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- EIN 20-5318898
- (413) 781-4000
- Po Box 6307 Springfield MA 01101 USA
- http://dakinhumane.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals
Mission: Dakin humane society delivers effective, innovative services that improve the lives of animals in need and the people who care about them. Each year, we provide care and shelter for more than 5,000 pets; provide emergency pet food through meals on wheels and (see sch o) other partnerships; use animal-assisted therapy and humane education to help at-risk adolescents build empathetic relationships; provide emergency temporary care for the pets of domestic violence victims and elders seeking nursing care; support legislation that makes a difference for animals; and provide low-cost spay/neuter for approximately 10,000 cats and dogs.
Programs: Dakin adoption centers provided shelter for 5,768 cats, dogs, rabbits and other small animals in 2014. We had a record year for adoptions (4,106) and were able to find live release opportunities for a record 83% of animals admitted. All animals in the adoption program receive vaccinations, sterilization surgery, appropriate blood tests for common diseases, treatment for internal and external parasites, and microchip identification. Animals presenting with a treatable illness or injury receive treatment, which ranges from care for common respiratory disease to removal of rotted teeth to orthopedic repair of serious fractures or birth defects. Our behavior program fields more than 100 calls and e-mails monthly, offers training classes and behaviorally evaluates incoming dogs.
dakin's community spay/neuter clinic served 9,951 animals in 2014. Following the humane alliance model of high-quality, high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter surgery, the clinic serves any cat or dog within a 90-mile radius of springfield, with special programs targeting those animals most at risk of being homeless: feral cats, the cats of low-income clients, and pit bull dogs. In addition to serving the general public, animal control officers, and rescue agencies, the clinic also serves dakin's own adoption center animals, allowing for every animal to be spayed or neutered prior to adoption. The clinic expanded services in 2014 to include weekly low-cost vaccine clinics to help provide essential preventive care to the pets of low-income families.
dakin humane education programs partner with residential treatment programs and special education curricula in public schools to emphasize relationship- and empathy-building skills for juvenile offenders and other at-risk youth. We also reach schoolchildren through afterschool groups and summer learning programs. Tours of our adoption center for clubs and classrooms help children and adults understand the mission of our organization and the plight of homeless pets in our community.