by Cathy Davis
It seems fitting, at the beginning of the year, to take a look back over the past year and remember all the great successes and fun times and make a plan for the coming year. Usually this involves some serious changes in policy or procedure but to be honest, Houlton Humane has never had a better year than 2012 and our hope and prayer is that things continue just exactly the way they are in 2013.
Adoptions were at an all-time high in 2012 with over 30 animals a month finding new homes thanks to the hard work and effort of our Shelter Director Heather Miller and her awesome staff. A few minor incidents, like poor Luanne being bitten by a feral cat, and a flea outbreak when a large number of cats were brought in from one location, were quickly and easily handled. Luanne has recovered nicely with no lasting effects and of course the fleas were dispatched without ceremony.
We had literally thousands of visitors come through our doors. Many classes of young students had a chance to visit the shelter, their laughter ringing through the building as they visited with the puppies and kitties and got a full tour. Shelter staff and volunteers also visited local schools and gave students information on humane handling of animals, how to avoid dog bites, and the importance of spaying and neutering pets.
We were awarded a $5,000 grant from the ASPCA for a low-income and elderly spay/neuter program – any owner of a cat who is a senior citizen or low income can apply for financial assistance to help with the cost of spaying and neutering. We have 30 approved vouchers issued and there is still an opportunity to apply for these funds as not all the money has been spent, so if you are interested, please call the shelter at 532-2862 and ask for an application.
We met with consultant Kathy Savesky from Windham. Her fees were paid for by another grant from the ASPCA and she made two trips to the shelter, met with the Board of Directors, and helped us put a plan in place for recruiting board members, reviewing of bylaws and an update of our vision and mission statement.
Following those sessions, our bylaws were updated and the revised documents are being prepared now for review by our legal counsel. As a 501c3 nonprofit, it’s vitally important that any changes be reviewed and approved. We also updated our mission statement.
Our website has been temporarily shut down and a new site is in development that should be even better and more user-friendly. Our presence on Facebook has been enhanced with daily updates of our animals available for adoption. Over 2000 “likes” from friends near and far and we are convinced that Facebook has played a major role in our increase in adoptions.
We voted in 2012 to test all cats for feline leukemia and aids so that now if you adopt and you already have animals, you can be assured that you are not bringing a positive cat into your home.
We had a number of successful fundraisers and we also gave up a fundraiser after many years. I know many of you were disappointed that we didn’t host the St Patrick’s Day Box lunch last year but I think you’ll be pleased to know that Adopt A Block of Aroostook is taking on this event this year so you can look forward to receiving your order forms in early March.
One of our most seriously fun events was our Petober Fest, with a petting zoo, pony rides, barbeque, kids games, music and adoptions. Hundreds of people came out to join us and we look forward to doing that again this year.
Officers were elected in October with Cara Maples taking on first vice president, Linda Sewell as second vice president, Heather Miller as agent, Laura Marley as secretary and Lois Jeffrey as treasurer. I remain as president.
Total expenses for 2012 were $139,798.29 including $11,394 for mortgage payment, $2,372 for food, $4,792 for veterinary, $3,319 for insurance and $72,981 for salaries and state and federal payroll taxes. We employ one full-time director who not only oversees our staff, handles all the adoptions and admissions, works as an ACO for several towns and acts as a vet technician assisting with all medical needs, she is also on premises during our public hours, goes to schools to do educational presentations, handles tours from all visiting schools and assists with all fundraisers. We have four part-time employees who see to it that the animals are clean, fed, healthy and well cared for seven days a week.
Our income for 2012 was $133,672.83 which comes from adoption fees, donations, bequests, membership fees, and town contracts. Town contracts are $59,744, all the rest of the money is raised by your generous donations and our various fundraisers, only $5,858 was raised last year in adoption fees — the fees that are paid for adoption mostly just cover the costs already in the animals.
So far, 2013 is looking to be an exciting year. We already have a grant team working on securing funds for a new van, educational materials for our school visits, and new cages for our exam room. And we are beginning to gear up for an auction fundraiser in April and a Chuck Loucka concert in May.
All of this is for the animals. None of this work benefits any individual person in any way, it’s all for the animals and without your help, support, and generous donations, none of this work could continue. Thank you for an awesome year, we look forward to partnering with you for many more years to come.
