My Nonprofit Reviews

In an area where no other options exist, OOHS has made significant strides to making Lake County a place where no animal need be homeless. By focusing on the proactive solutions, the number of stray dogs and cats is decreasing. Through Targeted TNR, community cat numbers are on the decline and the quality of life of the community cats that are here is improving. Pet Food Share and Companion Animal Spay Neuter are keeping pets where they belong, in the home they already have. Foster and Adoption programs and partnerships throughout the state of Oreogn and beyond are giving more homeless a second chance.

We are fortunate to see daily what other organizations that have existed for a long time no longer have memory of, the palpable positive changes that take place when opportunity arises. In an area where there are no shelter statistics (because there are no shelters) you can see the change first hand every time you look around. Less stray dogs, less community cats, companion animals that are well fed, fewer and fewer free puppy and kitten signs at the local grocery store, people telling you how much nicer there neighborhood is since we started a Targeted TNR Program. You don't need to see numbers to know there has been a change for the better. We have watched it happen. We hear it from people everyday.

So now, after five years, we find ourselves where other communities have been for quite some time. Trying to find the answers to why, with all the resources we make available to pets and people, we are still not there. Why we occasionally get the call about someones cat having kittens, see the sign at Safeway for free puppies, get a call about a stray dog. Sure, these instances are fewer than at the beginning , but that they still exist means we still have a lot of work to do. It means our job is not done

Now, we look to other organizations for direction as we struggle to find the solution. Organizations that have are or have been in the position we find ourselves. We picked the low hanging fruit and are challenged to reach higher. Now we are going to need a ladder, someone to hold it for us and possibly a stick to reach further,

I know we do not have all the answers yet, but we are determined to keep looking. Our situation (remote location, remote individual communities and a community where financial resources are few) adds complexity. It makes it necessary for us to be more creative, to have better problem solving skills. We can reject the "you can't" because we already have done so much more than so many thought was possible in our community.

I truly believe we can make Lake County a community where no pet need be homeless. It is not going to be easy, but it can happen. We need to make sure we don't just pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished, we need to keep reaching, to never be satisfied.

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