When most people picture an animal shelter, they imagine rows of kennels.
We don’t blame them. That’s the image many of us have carried around for years. The old “dog pound.”
Now let us paint you a different picture.
Picture a beautiful mountain morning here on the Plateau. Dogs racing through acres of play yards. Friends chasing one another. Tails wagging. Noses exploring every new scent. Volunteers throwing tennis balls. Staff members laughing right alongside them.
At the Cashiers‑Highlands Humane Society, our dogs don’t spend their days waiting. They spend them being, well…dogs.
Our 14 outdoor play yards aren’t narrow fenced runs or tiny exercise areas. They stretch across acres of our campus, giving the dogs in our care room to romp, run, play, explore, and simply enjoy life while they wait for the families who will one day call them their own.
Sometimes they’ll even pause whatever important canine business they’re conducting to bark enthusiastically as the UPS truck makes its daily appearance. We suspect they’re simply making sure the driver feels properly welcomed.
One of our favorite residents has developed her own end‑of‑day routine.
Keowee, a sweet Border Collie mix, has discovered that after a full day of outdoor adventures, there’s really no reason to walk back to the Adoption Center.
Instead, she climbs into our side‑by‑side and enjoys a chauffeur‑driven ride home for dinner.
And she loves every second of it.
Of course, we’d happily trade her daily chauffeur service for the one thing better. A forever family.
The kind that enjoys weekend road trips. The kind that doesn’t mind a happy passenger riding shotgun. The kind with reliable transportation, because Keowee is only two years old and she’s in it for the long haul.
And while we’re happy to provide transportation around campus, we’d love nothing more than to see her climb into a vehicle with a bumper sticker that says:
My Other Car is a Forever Home.
Established in 1987, Cashiers‑Highlands Humane Society is a 501(c)(3) non‑profit animal welfare organization located at 200 Gable Drive in Sapphire, one‑and‑a‑half miles east of the Cashiers Ingles in between Cedar Creek Club and Lonesome Valley on Highway 64. Our no‑kill shelter is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10 A.M.–4 P.M. For more information, visit us online at chhumanesociety.org or call (828) 743‑5752. Tax‑deductible donations to support our lifesaving work can be mailed to: CHHS, P.O. Box 638, Cashiers, NC 28717.
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