AUBURN – Steven Dostie, shelter director at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society announces the Special Pets for Seniors Program.

Available to any senior citizen age 60 and over, the program allows the opportunity for a senior to receive the love and companionship of a fuzzy friend at half the Humane Society’s normal adoption cost. A “Special Pet” is an animal over 5 years old who is in good health and who came to the Humane Society already spayed or neutered.

In addition to a new best friend, the program’s adoption fees of $37.50 for dogs and $30 for cats include all medical tests, vaccinations, an identification tag and a free veterinary exam.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society provides a safe haven for approximately 3,600 sick, homeless and abused animals in the greater Androscoggin area a year. The primary support for the shelter comes from fund-raising events and donations of concerned citizens.

The shelter gives back through community services, including animal intake and adoption, animal health services, reuniting people with lost animals, humane education and working with individuals who are disadvantaged or developmentally disabled. The shelter serves 10 municipalities, including Lewiston, Auburn, Turner and Greene, and a population of more than 90,000 people.

The Humane Society, located at 3312 Hotel Road, is in the middle of a capital campaign to build a new shelter. If interested in learning more about the Special Pets for Seniors Program or to help build a shelter, call 786-4713. Anyone interested in volunteering or adopting an animal can visit the shelter or visit the Web site at www.gahumane.org.