Author: Lisa Beggio

SENIOR DOGS AT Columbia Humane Society FETCH GRANT

[St.Helens] –Old dogs have something to wag about this summer, as The Grey Muzzle Organization announces the recipients of its annual grants, and dogs at Columbia Humane Society are among the winners.

 

Columbia Humane Society  located in Columbia County  is one of 62 animal welfare groups chosen from 240 applicants to receive a grant to help local senior dogs. The groups received a total of nearly $419,000 in grants to help save or improve the lives of at-risk old dogs in communities nationwide.

 

“This grant will help us give senior dogs like 14-year-old Stella the veterinary and dental care she needs so she’ll be ready to go to her forever home,” said Lisa Beggio  of Columbia Humane Society. “No one is more grateful or loving than an old dog, and we’re looking forward to helping more senior dogs get the second chance they all deserve.”

 

In the past 11 years, the national nonprofit Grey Muzzle Organization has provided almost $2 million in grants to support its vision of “a world where no old dog dies alone and afraid.”

 

“Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’re delighted to help deserving organizations like Columbia Humane Society make a difference in the lives of dogs and people in their communities,” Grey Muzzle’s Executive Director Lisa Lunghofer said. “Many senior dogs in the Columbia County are enjoying their golden years in loving homes thanks to the wonderful work of the Columbia Humane Society”

 

Located in Columbia County, the Columbia Humane Society is a privately run 501(C)(3) rescue organization. We take responsibility for nearly 300 pets a year and find new and loving homes for them. We work with local authorities as well as organizations from around the world to help train and re-home displaced pets. Our mission is to assist the community in the training and rehoming of adoptable animals. For more information about who we are please visit our website at Columbia Humane Society

 

The national nonprofit The Grey Muzzle Organization improves the lives of at-risk senior dogs by providing funding and resources to animal shelters, rescue organizations, sanctuaries, and other nonprofit groups nationwide. For details, plea

Columbia County Cancels Contract with Columbia Humane Society

Columbia County Cancels Contract with Columbia Humane Society

By Columbia Humane Society Board of Directors and Executive Director

November 28, 2017

 

St. Helens, OR – Columbia Humane Society’s mission is to assist the community in the successful re-homing and training of adoptable animals.  However, effective January 1, 2018, the Columbia Humane Society (CHS) will no longer be managing the welfare of stray, neglected, and abused dogs, or licensing dogs within Columbia County due to the County’s cancellation of our contract.

 

The Holsheimer Lamar Animal shelter was created in 1995 as a joint venture between CHS and Columbia County. The funding for the building was supplied by a CHS donor, and the land was supplied by Columbia County.  For the past four years, at the County’s request, it has been CHS’ pleasure to provide medical care, food, enrichment, and shelter to our county’s animals until they could be reconnected with their owners; sadly, that portion of the shelter program will again be managed by the Sheriff’s department and Animal Control.

 

The effects of the contract cancellation as of January 1, 2018:

– Reduced office hours (CHS will only be open to the public Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday, Noon – 5:00 p.m.)

– Viewings and adoptions by appointment only

– Loss of three staff positions

– Loss of fourteen indoor kennels and eight outdoor kennels, approximately one third of our previous capacity

– Loss of one third of our operating budget

– All strays collected by the county will remain in county custody

– After three to five days any animals in county custody (with few exceptions) will be offered to adoption agencies (without remuneration), or euthanized

– CHS will no longer be involved with housing or caring for strays

– County will not have set office hours to recover stray pets, please contact the Animal Control Officer or the Sheriff’s Office to make arrangements

– Photos of found dogs will be on the County’s Facebook page or posted at their office

 

The amazing staff and volunteers at CHS are committed to continuing to serve you and your pets to the best of their ability.  Our current, ongoing programs are:  Low-cost Vaccination Clinics, Socialization Therapy, Senior Dog Adoptions, Foster & Hospice Care, and Kennel Enrichment for all dogs and cats.  Beginning Monday, December 4, 2017, the Warm A Dog (WAD) program will begin.  This is a joint venture between the Columbia Humane Society (CHS) and Community Action Team (CAT) to provide safe shelter for homeless person’s pets while they are seeking shelter from the cold in the community warming center.

 

If your dog wanders off, please be quick in contacting the Sheriff’s office or Animal Control as your pet’s time may be short and at risk.  

