Forward Janesville - TheReport - Fall 2017

The Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin (HSSW) is a private nonprofit 501c3 organization whose mission is to provide shelter and humane care to lost and homeless pets, reunite lost pets with their families, promote positive pet adoptions and educate our community in order to inspire compassion and responsible pet guardianship. Over the past four years, HSSW has been working to “reset” its services and its business and community relationships, to align with emerging issues and needs. The organization has evolved from the old-school “pound” model of animal welfare to become a progressive shelter. HSSW is also currently moving forward with a viable plan for a new shelter. The vision includes a state-of-the-art, well-located facility with healthier accommodations, better visibility and improved access that will result in greater foot traffic and increased adoptions! “A new shelter is a tool—a critically needed tool—to enable the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin to serve more pets and more people and to do what we are here to do: help pets go home again,” said Executive Director Brett Frazier. HSSW successes include: • Annual adoptions have increased 90 percent over the past three years • Euthanasia rates dropped dramatically, credentialing HSSW as a no-kill shelter • Addition of a full-time, on-site veterinarian • Partnering with educational institutions to recruit certified veterinary technician students to assist the full-time vet • Implementation of strict protocols for intake exams and quarantine to prevent and minimize infectious disease Addition of innovative programs such as: • First-ever jail-based dog training program in our area (operating both in Rock and Dane Counties) • Pet’s Pantry, which helps provide pet supplies for low-income families at ECHO in Janesville and Caritas in Beloit • Vet Pets, which places foster feline families at veterinary clinics where they are cared for by staff and directly adopted from that clinic • Backyard Buddies, a program placing vaccinated, altered outdoor cats in loving homes with a warm barn at no fee FALL 2017 • 19 Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin Petsgohome.org 608.752.5622