The Chinook Observer is many things but one of my personal favorite parts about it is the Animal Shelter Report that appears on page A5 most weeks.

It’s had three or four primary writers since I agreed to start running it around 20 years ago. Cory McKeown has ably filled that role in recent years, aided by Sandy Clancy and others, with Joyce Lang currently coordinating the photos.

The South Pacific County Humane Society is a passionate band of animal lovers who stepped up in aid of lost, “surplus” and abandoned pets, filling a need that had existed on the peninsula for a long time. Like me, they believe no dog or cat should ever be disposable.

The society, with the Observer’s modest publicity help, has saved literally thousands of cats and dogs. It really warms my heart whenever I learn that an animal has been placed in a loving home.

My very old dog, Duncan — soon to be joined by a pesky newborn brother named Leif after the Icelandic explorer — has been my steadfast companion during thousands of miles of walks. I recently figured that he and I, if we had walked steadily southward instead of in circles around Cape Disappointment, would by now have reached the southern tip of South America and started back toward home.

With Memorial Day just around the corner, the animal shelter will conduct one of its important fundraisers — the Grrrrrage Sale on Saturday, May 28 from 8:30 to 4 p.m., and Sunday, May 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Garage sale donation drop-offs may be made at the shelter Annex building, just west of the shelter, which is located at 330 2nd St NE, Long Beach. Days and times for donation drop-offs are Friday, May 6, 13, and 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, May 7, 14, and 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, May 24-26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I hope you’ll help.

Looking ahead to the May 11th edition of the Observer, I know we’ll have coverage of the awful triple-fatality accident at the Port of Ilwaco and the troubling appearance of deadly bird flu in Pacific County — which doesn’t endanger the general public but is terrible for chickens and other avian species. We also take note of the sad apparent suicide of a young person in Seaview but have no immediate plans to cover it in detail, not wishing to add to the anguish of their friends and family.

If you’re not yet a subscriber, I’d appreciate it if you’ll become one. Our community project depends on your support.