The Little Shelter that Can

The humane society operates the county dog pound for a small yearly stipend. From these humble beginnings some great things have happened. Over the past 4 years about 4,000 animals have found forever homes through adoption directly from the shelter and through rescues. This has been as far west as Colorado and east up into Maine and even Canada. Most of the dogs are fostered by inmate training in a nearby prison. There they learn basic commands, socialization and housebreaking. As of this date, the humane society has not euthanized a healthy adoptable cat since taking cats in and, despite running the county dog pound, has not euthanized a healthy adoptable dog in over 4 years. While the shelter is not much to look at, the staff's hearts are big. The only drawback is that phone messages often have to be left for shelter staff as the office manager also cleans cat cages and administers medication to the sick felines. This causes a lag time in getting back with people, but is a constraint of funding. Every penny is stretched until it squeeks and the shelter director knows about each and every animal.

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