RESTABUDS Regional business, animal shelter launch adoptable pet of the week program By Francesca Sacco The Healing Center and Animal Friends are teaming up to create happy tales for animals and families throughout the region. With the help of The Almanac, the medical cannabis dispensary and animal shelter are launching an adoptable pet of the week pro- gram to publicize available dogs, cats and rab- bits to help them find their forever homes. vaccines, wellness exams and treatments like flea prevention. They also provide outreach, education and therapeutic programming. Chris Kohan, The Healing Center's co-founder, said their new partnership with Animal Friends has been natural. "We've supported Animal Friends inde- pendently in the past," he said. "We're excited to be a part of this." Best Buds, as the program has been dubbed, started with an end-of-year charity event cre- ated by The Healing Center. "Every December we hold our Healing Hearts charity event, where patients can purchase a heart for a dollar. The patients put their fa- vorite charity on the heart, and then all of the hearts are placed into a drawing. At the end of the event, one heart is selected and the money raised goes to the listed charity," Lisa Craig, The Healing Center's director of market- ing, said. "This year's winner selected Animal Friends as their charity." Animal Friends is grateful for the support. Each year, they rescue and rehome roughly 2,500 an- imals. Since the pandemic began, they've had to alter their adoption process as the shelter is closed for walk-in adoptions. Exposure, espe- cially from corporate partners like The Healing Center, helps create vital awareness about the shelter and its services. To further support the cause, Craig placed spe- cial messaging at the dispensary's locations in Washington, Cranberry and Monroeville. "It was very well received," she said. "Our pa- tients are really passionate about animals and really took a vested interest. We sold 1,438 hearts and we're matching our patient's dona- tions for a total of $3,000." Interested in doing more, they were eager to help inform the community about pets in need. "Animal Friends is facing so many challeng- es right now with the pandemic," Craig said. "We're trying to work together to help get the word out." Carrot Top In addition to rescuing and rehoming animals, Animal Friends, located in Pittsburgh, offers low-cost pet care like spaying and neutering, RESTABUDS Regional business, animal shelter launch adoptable pet of the week program By Francesca Sacco The Healing Center and Animal Friends are teaming up to create happy tales for animals and families throughout the region. With the help of The Almanac, the medical cannabis dispensary and animal shelter are launching an adoptable pet of the week pro- gram to publicize available dogs, cats and rab- bits to help them find their forever homes. vaccines, wellness exams and treatments like flea prevention. They also provide outreach, education and therapeutic programming. Chris Kohan, The Healing Center's co-founder, said their new partnership with Animal Friends has been natural. "We've supported Animal Friends inde- pendently in the past," he said. "We're excited to be a part of this." Best Buds, as the program has been dubbed, started with an end-of-year charity event cre- ated by The Healing Center. "Every December we hold our Healing Hearts charity event, where patients can purchase a heart for a dollar. The patients put their fa- vorite charity on the heart, and then all of the hearts are placed into a drawing. At the end of the event, one heart is selected and the money raised goes to the listed charity," Lisa Craig, The Healing Center's director of market- ing, said. "This year's winner selected Animal Friends as their charity." Animal Friends is grateful for the support. Each year, they rescue and rehome roughly 2,500 an- imals. Since the pandemic began, they've had to alter their adoption process as the shelter is closed for walk-in adoptions. Exposure, espe- cially from corporate partners like The Healing Center, helps create vital awareness about the shelter and its services. To further support the cause, Craig placed spe- cial messaging at the dispensary's locations in Washington, Cranberry and Monroeville. "It was very well received," she said. "Our pa- tients are really passionate about animals and really took a vested interest. We sold 1,438 hearts and we're matching our patient's dona- tions for a total of $3,000." Interested in doing more, they were eager to help inform the community about pets in need. "Animal Friends is facing so many challeng- es right now with the pandemic," Craig said. "We're trying to work together to help get the word out." Carrot Top In addition to rescuing and rehoming animals, Animal Friends, located in Pittsburgh, offers low-cost pet care like spaying and neutering,