Blount County Humane Society

I'm from a small town in KY,I worked with the local humaine society for four years, worked many cases, many that ended in court, I'm willing to offer my time when needed, willing to purefied confirmation if needed, volunteer if needed.

My wife and I have volunteered at BCHS since January, 2013, and we work at the adoption center each week. We also adopted a cat from BCHS earlier this year - she is a wonderful pet. Working with BCHS has been a wonderful and rewarding experience for us. The staff are very caring people, they work hard and they take excellent care of the animals. They work hard to find suitable homes for cats and dogs. Before they would allow us to adopt our cat, they made a visit to our home and thoroughly inspected it to be sure it was appropriate for our new pet. They called references including our veterinarian. The organization has very good leadership.

I completed an adoption of a cat with this organization. They insure that the person/family and the animal are well suited including a home visit with the adoptee. All medical records were available and up to date. All interactions were very professional. Sheba, our adopted cat, was very healthy and happy; and has made a wonderful addition to our home.

I am a volunteer with Blount County Humane Society and have found what great people there are working hard to Save all animals in need at this organization. I was looking at the time I found BCHS a way to give back to the community that I live in. I am so glad to have found BCHS and being No Kill really peeked my interest because I love all animals. I have seen many changes over the years and know there are many changes to come in the rescue world. BCHS group works so hard to save animals they have started new programs to teach our community and other communities about NO KILL. We have started a transport program, fostering program, trap neuter return program for ferral cats, and the biggest acomplishment is the hard work our Maryville Shelter team has put in to pull all animals from the shelter for fostering until they are adopted . You can find our harding working volunteers team at events almost every weekend showing off our adoptable animals. We have a Cat team / Dog team that is so dedicated I am proud to be a part of this organization.

I began volunteering with the Blount County Humane Society approximately one year ago and am very impressed with and inspired by the whole organization. The team members get off work from their full-time jobs every evening and go straight back to work for the animals, sometimes until after midnight, forgoing social lives and family time. They believe every life matters and is worth saving. The team can also be found cleaning, transporting, and working adoption events every weekend, and they do it with a smile on their face. Being No Kill is not always be the easiest option, but the Blount County Humane Society is proof that it can be done! I am always more than happy to donate my time or resources because I know how much it is appreciated and I can see with my own eyes how much a difference it makes. So proud to be just a small part of improving our community. No Kill Revolution!

I personally contribute to the Blount County Humane Society because it is a no kill shelter. I am a Knox County resident, but being a no kill shelter is very important to me. I also have many friends who volunteer at the BCHS, and they all speak very fondly of the group, the way that they take care of the animals, and the outreach programs that they have.

I currently serve on the board for the Blount County Humane Society. There has never been a more dedicated group in our community. They are the only group in our region that has single-handedly turned a HIGH KILL shelter (Maryville City Animal Shelter) into what is now the shelter with the HIGHEST SAVE RATE in our entire STATE. One of the highest save rates in the nation. This is a huge accomplishment. As a group, they saw the need for change, educated themselves on how to make the needed changes, started working and haven't stopped. Instead of talking, they have been DOING! They have been succesfully managing the entire intake for this shelter for over two years, losing only the animals that cannot be safely rehabilitated due to severe aggression or animals involved in legal situations that the court has deemed unreleaseable. That number for the last few years is a very few, around 10 animals total. They do not discriminate the animals, but save every breed, every age, every behavioral and medical need. Every other animal is networked by the Blount County Humane Society into adoptive or foster homes. They even created a program to spare the lives of the feral cats taken in to the city shelter. While managing the shelter program, the Blount County Humane Society also helps by taking in others abandoned at vet offices, surrendered by their families directly and animals they take in from their own animal cruelty investigations. They also assist other surrounding shelters by pulling when they are able to take in additional animals and by providing transport for those that are eligible in surrounding counties with much higher kill rates. They do not rely on transport for the animals in either their system or those at the Maryville City Shelter. Transport is reserved as a way to help other shelters that are in need. They are entirely volunteer, donation only, receiving no government funding for the enormous amount of veterinary care that they provide for our community's animals each month. They provide sanctuary and rehabilitation for those animals in need. They are very resourceful, and make a little go a very long way. They have truly changed this community, and we should all be very grateful to them for their ongoing contributions. No other group has ever matched the save rates that this group has achieved, and it is clear that the Blount County Humane Society is here to stay! I will forever support their efforts, and I can't wait to see what the future will hold! They are proof that No Kill works, and is already working in our community!

I'm a volunteer with the Blount County Humane Society and the way that I found out about them was after going to the Maryville Shelter where a Pit that had been in a fight was not doing very well. I was given the number of one of the girls who checks everyday on the animals at the shelter and I voiced my concern about him. She told me that they planned on taking him to the vet that evening. At that time she invited me to attend a Thursday meeting, which I did the next week. I've been a volunteer with them since that day! The pit that I was concerned about is doing great now thanks to the help he received. If he had been in any other shelter in our area he would of probably been put down because of his injuries.
I have only seen good things happen since I've been associated with the BCHS. All of the animals that are pulled out from the Maryville shelter go into foster until they are adopted.
We have adoption events almost every weekend where the foster parents bring out their cats or dogs so that the public can see them. We also have a website and are on Facebook where we share our animals every day which are looking for their FOREVER HOME ~

I recently began looking at animal organizations in my area and found the Blount County Humane Society to be very committed to their work with rescuing animals. They were very appreciative of my donation and were open regarding their expenses and financial standing.

