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Blanche is one of the three 'Golden Girls' looking for a home, either here or in Miami.
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Myran, left, is sociable but his sister Itty Bitty is much shyer and may take time to warm up. The two are looking for a quiet, patient home where they can be together.
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Blanche, right, and her friends Rose and Sophia are looking for a home they can share. Their adoption fee is being waived this month to the right candidate.
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Skipper, right, and his friend Tru play outside. Tru is also available for adoption.

Berkshire Humane Society Has Plenty of Pets Seeking Homes

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Skipper is an energetic year-old hound mix who would love to have some older kids to play with. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With more than 140 animals currently at the Berkshire Human Society, there is a furry friend for everyone looking to adopt.

The shelter has 144 animals looking for new homes, down from more than 160 at its recent peak. These include dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, rats and a bird with different personalities and life stories.

And Berkshire Humane needs to find these animals homes because there are even more waiting to enter the shelter. 

"We have about 20 people waiting to surrender cats here and then 15 on the dog side," marketing and  communications manager Catherine Hibbard said.

"So it's still high demand here. Even though we're, you know, doing our best to try to adopt them out."

Potential pet owners have just a few days left to take advantage of reduced adoption fees. The shelter is offering $100 off for dog and cat adoptions through the month of July in the hopes of giving all of the BHS residents a home.

Earlier this month, BHS reported that it was overwhelmed with cats and is in need of supplies, food, donations, and especially adoptees.

iBerkshires visited a handful of the available pets to learn more about them. These included bonded cats Myran and Itty Bitty, a trio of guinea pigs dubbed "The Golden Girls," and a hound mix named Skipper.

Myran and Itty Bitty

The male and female duo are about one year old and were found as strays. Because of their origins, they are rather shy and would preferably be in a home without kids or dogs.

Myran has acclimated pretty well and is more approachable, but his sister Itty Bitty is considered semi-feral. The shelter is seeking a special home for the two, as Itty Bitty may never be a cuddly cat. Though, Hibbard pointed out that there is always the possibility that she may turn around.

"We want them to go together because they just love each other," she explained.

Some situations that may be good for the siblings are an enclosed barn in need of rodent control or simply a home that accepts their need for space and patience. The shelter does not want them to be outside cats.

"They're really good cats," Hibbard said.

The two have been at BHS since April and are medium-sized dark tiger cats.

Through the shelter's buddy program, an adopter who pays the regular adoption fee for one of the animals can get the second pet's adoption fee for half off.


'The Golden Girls' Sophia, Rose and Blanche


These three female guinea pigs were dumped outside the shelter in a box about a month ago.

Because of this, not much is known about the trio who shelter staff named "The Golden Girls" after the popular television show. What they do know is that they are adult guinea pigs.

"Despite all that they have been through they are really friendly girls," Hibbard said.

Rose is brown, Sophia is a small calico and Blache is a large calico.

The three are to be adopted together and, to an approved applicant, their adoption is free until the end of the month.

Skipper

The year-old hound mix is described as a lovebug and a "very friendly goofball."

Weighing in at about 62 pounds, his exuberance sometimes gets the best of him but he is working on keeping all fours on the floor no matter how excited he gets to meet new people.  

He is great with other dogs but not cats and would do best in a home with older children due to his jumping tendencies.

Skipper has been at the shelter since April.

He was delighted to play with his friend Tru — who is also available for adoption — in the shelter's fenced-in area during iBerkshire's visit.

"He just needs to have the right person to find him but he's just a cute dog," Hibbard said.

Find out how to adopt these pets and others at berkshirehumane.org.


Tags: Berkshire Humane Society,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield School Committee OKs $82M Budget, $1.5M Cuts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The school budget is less grim than the original proposal but still requires more than $1.5 million in cuts.

On Thursday, the School Committee approved an $82.8 million spending plan for fiscal year 2025, including a city appropriation of $80.4 million and $2.4 million in Chapter 70 funds.

The cuts made to balance the budget include about 50 staff reductions — some due to the sunsetting of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.

"The final version does not answer all needs. It will be unacceptable to some or to many but I must say that tonight's final proposal is very different than where we started when we believed we would have a $3,600,000 reduction. I want to assure everyone that every effort has been made to minimize the impact on both students, families, and staff members while also ensuring that our district has the necessary resources to progress forward," Superintendent Joseph Curtis said.

"Nevertheless, there are incredibly passionate, dedicated staff members who will not be with us next year. This pains me as I've been a part of this organization for now 30 years so I want to assure everyone that our team, this has weighed very heavily in our hearts, this entire process. This is not a group of people that is looking at a spreadsheet saying ‘Well that can go and this can go’ and take that lightly."

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke and other officials worked with the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to rectify an error in the Chapter 70 funding formula, recognized 11 more low-income students in the district, and added an additional $2.4 million to the FY25 budget.

Curtis commented that when he first saw the governor’s FY25 budget, he was "rather stunned."

"The extraordinary circumstances we face this budget season by the conclusion of the substantial ESSER federal grant and a significant reduction in Chapter 70 allotment caused challenges for this team and our school principals and our educators and our staff that have been nothing short of all-consuming," he said.

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