The Humane Society of Midland County’s annual Ties & Tails Gala raised more than $212,000 on Friday, Oct. 2, according to a report published the next day by the Midland Daily News. The sold-out event drew 250 guests and surpassed the organization’s $200,000 target, its largest fundraising goal to date. Supporters gathered at The H Hotel in Midland for an evening focused on animal welfare and the bond between people and pets.
This year’s theme was “Paws & Pearls: Tuxedo Cats & Top Dogs.” The Humane Society describes Ties & Tails as its signature annual fundraiser. Its event page listed a cocktail reception, dinner, a program about the human-animal bond, and silent and live auctions. The format gave guests a chance to gather around a shared interest while supporting the shelter’s work.
The Midland Daily News reported several parts of the evening’s fundraising. The live auction brought in $48,000, while the Big Give, a dedicated giving campaign, brought in more than $21,000. The organization also sold out its new PAWsh Packages. Guests could participate in an online silent auction and Heads & Tails, adding different ways to contribute to the event. The report did not provide a full accounting of how each activity contributed to the final total.
Executive Director Jesse Fletcher told the newspaper that seeing 250 people gathered for the organization was one of the night’s most meaningful moments. The sold-out attendance stood alongside the financial result: the gala passed a goal that was already the largest the Humane Society had set for Ties & Tails. The local report documented both the turnout and the amount raised, while the organization’s event page set out the purpose behind the annual gathering.
The Humane Society says proceeds support daily operations, including animal care, adoptions, low-cost veterinary services, and programs that help people keep pets with their families. Those services address needs on both sides of the human-animal relationship: care for animals in the organization’s work and assistance for households trying to keep a companion animal. The event page describes those programs as the reason the fundraiser supports the organization’s continuing operations.
The gala’s theme placed tuxedo cats and top dogs at the center of a formal evening, while its stated purpose was practical and ongoing. A fundraiser can provide support for services, but the sources reviewed do not say how many animals will receive care, how many adoptions may result, or how many households will use the veterinary and pet-retention programs. The amount raised is a reported result; those later service outcomes have not been announced.
Current figures on the Humane Society’s homepage put the gala in context. HSoMC reports that it placed 1,608 animals in 2025, counting adoptions, transfers and returns to owners. Through September 2026, the organization listed 255 dogs and 455 cats placed that year, and 33,140 cats and dogs placed since 2011. These are the shelter’s own totals, not an estimate of what the gala will fund.
The Humane Society says it receives no government funding and relies on community generosity for daily care, medical treatment, enrichment, and second chances. The organization describes itself as the only animal shelter in Midland County. Its event page says Ties & Tails proceeds support daily operations; the gala’s result is not a promise for one newly announced project, but support for services the shelter provides across the year.
Some of those services extend beyond the shelter. HSoMC’s program pages list a pet pantry, low-cost spay-and-neuter assistance, youth animal-welfare education, and foster homes for animals waiting for adoption and a safe haven for those with special needs. The gala page specifically names low-cost veterinary services and support for people trying to keep pets with their families. Together, those descriptions show work that spans animal care and practical help for households.
The sold-out Oct. 2 event brought 250 guests together for the shelter, and the more-than-$212,000 total exceeded its largest-ever goal, the Midland Daily News reported. The Humane Society’s own pages explain the daily services and community programs its fundraising is meant to sustain. The sources do not connect specific new outcomes to this gala, so the result to report is a record goal surpassed and resources for ongoing work.
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