Holt County Animal Shelter Holds Flag Raising Ceremony

Holt County Animal Shelter is one of the few animal shelters in northeast Nebraska. And the amount of support that the shelter has received from the community is overwhelming. Two of those supporters are no longer with us, but their memory and love of dogs, lives on.
 
“I brought home a little puppy," Grace Coleman reminisces about her husband.  "And he had never had a dog before, so he started to learn then about the unconditional love that dogs can give you.”
 
Grace Coleman said she could not think of a better place for her husbands honor flag. “He helped as much as he could with the shelter too, once we moved here. And he would be just so proud to do this.”
 
The two men who were honored, Mark Coleman and Jerold Harkins, helped start and keep the shelter going. Harkins even took five dogs into his home when a former shelter was closing. Both their wives were present for the flag raising ceremony that used Mark Colemans flag to honor them.
 
“It was just one of those God miracles, they work all the time," Coleman explained.
 
Dozens of community members came out, and for some, this was the first time seeing the shelter. Kendra Klasna-Jackson is the shelter manager and she says that she is always appreciative of all the support.
 
“Its really good to have the community support," Klasna-Jackson said. "I have other animal shelters calling us and asking us on ideas for fundraisers, and how they can get the community involved. And its  really good to, ya know, I feel really proud that we have made a difference in dogs lives and in the community.”
 
And as for the family members of those honored,
 
“He is probably upstairs smiling right now," Coleman said. "I think he would be so tickled.”