September 28^th, 2010, a Tuesday night, will be the Fifth Annual Pasta Night at Zucco’s Restaurant, 451 Dalton Avenue, Pittsfield, MA.  This event will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.  The cost is $7 for an adult and $5 for kids under 12.

You will have a choice of spaghetti or ziti and two meatballs, or if you prefer, 2 sweet or hot sausages.  If you just can’t decide, have a combo.  Delicious bread and butter will also be served.  Beverages, salad, or dessert are an additional charge.

There will be a fun raffle as well as a 50/50 raffle!

Berkshire Humane Society will do all the publicity.  There will be posters everywhere!

Our organization receives the entire $7.00 or $5.00 from pasta sales, and Zucco’s receives all other money from food or beverage sales.

 This is a great evening for all with a delicious dinner.  We hope you will mark your calendars and join us for the event.  We look forward to seeing you there! 

We also thank Zucco’s for helping Berkshire Humane Society.

August 6, 2010 Pittsfield MA . . . The Berkshire Humane Society is holding its first major fundraising benefit for Purradise – the new cat adoption center in Great Barrington. 

A Night At The Kit Kat Club will be held at the Crissey Farm Banquet Center in Great Barrington on Friday, Sept. 10th from 6 to 11 PM. It’s located at 426 Stockbridge Road. 

The Kit Kat Club will be the world’s first Cat Night Club. The dress is festive, funky or fun – with guests encouraged to bring out their inner felines.

The party will include great food, singer, Beth Rose and her band, Heather Fishe, Master Magician, Carl Seiger, The Cat Tease Girls, swing dance demos by Paul & Nadia Rix and dancing to dJ, Dave Leonard’s swinging sounds.

 It’s also an opportunity to win fabulous vacations, jewelry, deluxe dining, spa experiences and original art that all benefits Purradise.

 This great night out costs $100 and helps hundreds of Berkshire’s homeless cats, call us at 413-447-7878 ext. 31 for reservations.

Please join us – as a rider, sponsor, or spectator – and celebrate horses! The 19th Annual Berkshire Humane Society Horse Show will be held Sunday, August 29, at Overmeade Farm, 940 East Street, Lenox. The event begins at 9AM sharp!

The show is recognized by the Western Massachusetts Professional Horseman’s Association (WNEPHA) and includes competitions for all levels of riding. The show hosts hunter, equitation and jumper divisions. It will feature hunter and equitation classes in thirteen divisions. The equitation divisions include: Short and Long Stirrup, Mini, Adult, Limit, and Open. The hunter divisions include: Novice Junior, Low/Adult, Children’s and Junior/Amateur. Jumper and Open Pleasure divisions will also be offered.

The Judge’s Award will be presented to the competitor who exhibits the best turn-out of horse and rider and demonstrates good sportsmanship and horsemanship. Prizes will be awarded. In addition, a Hunter Classic will be held which will award cash prizes to the top finishers.

If you are not a “horse person,” please join us anyway! We will be conducting raffles and selling our merchandise throughout the festive day!

Since its inception, this event has raised over $150,000 for Berkshire Humane Society. If you would like to be a horse show sponsor, or receive information, please contact Berkshire Humane Society at (413) 447-7878.

The Berkshire Humane Society and the Central Berkshire Ambulance Service will be conducting a Pet CPR and First Aid Course on June 17^th at the shelter on  214 Barker Road in Pittsfield.  The certificate program will be from 5pm until 7pm in the shelter’s classroom.  The cost is $30 per person and includes either a Dog or Cat First Aid Handbook and a Red Cross Pet First Aid Certificate of Completion at the end of the program that evening.  Pre-registration is required, no walk-ins will be allowed.  To register please bring or send a check, payable to the Berkshire Humane Society, Attention: Pet CPR, to BHS by June 15^th.  Space is limited to 20 participants and you must be at least 16 years of age.  No pets please.  The instructor is Lance Beauchamp of Central Berkshire Ambulance Service, 77 Seymour Street, in Pittsfield.  He is a Mass EMT and a Red Cross Pet First aid and CPR instructor.  For more information please call Karen at 413-447-7878 ext 29 or at kkarlberg@berkshirehumane.org.

