An area business in the Nesquehoning community is working to help the Carbon County Animal Shelter.

Recently, Bio-Haz Solutions donated an 8-by-16-foot box truck container to the shelter for use as extra storage. Now, the donations of dog food, which originally were stuffed in a room off the entrance, can be found neatly organized in the new shed.Brian Reeser and Julie Sanchez of Bio-Haz Solutions visited the shelter last week to see how the company's donation was fitting the dogs' needs.Tom Connors, director of the shelter, joined by Commissioners Thomas J. Gerhard and William O'Gurek, showed Reeser and Sanchez just how perfect a fit the company's donation was."This came about when Brian was helping at our yard sale and he asked what I needed for here," Connors said. "I said a shed of some type and he had a box truck. Kovatch was nice enough to cut it off and deliver it. We're very happy to have it."He said it is now easier to rotate through the food donations and commended the community for filling the container, which was stuffed with various types of dry and canned dog food donations."It is the least we can do," Sanchez said. "Bio-Haz is in the community and wants to give back to the community.""We were glad we could help out," Reeser added, crediting Kovatch Mobile Equipment of Nesquehoning for also partnering with the company to make this donation possible. "It is a good feeling seeing all of the food in there and knowing we are giving back."Gerhard also thanked Reeser and Sanchez for the donation, adding that if it wasn't for the community support, the shelter, which had been in jeopardy of closing a few years ago, would not be thriving today."It's amazing how many animal lovers are here in Carbon County," he said.Connors cares for a fluctuating number of dogs on a daily basis, with the average number of pups looking for forever homes being about 12. Because of this, a lot of dog food is needed to feed the animals and Connors prides himself for being able to feed the dogs well while they are in his care.To illustrate this, directly in-front of the new shed is a display made of 1,040 dog food cans.Connors pointed out that the display represents just how much the dogs eat in just one month. Dogs are fed two cans of food a day, plus dry food.He added that he has a small wish list of things he would like to see at the shelter that are not the standard items of food, cleaning supplies and treats."I would like to see people adopt these dogs," he said, "as well as more dog walkers now that the weather is getting nice."The shelter, located at 63 Broad St., on top of the Broad Mountain off Route 93, also does a monthly clothing drive to raise money for its operations and an annual yard sale. Donations for both of these events are also accepted.For more information on ways to volunteer, to donate or to adopt a dog, visit the Carbon County website at

www.carboncounty.com or Facebook "Carboncounty Animalshelter," call 570-325-4828 or stop by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.