Their mission is to prevent animal cruelty, provide relief of animal suffering, educate the community about humane animal care, promote spaying and neutering to limit pet populations, and find “furever” homes for homeless animals – and to further this mission, High Desert Humane Society (HDHS) operates a cat rescue and a dog shelter, as well as a donation center, a thrift store and a furniture store.

The dog shelter moved into a new facility on Hackney Avenue in 2022, relocating from Mesquite Street in downtown Globe. HDHS board president Cynthia Carr said the organization had “worked really hard to refurbish” the shelter’s new home. “It looks amazing,” she said. However, she added, the building needed some roof work. HDHS was also looking for help to address drainage issues on the property.

To expand their mission, HDHS also plans to turn the thrift store’s upstairs section into a higher-end boutique a couple of days a month – and to raise community awareness, Carr said she aims to represent HDHS at Globe’s upcoming First Friday events.

As they strive to promote animal welfare, the organization is on the lookout for volunteers and funding help. “We are always looking for volunteers, not only at our stores but to help with fundraisers, membership drives and outreach – to engage the public with our mission and help us raise funds,” said Carr. “We’d also really like to get some younger folks to help with social media and possibly become board members.”

HDHS can also use donations of pet food, litter for the cat rescue, volunteers to walk the dogs and talk with them. They would also like to hold vaccine clinics once a month, and could use funding help and volunteers for those clinics. In addition, Carr said, “We’re always looking for spay/neuter support, to cover spay/neuter costs not just for pets but for community cats.” She said a recent $650 donation from the Arizona Silver Belt would help on that front. “We have about 10 cats a week that go down for spay/neuter, and it’s kitten season, so these funds will go to support our Trap-Neuter-Release program for community cats.”

Anyone interested in volunteering with High Desert Humane Society can pick up an application at the thrift store, located at 150 W. Mesquite St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information on HDHS and their mission, visit http://www.highdeserthumanesociety.org/.