Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals

Mission: The mission of the kalamazoo humane society is to foster an environment of respect, responsibility, and compassion for all animals through education, pet population control and leadership.

Programs: Educational services the kalamazoo humane society (khs) presented educational programs to area children and adults centering around three key topics: the program services of the kalamazoo humane society, responsible pet ownership and the future animal care & resource center. These programs were available to area public/private schools as well as community organizations. All khs staff members receive training to counsel individuals with pet-related questions/problems. Through educational outreach events and the efforts of volunteers and the khs staff, our community was provided with the necessary materials that will help distinguish it as one that values ethical and humane treatment for all living beings. A total of 10,000 quarterly newsletters called humane news & views were distributed to area residents and businesses. Mobile outreach - a total of 62 volunteers were involved with educational outreach at one or more of 15 outreach events/sites. An estimated 600 children and 4,000 adults made personal contact with khs staff/volunteers at outreach activities. Outreach events included: women's expo, animal exhibit, 30th annual dog walk, yappy hour iii, pride festival, mad dogs and englishmen british car show, scottish festival, oshtemo fun day, vicksburg harvest fest, lowes adoption event(x2), reverse raffle, christmas at wings, lights of love. Public service messages - as a result of ongoing contact with members of the news media throughout the year, multiple articles were published by the local news media. Topics included: our community's spay/neuter assistance program achieving its 50,000th surgery, summer heat hazards, the 30th annual dog walk, the reverse raffle, emergency medical care for pets, wintering your pet and the proposed animal care & resource center. Other contacts involved ads, banners, yard signs, television ads and seven radio interviews. Educational resources -humane society staff members responded to approximately 22,100 calls (85/day) and 7,855 (30/day) in-office/visits from people asking pet-related questions or requesting program assistance. We continue to experience high volume of people visiting the khs office to request assistance. Animal welfare/cruelty complaints - khs staff members receive an average of five - ten calls per week pertaining to alleged animal abuse or neglect. Referrals, counseling and educational information were given based on an evaluation of the caller's complaint/concern. The khs board and staff works closely with the director of the kalamazoo animal services and enforcement shelter to help make improvements to the shelter facility to improve animal health and help increase pet adoptions.

animal services animal care & resource center planning committee - this innovative project is a unique collaboration between khs and the kalamazoo county department of animal services & enforcement dedicated to working together under one roof to deliver crucial animal welfare services. The project is intended to have the following impact on our community: pet overpopulation will be further reduced through spay/neuter surgeries performed in an onsite clinic; the lives of animals will be saved through enlarged, healthy, inviting lodging; animals will find suitable homes through expanded rescue and adoption opportunities; and pets and their owners will learn good citizenship through pet training and humane education programs. Khs committee members continued to follow the recommendations from the 2010 feasibility study, which included educating the community on the role of the kalamazoo humane society and the need for a new animal holding facility for our community. In first quarter of 2014 a building (our second site evaluated) that could be remodeled as an animal care & resource center was located. A purchase agreement was executed followed by a due diligence period to investigate the suitability of the building for our joint purposes with kalamazoo county. The building was found to not be suitable for the project after a lengthy evaluation. In the third & fourth quarter of 2014, two parcels of vacant land were investigated as possible locations on which to build a new animal care & resource center. Due diligence on both parcels were set to begin in the first quarter of 2015. Animal shelter veterinary services - veterinarians were reimbursed by khs to perform routine health checkups on stray animals at the county operated animal shelter. A veterinarian worked approximately 30 - 45 minutes per day 2 - 4 days per week. In addition to the checkups, dogs were provided with a heartworm test prior to adoption, courtesy of khs. Adoption counseling - an average of 12 volunteers per month provided adoption counseling and assisted the public with finding lost pets during expanded adoption hours wednesday nights at the county animal shelter. The animal shelter, which normally closes at 4:30 pm, was kept open on wednesday nights until 7:00 pm as a result of the program. A khs volunteer and a shelter staff member produce and edit a program called doggie in the window that features adoptable shelter cats and dogs. The weekly video program is aired on five cable access stations that reach three counties. Safe pet housing - aid to victims of domestic assault - throughout the year, khs staff members made pickups and safe housing arrangements for the following animals that were companions of domestic violence victims: five dogs and two cats. The animals were housed for a total of 47 weeks. Khs covers the cost of any boarding fees or medical care the animals may need. Many victims of domestic assault will not leave an abusive situation because they don't want to leave their pets. This program gives them a safe and secure sheltering option for their pets. Lost and found and pet identification microchips - khs responded to 300 calls from the public asking questions related to lost or found animals. A total of 232 lost and found information sheets were recorded. A total of 1,100 animals were micro chipped for improved identification by the khs staff. Humane shelter program - a total of 8 doghouses and 15 bags of straw were issued to pet owners lacking proper shelter/bedding for their pets. Animal control officers from the kalamazoo county animal services & enforcement department made referrals for doghouses to the khs. A pet supply company and local residents donated the doghouses as well as provided financial support for the program. Spay/neuter assistance - a total of 6,077 cats and dogs were spayed/neutered through our operation fix-it community spay/neuter assistance program that paid all or a portion of the surgery costs. Event displays, posters and informational brochures promoting the benefits of pet population control were sponsored by khs. The mission of operation fix-it is to spay/neuter the pets of people who cannot or will not have their pets spayed/neutered by a veterinarian in their area. Pet owners using the operation fix-it program are asked to pay a greatly reduced fee of 40(m/f cat) or 80 (m/f dog) to assist with surgery costs. During 2014, the khs conducted feral cat thursdays whereby feral cats were spayed/neutered on a walk-in basis. A total of 480 feral cats were spayed/neutered. Four special spay/neuter promotions were offered during the year: january - happy neuter year, male cat/dog surgeries @ 20, february - beat the heat, female cat spays @ 20, june - precious not parents, puppies/kittens @20 and august - primp your pit, pitbull spays/neuters @20. A total of 1,253 surgeries were performed during these promotions. Nuisance animal control - live traps were loaned to 15 individuals seeking to humanely trap and relocate nuisance animals living on their property. Referrals were made to other trap loan agencies/businesses and animal removal services. On several occasions, brochures on "animal proofing" one's property were provided to interested individuals. Khs loaned citronella humane anti-bark collars to 13 people experiencing problems with their dog's excessive barking. A total of six anti-bark collars were purchased. Individuals were given the option of buying the collars at cost if long-term use was needed. Emergency pet food bank - the khs emergency food bank had 4,009 visits. It distributed 6,776 bags of dry pet food, 675 cans of dog/cat food and 1,447 bags of cat litter to 1,058 individuals/families experiencing temporary difficulty feeding and caring for their pets. Eight local schools, six area businesses, two animal welfare organization and 96 private individuals/families provided food and cat litter to the program. Some organizations and individuals provided financial support so that khs could purchase food for the food bank. Over 39,485 pounds of pet food and cat litter was provided to area families in need. Volunteer programs - the khs volunteer coordinator supervised 146 active volunteers who worked a total of 2,078 hours on behalf of khs. A total of 89 court-appointed community service volunteers worked an additional 1,209 hours. A total of 15 new volunteers were introduced into our programs and attended one or more orientation/training sessions. A total of 25 volunteers assisted in the khs office and provided clerical assistance on 10 projects. The operation fix-it program utilized 12 volunteers to assist with clinic operations.