Share the four-legged love LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Look at that face. Even if you’re not an animal-lover, you have to admit: Your heart melts just a little when you see that cute nose and those sweet eyes.

And that’s just what Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue is banking on. In fact, it was an adorable photo much like the one above that led to my adoption of Bailey, my sweet black Lab mix, back in 2015. I was scrolling through Facebook, and wham! Her big, brown eyes melted my heart. I was a goner.

All it took was one photo and the next day I was on my way to Nate’s, which is a completely different experience from most animal shelters.

Instead of a long cement corridor lined with runs and cages, a volunteer took me from cute, colorful cottage to cute, colorful cottage, each with just a handful of dogs.

They also had a large, grassy outdoor area where you could meet the dogs and see how they played. The experience was one of lightness and discovery, not of heaviness and sympathy.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m in full support of any organization that saves potential pets from being euthanized or treated inhumanely. But if you’ve been to Nate’s, you know there’s something special about it.

Which is probably why, as area shelters go, it is one of the most successful in terms of adopting out pets. Last year, it found forever homes for 1,347 animals.

And, as you’ll read on Page 34, that was the whole vision for Nate’s: To provide a family-friendly place that changes people’s perceptions of shelters. And now Nate’s is bigger and better than ever. For the past four years, they have been working on raising $12 million to expand their Lorraine Road campus. They’re about $2.8 million away from completing that goal.

In addition to those cute little cottages, they have a training center to help reduce behavior problems that can cause owners to return an animal. They also have a veterinary clinic to offer care, a pup pool for our four-legged friends to swim and they’re even developing a space to hold events.

After delays from both supply chain issues and the hurricane, the expansion is scheduled to be completed this summer.

So stop by, check it out and support all our local shelters. Just beware of those sweet faces — you too might end up taking one home.

Kat Wingert Executive Editor