The Berkshire Humane Society’s annual lasagna dinner on Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 5 to 8 pm will benefit Purradise, the new BHS Cat Adoption Center that opens this spring. Once again, the event will be hosted by Gary Happ, owner of Crissey Farm Banquet House, the banquet facility next to the Brewery in the Jenifer House Commons at 426 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington. Purradise, the Berkshire’s first Cat Adoption Center, is at 301 Stockbridge Road, and a close neighbor of Crissey Farm.

The cost is $10 for adults, $6 for children under 12, and payable at the door. Both meat and vegetarian lasagna will be served, along with garlic bread and salad. There is a cash bar.

A silent auction and raffle prizes will give everyone a chance to win a little something for themselves while helping the homeless felines of Berkshire County. The annual lasagna dinner promises to be the place to hear all the “Cat Buzz,” have a delicious meal, and help a worthy cause. Help make this new Cat Adoption Center a real Purradise by coming to dinner on March 25^th!

To celebrate “National Prevent a Litter Month”, the Berkshire Humane Society will be offering vouchers for pet owners who cannot afford to spay and neuter their cats and dogs.  The voucher system works by a pet owner coming to the BHS Shelter during the hours of operation and requesting a voucher certificate.  The only requirement is a valid license/ID and proof of residence in Berkshire County.  They owners must schedule the surgery for their own pets at a veterinarian hospital that accepts the vouchers.  The Berkshire Society reimburses the veterinarians directly for the surgery.  The vouchers are worth $60 towards a spay/neuter surgery for felines and $75 towards the surgery for canines.

Since this program started over 15 years ago, The BHS Spay/Neuter Program has helped over 2,750 families spay or neuter their pets.   The funds are distributed on a first come basis and have been made available by the Hilton C. Hamm Trust. John Perreault, Executive Director of BHS, says, “The program is very important for Berkshire County pet owners who cannot afford to spay or neuter their pets. It is especially important to reach out to those pet owners who are affected by this difficult economy,” he added.  “Spaying and neutering cats and dogs can also make your animal a more pleasant companion by cutting down on their odor, scent marking, yowling, restlessness and aggression levels.  The surgery will also keep your pet healthier by reducing the risk of certain infections and several forms of cancer and it can also add years to your pet’s life.”

Between 8 and 12 million animals are surrendered nationwide to shelters every year. Of that, 70% of cats and 60% of dogs never find a home due to the pet overpopulation problem. “By making sure that all of our shelter adoptees are spayed and neutered and also helping those families who cannot afford the surgery, BHS hopes to continue to see a decrease in the amount of unwanted pet-births in our community”, noted Perreault.  For more information on pet overpopulation and spaying and neutering, please call the Berkshire Humane Society at (413) 447-7878.

The Berkshire Humane Society will benefit from the 2^nd Annual Sasha’s Memorial Ski Race to be held at the Bousquet Ski Area on Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield.  The race will be held on Friday, February 19^th registration begins at 5pm and race starts at 7PM. Race Organizer and Bousquet Ski School Director, Cindy Bartlett says, “The race will be 1 Run GS on Grand Slalom top to Bottom.”  “The race is open to skiers and riders of ages and disciplines,” she added. Prizes will be awarded and all entrants are eligible for Door Prizes.  The entry fee is $25, with all proceeds going to benefit the Berkshire Humane Society for the care and feeding of the homeless animals at the shelter on Barker Road in Pittsfield. The race is in honor of “Sasha” the beloved Mascot of the Bousquet Ski area for many years.  Visitors are welcome to attend and watch the race.  If you would like more information about the race or about being a sponsor, please contact Cindy at 413-442-8316 Ext 27.

Don’t miss the Boat!

Purchase your entries for a chance to win this great cruise today, call 413-447-7878 to place your order.

We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with online ordering, we are working to restore this feature.

From The New York Times:

Is it better to walk a human or to walk a dog?

New research from the University of Missouri has found that people who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more improvement in fitness than people who walk with a human companion. In a 12-week study of 54 older adults at an assisted living home, 35 people were assigned to a walking program for five days a week, while the remaining 19 served as a control group. Among the walkers, 23 selected a friend or spouse to serve as a regular walking partner along a trail laid out near the home. Another 12 participants took a bus daily to a local animal shelter where they were assigned a dog to walk.

To the surprise of the researchers, the dog walkers showed a big improvement in fitness, while the human walkers began making excuses to skip the workout. Walking speed among the dog walkers increased by 28 percent, compared with just a 4 percent increase among the human walkers.

Read the rest of the story by clicking here.