The Raise The Woof Radiothon in support of the Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue is today and the community is encouraged to help support.

The goal is to help get a new building for the Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue, something that President Michelle Neufeld says is vitally important. "We will be able to take in way more animals than we can right now. We're pretty much at capacity. Having a building would be really essential to taking in more strays or lost and found animals. It's the next step we need to take in order to be a little bit bigger."

The rescue helps many sick or injured animals like Stewart who has nerve damage in his back legs which causes him to have to wear a diaper for the rest of his life. Despite his challenges, he's a fun-loving kitten who loves to run and play. The rescue gives animals that otherwise might not have a good quality of life a fighting chance at happiness.

Throughout the day, we'll hear stories from local volunteers who've fostered animals, adopted pets with special needs, rescued animals from less than ideal situations, and how the shelter will help the entire community surrounding Steinbach.

Also, Winnipeg Blue Bomber/Grey Cup Champion/Animal Love John Rush will share stories of his adoptive dogs Bailey and Bon Homme (Bone for short.) John says that by adopting, you literally can save animal's lives, just like he did with Bon Homme. "It's really unfortunate that so many animals sit there for months on end and Bon Homme was actually set to be put down because the shelter system is overrun. There are so many animals that enter the system, they simply can't handle it. The unfortunate reality is a lot of animals have to be put down and Bon Homme was one of those animals. The week before he was set to be put down, I was lucky enough to find him. I adopted him within five minutes of meeting him. Adopting is so important, you're literally saving lives."

The Raise The Woof Radiothon can be heard from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm today on Country 107 where there will be more stores from John Rush, local NHL Agent Ray Petkau, Canadian Country Showcase host Courtney Fielder as well as local fosters and adopters like Sandra Watson, Murray Stewart and more.

To donate, click the link here: https://steinbachonline.com/raise-the-woof