Jeaneen Hercha, operations manager for Lawrence Humane Society Inc., gives Bella, a Lab mix dog, a new blanket Friday. The shelter is currently low on blankets and towels and is asking the public for donations.

Just like Charlie Brown’s friend Linus, animals find security in blankets.

“They really add a great deal to the comfort of our animals, and they are already in a stressful situation – in a place they don’t know,” said Bobbi Pray, who works at Lawrence Humane Society.

The animal shelter is running low on blankets because its main donor now has to reroute and possibly scale back its donations.

“When it’s cold, a dog or cat would like to have something a little warmer,” Pray said. “The building is heated, but the floors get cold. Dogs just really like that extra comfort, particularly puppies and kittens.”

Pray picked up the last donation of blankets on Friday at the Lawrence Goodwill store. Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that provides education, training and career services for the disadvantaged. For years, the local retail store donated between 20 and 25 bags of blankets and linens it couldn’t sell. It was an informal partnership that the Kansas City, Mo., Goodwill headquarters didn’t know about.

Goodwill is undergoing operational changes that will require goods that are donated to each store to be sent to a central location. All items will be sorted, logged, priced and redistributed to stores based on supply and demand, said Tom Dooley, vice president of marketing for the Kansas City, Mo., Goodwill headquarters.

Dooley said the local Goodwill agreed this week to collect items from regional stores to continue to supply the Lawrence Humane Society, though the details have yet to be arranged.

Humane Society director Midge Grinstead said the shelter cares for about 650 animals and needs a lot of blankets. She said the shelter throws away many blankets because they are in contact with diseased animals or defecated on. She added that the blankets are washed daily with bleach, which quickly wears them out.

“We have washing machines going all the time,” Pray said. “We like to make sure our animals have a nice warm dry blanket to sleep on every night.”

To help curb the shortage, shelter employees sought and received donations from hotels.

“That’s a big help,” Pray said.

But it’s not enough. Shelter employees are seeking donations from the public. Planet Aid’s Kansas City Regional Office has agreed to set up collection bins across Lawrence beginning Saturday. The shelter will accept blankets, linens and towels, but not clothes.

The bins will appear at Westridge Shopping Center, Sixth Street and Kasold Drive; Petco, 3115 La.; Hy-Vee Food Store, Kasold Drive and Clinton Parkway; and Checkers Foods, 2300 La. The shelter, 1805 E. 19th St., will accept donations, too.