The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
ADOPTION NUMBERS STEADY
Holiday campaign event yielding notable spike in overall figures
It’s been an intriguing year for Lake Humane Society.
Despite a lawsuit filed against the Mentor nonprofit earlier this year by owners of a Concord Township cat sanctuary, the facility is benefitting from sustained community support and reflecting high overall adoption numbers.
“With the court case, things weren’t as balanced,” said Mandy Osborne, the animal shelter’s director of community outreach and development. “But the good news is our cat intake was pretty high. We saw a boost with 983 overall. This year, as of December 10, we’re back to our steady number range with 688 cats.
“A lot of our numbers are pretty comparable. We did see a peak in intake in small animals, including chinchillas, mice, rats and rabbits, and all those pocket pets. A lot of people forget that we’re not just cats and dogs. In terms of adoptions, we’re really excited with our numbers.”
Intake includes owner surrender, strays and animals dumped at the shelter. Adoption is only one
“We had 54 adoptions in one week.” — Mandy Osborne, the animal shelter’s director of community outreach and development
outcome type. Sometimes animals are returned to their owners or transferred to other shelters.
During the last three years, though, adoption figures have continued to grow. As of Dec. 10, a total of 967 animals have been adopted, 72 more than last year and 98 more than in 2015. Many of this year’s adoptions, however, have been directly tied to Lake Humane Society’s “Home for the Holidays” event, an adoption campaign which began Dec. 7 at 7564 Tyler Blvd. The event, originally scheduled for four days, has been extended to Dec. 15 due to its success.
“We had 54 adoptions in one week,” Osborne said. “It was a huge jump for us because we normally average about 15 to 20 adoptions a week.”
Lake Humane Society was at capacity before “Home for the Holidays.” With the event, cages have opened in its holding area. As adoptions are processed, the staff is continuing to contact people that have been on the shelter’s waiting list to surrender.
“We’re really excited about the adoptions, of course, but also for the opportunity to help more animals,” Osborne said. “We’ve had a lot of space for cats, but our kennel is only half full. Our dog waiting list is becoming very short, which is a good thing, but we do sometimes see a peak after Christmas in surrenders because people think getting a pet as a gift is a good idea and if everyone involved isn’t on the same page, it doesn’t always work out.
“We always prepare for that but right now we’re at a pretty good place, which is exciting.”
The current population of Lake Humane Society is made up of 177 cats, 13 dogs, 15 rabbits and three small animals, with 70 total animals available. Thirty-eight are currently in foster homes awaiting adoption.
The foster program, Osborne said, is something that Lake Humane Society is working to rebuild, recently hiring a coordinator.
“It’s great for people who can’t commit time to the animals,” she said. “It can be two weeks or four months. Home settings can sometimes be better for the animal. And in other instances, since we are managed intake, there may be no space on the grounds.
“Many times we experience what we lovingly refer to as ‘foster failures,’ where the family or individual temporarily taking care of the animal decides to keep it. Sometimes it’s just the right fit and you get attached.”
Seasonally, more fosters are undertaken in the spring and summer due to kitten season, which has died down recently, but not before it extended further into autumn, where spikes of warmer weather allowed more time for outdoor breeding. Because of the frequent breaks in weather, Lake Humane Society still has many kittens available.
Though the age of an animal is a factor, Osborne said many adoptions depend on the respective lifestyles and home life of the person adopting.
“Of course, the puppies and kittens fly out of here much more quickly than the adult animals, and with existing pets in homes, a lot of times it’s easier to incorporate a kitten or puppy as they can be molded better to fit a new environment,” she added. “But you’d be surprised how many people come in wanting an adult dog. We have really special people that open their homes to some of the not as highly adoptable animals as some would suspect.”
Lake Humane Society also works with other area shelter and rescues, like the Geauga Humane Society and the Ashtabula County Animal Protective League.
“We both take in animals from shelters that are struggling and we also transfer them out, especially to breed-specific rescues that work more with the dogs,” Osborne said. “Ashtabula APL is pretty much open admission, so they’re always close to full. We pull a lot of dogs and cats from them, and a lot of bunnies, too, because they don’t typically handle bunnies.
“We also pull dogs from Cleveland Kennel,” she added. “When local shelters don’t need our help, we pull from different high-kill facilities out of state. It’s tough, because we’re really fortunate to be managed intake, but sometimes the community gets upset when you can’t take an animal right away. But a lot of shelters that are open admission at times have to resort to euthanasia or other means because they can’t keep up with the high populations.”
Lake Humane Society does not euthanize for time or space. Animals may be denied humanely if they have a serious medical condition staff can’t treat or if they have behavioral issues the staff can’t resolve. As of Dec. 12, Lake Humane Society’s live release rate is 89 percent.
In addition to “Home for the Holidays,” Osborne noted that the month of December is usually a good one for Lake Humane Society.
“Fourth quarters in general are always successful in terms of donations, also, because people are so generous around the holidays,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of support around a dog named Auggie since he came to us a couple months ago. A lot of people donated towards Auggie’s medical care. It just goes to show how the community really does care for animals. It’s inspiring that people have allowed us to give him the treatment he’s needed.
“The support we receive is awesome, and we always have a need for additional volunteers, adopters and donations. We remain determined to find as many of our animals homes, so we’re going to keep it going.”