To the editor:

Since its beginning more than seven years ago, the Suffolk Humane Society has worked with the officers and staff of the Suffolk Animal Care Center to make our community a better place for pets, the people who love them and homeless animals.

This December, the city of Suffolk reached another milestone in its care of homeless pets with Suffolk Animal Care Center officers now picking up stray pets after hours.

This helps ensure that stray pets are kept safe until they are reclaimed by their guardians or put up for adoption and gives concerned citizens more peace of mind that stray pets are properly cared for.

The Suffolk Humane Society is an advocacy group that works with the city-run animal shelter, Suffolk Animal Care Center, to improve conditions for companion animals in Suffolk.

We are grateful for this relationship and believe that, by working together, both parties have made great strides in our community toward this end.

We would like to commend Chief Thomas Bennett and the staff at the Suffolk Animal Care Center for all they do each day to care for animals and for the positive working relationship they maintain with our organization.

Only by continuing to work together can we truly improve the conditions for homeless pets and make Suffolk a more compassionate, forward-thinking city. With their continued help, we look forward to even more progress in 2014.

Michele Thames

Executive Director

Suffolk Humane Society