 

Contact

To learn more, please contact:  

Columbia Humane Society, 503-397-4353, 2084 Oregon St., PO Box 845, St. Helens, OR  97051

Lisa Beggio, Executive Director, CHS

lisa.beggio@columbiahumane.org

503-369-7643

Leonard Sword, Board of Directors Chair

leonard.sword@columbiahumane.org

612-810-1278

Lori Furman, Board of Directors Vice Chair

lori.furman@columbiahumane.org

971-222-3061

Kennel Closure

 

 

The staff and the Board of Directors of the Columbia Humane Society (CHS) would like to formally announce that, effective immediately, the kennels at the Holsheimer Lemar Animal Shelter will no longer be open to the public. The shelter will remain open for adoptions; however the process will be slightly altered from the past.

 

We have not reached this decision lightly, but as the result of research and consultations with other rescues currently acting under this policy. It is our responsibility to promote the health and welfare of all the animals currently in our care. As those who have walked through the kennels may know, it is a high anxiety environment for any animal. The addition of public interaction drastically increases the animals’ anxiety. We have repeatedly seen their development relapse with the addition of public access.

 

Consequently, this new policy is being put in place to protect the animals we are training and caring for on a daily basis. It will allow us to focus on their enrichment, and during their transition periods, provide opportunities for progress in a controlled environment. This will also help protect the shelter from liabilities that may be incurred by allowing the public to interact with potentially unpredictable animals.

 

The closure of our kennels to the public should not indicate that we will no longer adopt animals or accept volunteers. Instead, the animals will rely more on our trained volunteers for socialization. If anyone is interested in volunteering at the shelter, please attend the volunteer orientation on the last Saturday of the month from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Additionally, anyone interested in adopting a pet is welcome to come to the shelter and fill out an application. We will work alongside you to match you to an appropriate new family member.  

 

Meanwhile, we are developing a new Meet and Greet center over the next few months. The center will be on-site, but not in the shelter, allowing adopters to meet their potential pets in less stressful circumstances than the shelter itself. This will offer a home-like environment in which adopters can make informed decisions about adding pets to their families and homes.

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email info@columbiahuamane.org or call Lisa at 503-397-4353. As always, we appreciate your support. Donations continue to be accepted at www.columbiahuamne.com/donate.

Press Release January 2017

CHS

 

The Staff and Board of Directors of the Columbia Humane Society (CHS) has welcomed 2017 with open arms.  We are very pleased with the progress that the shelter made in 2016 and we are looking forward to what 2017 will have to offer CHS and Columbia County.

 

In 2016, we saw the beginning of our Canaan Dog Project. It has been very successful, with a total of sixteen dogs from Israel finding homes. Our dog enrichment program was initiated with shelter dog play groups, and different enrichment activities that happen daily in the kennels. We are excited about growing this program through 2017.

 

Over the past year, we have seen our volunteer support flourish. Our volunteers are always prepared to assist not only the animals, but our small staff of five people. We are excited to report that between our board of directors and volunteers, they have collectively logged nearly 4000 hours of service. We could not have succeeded without them, and cannot thank them enough. Working together, we are pleased to say that we found adopted homes for 267 cats and 312 dogs, we reunited 232 dogs with their owners, we placed two dogs with the Washington Department of Corrections, and we placed one dog with the National Search Dog Foundation. CHS was able to recognize the working potential of these pets and find them the homes that they needed and deserved.

 

We saw a return of the ASPCA-sponsored Adoption Ambassador Program. We are happy to say that we successfully placed sixteen cats in loving homes through the work of our ambassadors.  We were able to participate locally in many events, including the Clatskanie Fourth of July celebration, the Arts Festival in Scappoose, Vernonia Pet Day, and the Columbia City celebration, as well as a month-long booth that we held at Halloween Town in Saint Helens. We enjoyed each of these events, particularly the opportunities to interact with the residents of Columbia County, educate the public about what we do as a shelter, and get a better understanding of what the residents of Columbia County look for in the Humane Society.

 

Through some very generous private donations, we were able to start our Senior Dog Program. While funds last, it will ensure that each dog who comes into our care over the age of eight years old will receive full medical care, including a veterinary exam, blood and urine analysis, altering, and dental care, if required before becoming adoption-ready.  We want to provide our animals with the best care possible, but moreover, to give potential adopters the chance to make the most educated decision about adopting a senior pet, or indeed, any at all. We are looking forward to writing grant proposals in 2017 to keep this program running, as well as extending this program to our senior cat population.

