Kristie Miller believes pet owners shouldn’t have to chose between feeding themselves and feeding their animals.
That’s why she is the co-director of the Humane Society of Davidson County’s pet food pantry, along with Janet Fluharty, that distributes free pet food to low-income families whose animals provide them with unconditional love and companionship.
Held at 1 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month, Miller said the pet food pantry at 1114 Piedmont Drive distributes dog and cat food to about 40 people monthly, with about half of that number there on a regular basis. Recipients must show income eligibility and some form of identification.
Miller brings a laptop computer and registers new recipients’ information into a spreadsheet so that process doesn’t have to be repeated each month and speeds up the distribution.
While the animals are the beneficiaries of the food, so are the families that take care of them.
“Most of them have multiple animals,” she said. “It’s truly about helping the families as much as the animals because they don’t want to give them up.”
The amount of pet food distributed is based on the number and size of the pets, as well as what is on hand at the time. A donor in Greensboro supplies a lot of the dog food but the cat food comes from local sources, including individuals and companies. She noted some retailers will donate food that is nearing expiration or is in damaged bags.
“We use a lot of duct tape!” she said with a laugh. “People can donate that, too.”
But the pet food panty is just one of many ongoing programs of the Humane Society of Davidson County, which was founded 40 years ago this month. Through a partnership with Planned Pethood in Greensboro, the organization offers a commuter spay-neuter service with sliding-scale fees based on income.
“We reach the maximum every month — in fact, we have a waiting list,” Miller said, noting most pet owners want to be responsible but don’t always have the means to pay a veterinarian.
The organization also offers programs for sick and injured animals, investigates abuse cases and has a foster care/adoption program. An adoption fair is held every first and third Saturday at the local PetSmart.
Of course, these programs cost money so the group holds a number of annual fundraisers, such as a large yard sale, memorial luminaries on the Square at Christmas and a horse show.
The Humane Society’s 14th Annual Horse Show, one the organization’s largest annual fundraisers, is scheduled for this Saturday at Fox Den Farms but may be postponed due to soggy conditions from the remnants of Hurricane Irma (rain date is Sept. 30). Miller advised attendees to check the organization’s Facebook page.
The Humane Society also held a fundraiser this summer at Junius Lindsay Vineyards to raise money for fencing and water fountains for people and dogs at the City of Lexington’s proposed dog park.
Miller said a friend of hers asked her if she would be willing to serve on the board of directors of the Humane Society about a year and a half ago. She agreed and has also used her grant-writing skills, which she learned when she was working at Davidson County Community College, to seek funds for the group.
“I’ve always loved animals,” she said, noting her family always had big dogs when she was growing up, including her first dog, an English bulldog.
The Fayetteville native got to Lexington via her husband of 49 years, Thompson Miller, a Lexington native whom she met on a blind date when she was at Salem College and he was at Wake Forest University. She graduated with a degree in biology and chemistry, stayed home to raise two sons and worked as a medical technologist for 10 years at Forsyth Memorial Hospital. She later went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a Master of Business Administration degree and began working at DCCC for nine years in the Small Business Center and later as director of institutional effectiveness.
Although she retired from DCCC many years ago, Miller has recently gone back to work three days a week as the business manager for her son’s new law practice in Lexington.
Will Miller, who survived leukemia with the help of a bone-marrow transplant 17 years ago but lost his eyesight during the disease, returned home to open the law practice here in April. She said she is helping to set up a billing system with accounting software, answering the phone, helping with marketing and interviewing clients.
“He hasn’t lived here since college so we are thrilled to have him back,” she said. “He’s our hero — he really inspires us.”
Miller noted Will has a Seeing Eye Dog, Anja, who has become a member of the family. When the Millers went on vacation to Hawaii this year to celebrate Thompson’s 70th birthday, they took not only their other son, Austin, who owns a coffee shop in San Francisco, but Will and Anja.
“That’s another thing I love about animals — how they can help people,” she said. “When that harness is on, she is totally focused on him. It’s been a liberating thing for Will.”
Miller said the family has always had dogs. They currently have a Chesapeake Bay retriever — Cooper, named after her Mini Cooper Clubman — that loves to swim and hike and often accompanies them on trips.
When she is not working or volunteering with the Humane Society, Miller can often be found on a golf course.
“I play golf as much as I can,” Miller said. “Sometimes four days a week — that’s my goal.”
Her husband, who retired last year after a nearly 44-year law career, also plays golf.
“That’s the best thing we’ve done for each other,” Miller said. “We both took up golf after the kids went off to college, which is about 20 years ago now. So at least once a week we play together.”
Vikki Broughton Hodges may be contacted at vikkihodges@mac.com.
