Name Confusion Could Impact Shelter Donations

In this season of giving, you'll want to make sure your donations are going exactly where you intended.

The unique decorations on a giving tree at the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society are just one way you can offer help for the holidays.  Each ornament lists a need.  Those who want to help simply take the decoration and replace it with the listed item.

"Christmas time, I think people always feel a little more giving.  It's a great time to give to the local animal shelter.  We can always use food, monetary donations, blankets, and new homes for the animals," Monique Mixell of the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society said.

You can donate in person, through the gift tree or by dropping off food for dogs, cats and other animals as they await adoption.  The Sioux Falls Area Humane Society also accepts money to keep the shelter going.  But those with the shelter remind donors to be cautious and not confuse them with the Humane Society of the United States.

"We've had quite a few people come in and say we've just sent a check to you guys or we've received blankets in the mail for our donation to the shelter.  A lot of people think that when they send the check to the Humane Society of the United States that they are sending it locally and they are not," Mixell said.

While the Humane Society of the United States is a non-profit and does have ties to South Dakota, Mixell says that organization and the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society are very separate groups.  She urges those who want to help locally to contact their local shelter directly.

"We don't get any type of funding from them.  So when you do donate to the Humane Society of the United States, it does not come to your local shelters," Mixell said.

You can donate directly to the local shelter through the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society's website.