St. Huberts Giralda

Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animal-Related, Animal Training, Animals

Mission: St. Hubert's was founded in 1939 to provide for the welfare of homeless and abused animals and to promote responsible pet ownership. The organization believes in and provides services that support the human-animal bond and seeks to foster an environment in which people respect all living things.

Programs: Animal welfare services provided: provided direct care for 3,409 animals via operation of two animal shelter locations that serve local communities, the region, and national disaster response. Provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week emergency animal control services to 7 municipalities. Widely welcomed, cared for, and rehomed animals including dogs, cats, birds and small mammals with a live release rate of 92%. St. Hubert's responds to injured, orphaned wildlife and provides educational information to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. All dogs, cats, and rabbits are spayed/neutered prior to adoption. Care includes medical and behavioral support and training. Adoption process is open and friendly and shelters are open to the public 363 days each year. Provided targeted, subsidized spay and neuter for 741 community cats to reduce suffering and homelessness. Support pets at risk through outreach programs in communities. Run a professional education series to mobilize, network, and elevate the field of animal welfare with 271 attendees in fiscal year 2014. Run a sister shelter program to partner with overcrowded shelters and welcomed 657 animals and return a portion of adoption proceeds to support low-cost spay/neuter in the source community. Deployed skilled staff to assist national organizations responding to man-made and natural disasters; provided nearly 440 man-hours of deployment in fiscal year 2014. Advocate for all types of animals, coaching peaceful coexistence with woldlife, responding to injured, orphaned animals and raising awareness of farm animal welfare issues and of captive exotics in entertainment.

training and behavior center: operated a nationally renowned training and behavior center. Provided training classes and behavior counseling for private pet parents, graduating 3,329 to support pet retention and the human-animal bond. During this year shelter and adopter support classes to address minor issues with pets transitioning from shelter to home were added. Provided free behavior assessments and behavior modification designed for individual dogs for 18 other animal welfare agencies including shelters, rescues and municipal pounds from six different states. Train, assess and evaluate pet therapy teams that provide community pet assisted therapy. Support behavior assessments and behavior training for animals in the care program at the shelters. Certified staff from the training center deploy to assist with behavioral assessment and handling as requested skilled staff to assist national organizations handling manmade and natural disaster situations.

community services: provided humane education classes at no cost to close to 4,800 local and regional students and 450 on-site summer day campers and birthday party children, including approximately 900 at-risk children. In this year a special weeklong program for teens in residential substance abuse treatment involved hands-on dog training and exploration of human/animals bonds and humane concepts. The program will be continued. Programs for community education and involvement are presented to civic and service organizations throughout the year. The community pet food bank assisted families struggling to feed their pets by providing approximately 119 pet meals per day, for a total of 42,836 meals for the year. Eight dogs and 3 cats, along with their human guardians were assisted through our care program in conjunction with county agencies serving domestic violence victims so that they could leave dangerous situations and insure their animal companions' safety. Paws for people pet therapy program provides no cost pet visitation to hospitals, nursing homes, libraries and other venues; this year 55 new teams were certified (50 dogs; 5 cats) to ensure regular visits at 70 facilities.

other program services: various membership programs and doggy day camp.