Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

My husband and I are proud parents to a lively golden retriever named Wrigley.

It’s no secret we treat him like a member of our family and factor him into as many moments, both big and small, of our daily lives as possible.

Example: He loves to ride in the car to pick up our breakfast on Saturday mornings. You can’t earn a tater tot if you’re not there to beg for it, right?

He has also been the eager recipient of small cups filled with whipped cream that some businesses make especially for dogs. You haven’t seen determination until you have watched a large dog glean every last bit of cream out of a tiny cup.

Just knowing how much my dog enjoys a new and unexpected treat made me even more excited to read community columnist Sasha Johns’s recent story about the Best Friends of Shelby Humane’s Valentine’s Day event for all of the shelter animals.

Now through Feb. 14, you can make a donation to provide a “Cup of Love” for a shelter dog or cat on Valentine’s Day.

A $5 donation covers one treat, and a $10 donation provides three of the whipped cream treats, which will be a bit different for the cats.

To give a Cup of Love, text BFSH to 41444.

The volunteer group plans to treat all of the nearly 200 animals at the Shelby Humane Society.

The group’s work, however, won’t end there. The Bests Friends of Shelby Humane meet once a month to organize fundraisers to support the shelter and fulfill its needs.

Although the group has made the decision to postpone its annual 5K fundraiser amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its members are still meeting on the first Wednesday of each month and welcoming new volunteers all the time.

Anyone interested in joining the Best Friends of Shelby Humane can find more information on the group’s Facebook page or by sending an email to bestfriends@shelbyhumane.org.

To make a donation, contact Best Friends of Shelby Humane via Facebook messaging.

And to learn more about the Shelby Humane Society, including adoptions, fostering, events and other ways to support the shelter, visit Shelbyhumane.org and follow @ShelbyHumane on Facebook.

Kudos to the volunteers who have turned the Cups of Love idea—and many other efforts—into effective means of bettering the lives of shelter animals while they await their forever homes.

Perhaps this is the start of another fundraising staple that will benefit our furry friends for years to come.