Doug Tomaselli passes along a bag of dog food to Brannon Burnett, as Stokes Automotive dropped off donations to the Humane Society on Monday. (Photo by Anthony Richards)

The Chilton County Humane Society received a generous donation from residents that have taken part in the Stokes Automotive used car giveaway this month.

Throughout the first couple weeks of December, Stokes Automotive has announced that it will be giving away a used car on Dec. 20. In order to enter the contest people must pay $10 as well as donate a pet product.

“People have come out from Prattville up to Alabaster to take part in the promotion,” Stokes sales manager Doug Tomaselli said. “People are just so happy to be giving back. It’s neat to see.”

A batch of those donations was delivered to the Humane Society on Monday, as Tomaselli and Brannon Burnett with Stokes dropped off roughly 1,000 pounds of pet food and supplies.

“These animals have nobody else,” Humane Society staff member Meggan Nicholson said. “They are like my family. It makes me happy to see that people truly care about them.”

A variety of items from hard and soft food to cleaning supplies and blankets were loaded into the back seat and trunk of the used car that will be given away on Dec. 20.

“When people see the car and all the stuff that we’ve collected, they can’t believe it,” Tomaselli said. “That’s the typical reaction that we’ve gotten from everyone.”

The majority of the items were placed in a storage shed except for the cat litter, which was brought immediately inside the facility to be used.

According to the Humane Society staff, cat litter remains one of the most desired products for the shelter.

“We guard that stuff [cat litter] like its gold,” said Katherine Reece, Humane Society board member.

The winner of the Stokes Automotive used car giveaway will be randomly chosen on Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. The winner does not have to be present to win.

“It’s tough to ask people for money this time of year,” Tomaselli said. “We just put the word out and the people have done the rest.”