A roller-coaster year for the Humane Society

Like a lot of organizations, the Wisconsin Humane Society and its Ozaukee County campus in Saukville has had an up-and-down year in 2020.

“It’s been a real roller coaster,” WHS Vice President of Communications Angela Speed said this week.

In one sense, the ride is on the downside currently, with the facility not open in November for adoptions due to limited staffing, Speed said.

“We’re still taking in strays and for emergencies, but those animals are moving to Milwaukee and other campuses for placement,” she said.

Only a dozen or so animals are on site at the Saukville campus, but more than 140 have been placed with foster families, Speed said.

When the coronavirus first struck, the Humane Society ceased adoptions at three of its five shelters to consolidate operations as the number of staff members was reduced.

That corresponded, however, with a sudden surge of interest in adoption and new foster parents signing up. The surge helped limit the number of animals onsite, as people sought to help and presumably because many found themselves at home seeking companionship.

“Demand far exceeded the number of animals available,” Speed said. “For the first time in my 14 years here, we ran out of animals. The community response was tremendous.”

Adoptions resumed by appointment at the Saukville campus in the summer months, its highest intake period, especially of cats and kittens, Speed said.  

Families who foster are encouraged to adopt out the animals themselves with help from the Humane Society, she said.

“We really appreciate the community’s patience as we work to keep our people and community safe while continuing to offer essential services to the area’s animals,” Speed said.

“Covid-19 has affected our work organizationally, and although we haven’t yet had a confirmed positive case at our Ozaukee campus, quarantines and positives at other WHS locations affect our work as a whole,” she said.

In the meantime, WHS is offering some virtual children’s programs, including birthday parties, camps, Scout nights and dog-training classes streamed live on Facebook.

Speed said the need for foster-pet parents is still acute and encouraged anyone interested to visit petfinder.com, which works with shelters and rescue groups, and the Wisconsin Humane Society website at wihumane.org.