Island women keeping critters comfy with hand-knit blankets for humane society

Two Island women are spending their nights knitting blankets for animals at the P.E.I. Humane Society.

Anjanette MacArthurandFlorence Clerouxmade 28 blankets last year and hope to reach 50 by the end of 2020.

MacArthurcame up with the idea after seeing it online in a knitting forum.

"One of the ladies on there had done it in her area and showed a picture of it and I thought that would be a great idea to use up excess yarn," she said.

"It's a nice way to give back because all mycats have been rescuesand they are the very best cats you can ever get."

'Volunteered to help her out'

MacArthurhas an extra room in her apartment where she stores yarn for the blankets.

She said she wanted to make 30 blankets last year, but her arthritis got in the way. That's when Cleroux decided to get involved.

"Anjanette's arthritis was reallybad and I knew she had her heart set on making Xnumber of blankets to donate, because she had done it the previous year, so I just volunteered to help her out," she said.

"We almost made her target.We were short two."

Hand-knit items received regularly

Cleroux and MacArthurhave been knitting for decades and said it takes threenights to make one blanket.

"It's nice to know that they're, you know, being used and being loved and those animals have been through so much, most of them," she said.

"It's nice to do something that they can get some comfort from."

Jennifer Harkness, the development manager at the P.E.I. Humane Society, said the shelteroften receivesblankets and hand-knit items.

"We're really lucky to have volunteers in the community that consistently bring us warm things for the animals to bring comfort to them."

Blankets go home with adopted animals

Harkness said the blankets are frequently sent home with theanimals when they are adopted.

"It has their scent and they're more comfortable in their new environment," she explained.

If the society didn't receive these donations, Harkness said it would end up spending more ofits own money on these items, "which means we'd have less for animal care and then we would also maybe have to use rougher kindsof blankets."

Cleroux and MacArthursaid theyhope others take up knitting to give back in the way they have.

"The humane society needs so much help so you know if you can just do something little like making blankets, it still helps them out a lot," Cleroux said.

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