Members of the Helotes Humane Society have quickly learned that every animal has a story, from the five-legged dog they took in to the litter of pups born at a volunteer fire department station.

In less than a year of existence, they’ve facilitated roughly 100 happy endings through aggressively keeping their fostered cats and dogs in the public eye.

“Somebody’s shining down on us and it’s working,” society member Barbara Martino said of the group’s initial success, adding that the group is currently looking for a home for a disabled Chihuahua named Lola and her four puppies.

Without a physical location, the group requires that participants in its foster program participate in at least two adoption events per month.

Smaller groups helping animals through fostering programs has historically been the norm in the area instead of physical shelters like the Animal Defense League, said Ron Aaron, executive director of the Animal Defense League of Texas.

The challenge for these groups is getting their animals in the public eye, Aaron said, and that’s a reason the Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare started “super adoption” events like the one this past weekend at the Rim.

“It’s a great, high visibility, high traffic area and that’s the key,” said Aaron, also on the AAPAW board of directors. “We’re trying to do four super adoptions a year and looking for other ways to get those smaller groups out in front of people,” he said.

At the AAPAW event, 186 pets found new homes.

Members of the Helotes Humane Society sensed there was a need for an animal welfare group in far Northwest Bexar County but said they were surprised how quickly the community got behind the fledgling organization.

“It’s been an unbelievably heartwarming situation to see how many people care and come out,” Martino said, noting the support the group has gotten from area businesses and municipalities. They hold a monthly adoption event at Palms Pet Resort and Spa in Helotes.

To gauge interest in forming a humane society, founder Janice MacRossin put an ad on Craigslist.com. By the end of March, the group was incorporated and over time has grown to about 40 volunteers, Martino said.

The group studied other humane societies across the country; looking at programs they thought would serve a need in their community.

Their pet food bank program is modeled off of Pikes Peak Pet Pantry in Colorado Springs, Colo., which was started more than a year ago, said Darlene McCaslin, that group’s founder.

Including the Helotes Human Society, the Colorado Springs pantry has received inquiries from people in 25 states and Canada about starting similar programs in their cities, McCaslin said.

The Helotes Humane Society distributes free pet food to help owners through rough times. It also supports the group’s foster program and distributes some of its donated food to other area shelters. Since its first official distribution at the end of June, the group has given out roughly 12,000 pounds of food.

“We want to keep pets in their homes so people don’t have to give them to a shelter,” said Stephanie Dunlea, who heads the program.

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