Humane Society of Barron County

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The Humane Society of Barron County is an open door shelter in rural northern Wisconsin. We accept strays and surrenders at any time from anywhere in the county. We also often take animals from outside of the county due to surrounding shelters being out of space. As of January, we finally have a contract with the county for the "pound" services we provide. We are very happy and thankful that after several years, this relationship has finally been formed. While this money is very necessary to help cover the costs of all the stray animals that come through our doors, it still represents just 20% of our yearly income. We are funded largely by donations, adoptions, memberships, and fundraisers.

HSBC was formed by a dedicated group of supporters in 1978. In the early 80s, we moved into a small building next to the sewage plant in Rice Lake. We quickly outgrew that building and after many years of fundraising, we moved into our current location on Guy Avenue in Barron on land that was donated by the city. In 2003, the shelter became a closed-door no kill shelter. In June 2008, the shelter went through a huge number of changes. We've changed our board of directors, most of our staff, management, and went from a limited acceptance no-kill shelter to an open door low-kill shelter. Being in a rural farming community, turning away animals by the dozens on a weekly basis because of the lack of space and having animals in cages in every room of the building was just not being the "humane" society we wanted to be. Because of the past strain these policies caused, we are working hard to restore the shelter's relationship with the community and our financial situation. In August 2008, we added an executive director, Dorothy Quinn, to help handle the administrative end of things, including writing new policies and procedures and working on forming new programs and initiatives, while our three animal caregivers do a wonderful job caring for our animals 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our manager, Lee Lewis, does a wonderful job working with adopters to make perfect matches and helps make the shelter a very inviting place to come.

In 2007, as a closed-door facility, we took in around 620 cats and dogs. We became an "open door" facility in June 2008 and took in nearly 1250 animals in 2008. Right now, we're averging taking in around 175 animals a month. Our adoption rates are up, we have more regular volunteers than we've ever had, and we're striving to become the shelter that this community needs.

Currently, we can house 12 large dogs and approximately 40 adult cats in the building and another 4 dogs in outside kennels (during the summer - winter time is much too cold to do this) if the need arises. We have MANY more animals available for adoption than we have listed on zootoo and you view them on our website www.hsbcshelter.com

Our volunteers and staff are the heart of our organization. They continue to root for us, the underdog, the little shelter in the middle of nowhere that's trying so hard to make a big difference. We believe in HSBC and spend every day working as hard as we can to make this world a better place for the animals and the people who love them.

Information provided by the owner