MANSFIELD — For the third consecutive year students at Malabar Intermediate School have shown their support for animals.
On May 25, students presented a check for $655 to the Humane Society of Richland County. Angie Eichinger, HSRC president, and Missy Houghton, HSRC supervisor, accepted the donation during Malabar’s early-morning assembly in the gym.
Each year teacher Janine Boocks and her students led campaigns against puppy mills, commercial dog-breeding operations that place profit above the welfare of dogs. They made posters to educate others and urged adoption of dogs from shelters instead of purchasing them from pet stores.
In 2014 Malabar students raised $715 to donate to groups that rehabilitate victims of puppy mills and help them find homes. Last year they raised $707 for that purpose.
“This year, when the kids learned about the financial difficulties at the Humane Society of Richland County they decided that’s where they wanted most of their donations to go,” Boocks said.
While the bulk of donations from staff and students, $655, went to the Humane Society, approximately $200 was designated to help dogs victimized by puppy mills.
