Jane Weatherford, board member and volunteer.
Brown County Humane Society
~ story and photos by Bob Gustin
By almost any measure, the Brown County Humane Society is an astounding success.
At 97.5 percent, the animal shelter has one of the highest“ save rates” in the United States. It’ s a premier non-profit organization in Brown County with a cadre of volunteers, robust community involvement and wide support.
A no-kill advocacy website called < saving90. org > listed Brown County as one of only two shelters in Indiana with a save rate of more than 90 percent in recent years. Nationally, only about 120 shelters reported a save rate of 90 percent or more.
BCHS, an independent, private, not-for-profit organization, is an open-admission shelter. That means it takes in all cats and dogs from Brown County which are surrendered to them, regardless of their age, health, breed, or how they arrived at the shelter. Last year, 519 shelter animals were adopted and 138 were returned to their owners. Eight were euthanized because they were suffering and too sick to survive and
10 died in the shelter’ s care, according to Erika Imhoof, communications director.
Each animal that comes through the shelter is neutered or spayed and microchipped before being adopted. Sometimes animals will live at the shelter for up to three years, but the average stay for a dog is 22 days, and 53 days for cats.
“ It’ s not just something you say you’ re going to do,” Imhoof said.“ It’ s a commitment. I believe we’ re responsible for the overpopulation, so we should be responsible for doing something about it. Animals have the right to happy, healthy lives,” she said.
BCHS does it with an annual budget of $ 507,000 and a staff of nine full and part-time employees, along with fundraisers, partnerships, adoption events, grants, donations, and foster homes.
Not all of the animals placed in the BCHS’ s care are adopted at the shelter located at 128 South State Road 135. Some are adopted from pet supply stores like Petco in Bloomington and Petsmart in Martinsville, which partner with the shelter.
Other Brown County animals are transported to the East Coast to communities where there is a shortage of animals to adopt, or to rescue groups. In 2016, a total of 689 animals were saved by the shelter.
16 Our Brown County March / April 2017