 

All of these notable accomplishments would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and donors. As we all know, funding is the key to keeping any non-profit up and running, as we rely solely on donors, grants, fines and fees, and a single contract with Columbia County for all of our funding. Therefore, we would like to thank our current business sponsors: Midway Veterinary Hospital, Merck Animal Health, Columbia River PUD, Saint Helens Federal Credit Union, Fred Meyer, Columbia County Brewing, and Story Time Bakery. In addition to the sponsorship of these businesses, we received very generous grants and donations from The Samuel L Johnston Foundation, Windermere Charitable Giving, ASPCA, Wings of Rescue, Portland General Electric, The Pedigree Foundation, and The Petfinder Association. We would also like to thank our many private donors who support us with their very generous donations.  It is through all this support that we are able to make CHS a sanctuary for the pets of Columbia County and beyond.

 

We look forward to the many opportunities and challenges awaiting CHS in 2017. We are anticipating the opening of our new Meet and Greet suite and Training Facility. We intend to implement upgrades to the living quarters of our cats in intake and isolation, as well as some general shelter repairs. We hope to attend more community outreach events this year, particularly including visits to senior centers and schools.  

 

Our current hours are 12 AM to 5 PM on Tuesdays through Thursdays, and both Saturdays and Sundays. Our volunteer orientation is always held at the shelter on the last Saturday of the month, from 11 AM to 12 PM. Please feel free to come in, meet our staff, and ask about adoption, volunteering, and fostering.  We look forward to serving you, our community, in 2017.

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call 503-369-7643 or email lisa.beggio@columbiahumane.org

Owners Reuniting With Their Pets

CHS

by the Columbia Humane Society

February 25th, 2015

Columbia County, Oregon–The Columbia Humane Society (CHS) currently holds a contract with Columbia County Dog Control (CCDC) that states that CHS agrees to “retain any county impounded animal for a      minimum of 5 days unless a longer period is required by the court order and/or by the County. The animal shall be considered released for adoption at the expiration of the 5 day retention period, unless the County notifies CHS that a longer retention is necessary .  Following the retention period, a County-impounded animal shall remain under the guardianship of the County until the animal is adopted or otherwise released or transferred by the county.” Several procedures have been developed over the past few years to ensure that CHS is always acting in    accordance with the law, as well as with the contract we currently hold with CCDC, but CHS has always gone above and beyond that contract when it comes to housing and re-homing stray animals for the County.  All efforts are put forth in finding and working with owners when reuniting them with their pets:  we place animals that have been brought to the shelter on Facebook, many times the staff actually recognizes the dogs as having been in the shelter and will make contact with owners we have had previous contact with. and keep logs of pets that are currently lost in Columbia County in a central data management system.

 

Another piece to the contract that CHS holds with CCDC states “CHS shall collect and retain fees for the impound, sheltering, care and treatment of County-impounded animals.  Such fees are for CHS use at its sole discretion.  CHS may also, at its sole discretion, waive any fees for the services it provides for County-impounded animals.”  Currently, CHS charges an impound fee of $30.00. If an animal spends the night at the shelter, we charge $15.00 a day for boarding, payable by the owner on pick-up.  We do recognize the financial limitations of pet owners as well as the needs of  the pets, and take these factors into consideration when charging these fees. In many cases, we never recover the full fees that people owe to get their animals out of impound; in fact, we are lucky if we even receive half of the fees assessed.

 

While CHS is a non-profit organization, we still have operational costs. We are under the same obligation as any business to pay our utilities, our employees, insurance costs, vehicle costs and other incidentals.When we try to recover fees from owners whose dogs have been brought in as strays, and from our adopters when they pick a new family member, it is to cover the cost of our doors staying open.  While we do receive donations and grants, many of them  cannot be applied to these  costs, as they are earmarked for particular programs and expenses.

 

As always, we would love to hear from the Columbia County public about ways that you feel we could better serve. Please keep an eye out for our upcoming open forum, where the board members and shelter staff will answer any questions we can. We would love to have input from the community on how you would like to see your local animal shelter run.