Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation Hosting Festive Ice Skating Fundraiser

Lace up those skates and get ready to glide around the Southampton Ice Rink during an Ice Skating Fundraiser for the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens. The benefit will take place on Saturday, December 9 from 8 to 10 p.m.

“I adopt animals from them and I foster animals and am very dear friends with the vet and one of the volunteers,” shared Laura M. Wynne, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons, who was thrilled to get Brown Harris Stevens involved with the benefit. “We have so many animal lovers [at Brown Harris Stevens]. I called Robert [Nelson] and he said absolutely,” she explained.

Wynne first encountered the Shelter during a difficult period in her life. “I’ve always done adoptions and rescues and I had a dog that was very sick and dying and I was just so afraid that the dog that was going to be left behind was going to be alone so I went to the Shelter just to see what was happening,” she explained. “I saw this dog and I said to my husband, ‘I’m going to be heartbroken when Pooh dies and Paddington is not going to have anyone.’ We found this fabulous dog and adopted him and a couple of days later my dog passed.”

After spending time there, she knew she had to lend a helping hand to SASF. “The experience was just so amazing because you think when you’re going into a shelter it’s going to feel depressing and it’s not,” she explained. “It’s a bright, happy, nurturing place. From that point forward, I would always go in and donate or participate in the events.”

Eventually, Wynne started to foster animals in need. “When my friend Jill Mulvey became very involved with Teri Meekins, the vet, they would call me and say, ‘We have a situation with this. Can you help?’ So then I started fostering sick animals that didn’t have long to live,” she said.

While it can certainly be a challenging situation, she says it’s comforting to know she’s providing support to the ailing animals. “I’m on my fifth foster and I’m not done. Some of the cases are very, very sad and a lot of people don’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it; I didn’t think my heart could handle it. But, if you don’t do it, then you think who’s going to do it?”

In addition to taking in homeless animals from 22 local towns, SASF’s efforts also extend to rescuing animals from “kill shelters” and dire situations from across the country, as well as Puerto Rico and even China. “They’re just amazing. I wish people would be more aware that we have this great shelter and to go visit,” she concluded. “They’re always looking for volunteers. There’s animals that have some really bad stories that people don’t know about and there’s all different types – from guinea pigs to bunnies to cats to dogs to birds.”

Admission to the Ice Skating Fundraiser is $20 for adults and $15 for kids, which does not include the $5 skate rental. Tickets will be available at the door.

For those considering adopting, SASF is currently offering a 50 percent discount on the adoption fees of animals who have been waiting for their forever home at the Shelter for 90 days or more.

Southampton Ice Rink is located at 668 County Road 39 in Southampton. For more information, call 631-728-7387 or visit southamptonanimalshelter.com.