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A Trail for Our Friends
Written By: David Stroud - Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society | Issue: Winter 2024
A safe, fun trail for the canines of the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society is in the works thanks to the shelter’s generous volunteers, wise board, and the compassionate spirit of Friends of Panthertown.
HHS Board President Gary Maddox, Executive Director David Stroud, and CHHS shelter dog Apollo stand at the site prior to construction of the new volunteer dog walking trail. The CHHS Canine Adoption Center, Feline Adoption Center and Puppy Pavilion can be seen in the background
For decades, our beloved dog walking volunteers have visited CHHS to give our shelter pups an extra opportunity for exercise and socialization. The most common walking route used was down our main entrance road, then across Highway 64 East to the gravel road that winded its way to the Sapphire Valley Resort. In recent years, our summer Critter Campers have also used this route during their Friday “graduation hikes.”
A pedestrian crossing Highway 64 with a leashed dog in tow has become more and more treacherous over the years, especially from motorists speeding westward around the blind curve from Lonesome Valley. We had an idea to solve this challenge, and at the same time utilize the pristine natural resources on our campus in a responsible, sustainable way.
This past winter our awesome dog walking volunteer Kim Allen initiated discussions with our great neighbors, the Friends of Panthertown Valley. The Panthertown folks lent us their expertise and helped map out a trail on the northwest section of our property. It was a perfect solution that provides a safe and beautiful environment to hike for our community volunteers and our shelter dogs.
In September ground was broken on the new volunteer dog walking trail and opened soon thereafter. The first phase of the trail is an approximately quarter-mile loop, and a volunteer can walk a shelter dog around the loop in about 10-15 minutes. Additional spurs are envisioned for future phases, along with a peaceful and serene resting area with a “rainbow bridge” theme. Over the winter and spring, we will be adding signage, a water station, dog waste station and some benches. An official grand opening of the new trail will take place in Summer 2024.
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 10:00 A.m. – 4:00 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.
