton County Animal Shelter in danger of not making it out without the help of rescues, fosters or people who are able to give them a permanent home.
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