As a current volunteer, I see firsthand the level of dedication it takes to be a part of the No Kill endeavor. While it is no easy feat, the Blount County Humane Society has a group of volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to meeting challenges, facing them head on, and overcoming them with sheer tenacity and with the lives of the animals always the driving force behind it. It is this exact perserverance that has resulted in an increased save rate at the municipal shelter, quality care for both the animals onsite and in foster care, and an introduction of new programs to continue to help those who cannot help themselves...the animals.

I began volunteering with BCHS in July of 2013. BCHS is a volunteer driven organization that trying to create a No-Kill Community in Blount County. The Shelter Pet Program that is their partnership with the City of Maryville's Animal Shelter that serves Maryville, Alcoa, and Rockford has achieved a 99.8% save rate. Prior to this program, the save rate was as often as low as 20% with many healthy adoptable animals being euthanized. They provide all of the veterninary care that animals entering the Maryville Shelter receive and provide vet care and meds for all of the animals in their care. BCHS is completely dependent on the communty for support......and they have a dedicated team of volunteers helping the animals every day because Every Life Matters!

In response to previous reviews, all of the financials are available under the category "legal" on the website www.blountcountyhumanesociety.org. There are no money "secrets". Their largest expense is vet care and boarding for injured or sick animals.

These are good people doing good things for animals......

I came to a couple meetings of the Humane Society at their store last Summer. The leader was real obsessed with talking bad about the mayor, shelter, and other rescue people. Then he started telling us who to go and vote for because the mayor didn't like them. He wanted us to vote him out. He also talked bad about Obama. I thought non-profit organizations were not allowed to endorse political candidates? I think this group has a lot of problems, mainly the head guy. I can't remember his name. He was also very rude, taking phone calls and caused the meeting to be late- even taking calls in the middle of the meeting! How unprofessional! The meeting seemed real disorganized and unfocused. I came a couple times just to make sure - but I decided I didn't want to be a part. Later on, I found out that the leader is a very shady character. I've been told that he doesn't take proper care of his own animals! But that is just hearsay, but I have to say I wouldn't be surprise if it were true. I don't think this group is worthy of a donation either, according to another post, they aren't telling the truth about how they spend their money. Also, a friend of mine found a dog and needed help, and they called and got a man (probably the same guy) and he was very rude to them. He shouted at them and hung up - how is this helping animals? I am from New York and ppl up there seem to be nicer than they are here - the animal people I mean! Thanks for letting me give my opinion - 1 star for sure!-- Sincerely, Retired DAL (Retired Democrat Animal Lover)

I am a former volunteer with the Blount County Humane Society and was very involved with the organization during the time period of this 2009 form. I find it very curious that they say they spent $8,000 on their "Dogs Deserve Shelter" program. While this is a wonderful progam to help animals, I know for a fact that all of the dog houses and kennels that were given away in this program were DONATED to the BCHS. Perhaps they had to purchase a few, but in no way did they spend $8,000.00. This form has been falsified. Mr Phipps, the BCHS president, spends the organization's money however he sees fit. While the money is definitely used for some good, it is questionable about where all the money goes since Mr Phipps absolutely refuses to turn in detailed receipts. I know first hand that he does not believe in being accountable to anyone. I doubt the validity of this entire form because Mr Phipps is not to be trusted.

I'm a volunteer at this humane society. I have seen first hand that the money does go toward the animals. There has been a management shift in the past year, and the financials were left in a bit of a mess. There is a bookkeeper going through everything, and financial information will be made available online this year, including tax forms. The group has many community programs and does lots of wonderful things to help the animals and people in Blount County. I will continue to volunteer my time and money.

I personally volunteer for this organization now, and have for some time. The organization does a fantastic job at rescuing at risk animals, fostering and adopting them out. They also have several community assistance programs like a pet food pantry and animal cruelty investigation team. The volunteers, members and president are hard-working and dedicated. The Blount County Humane Society is growing, and doing everything they can to move Blount County toward a no-kill future. I have seen everything I need to see to know that donations go towards the animals, are making a difference, and I will continue to support this group with my time, energy and money.

This organization does contribute to the welfare of animals. The organization holds weekly adoption events for animals it cares for in it's foster network. The organization transports animals out of the area for adoption in needed areas. The organization runs a thrift store to help support these initiatives, along with events and donation jars around the area.



However, with all that being said, I no longer support this organization. After my donation, I found that this organization does not have a functioning board of directors. One person, the founder, was authorized to spend money out of the accounts, no annual reports were available, and policies were not written to follow for assisting the public in animal issues.

There was also an atmosphere of religious overtones when moral decisions were made. Nothing wrong with that, but that is not advertised in the organizations mandates. If your convictions are such, you will likely not mind.


In closing, I think the volunteers are the heart and soul of this organization. Without their dedication and commitment, there would be an empty space needing filled. Each and every one is there for the benefit and welfare of animals, just as I was.