Animal Groups Collaborate in Kalamazoo County

ANIMAL GROUPS COLLABORATE ON
PROPOSED ANIMAL CARE CENTER
(FROM THE KALAMAZOO HUMANE SOCIETY SPRING 2007 NEWSLETTER )

The Kalamazoo community loves their animals. This is why there is over a half dozen rescue organizations operating out of Kalamazoo County alone. All of these groups have focused their efforts on helping the homeless and unwanted animals in finding new homes. Each group holds various fundraisers to raise money for their individual missions. At one time, several of these organizations were considering raising money for their own buildings or shelters. This is why in 2004 the Kalamazoo Humane Society and the Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement Department, with help from the County Grant Writer David Artley, began holding what was termed as 'summit meetings' at the Kalamazoo Foundation. The goal of these meetings was to try and bring all of these individual groups together to see if we could work together more efficiently then apart. We also hoped to see if we could find a way we could all work out of one new 'shelter' or some sort of ‘Animal Care Center'. As time passed with each meeting, some of the groups dropped out to go their own way, but each one promised to support our goals.

Today the Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement Department (KCASE), the Kalamazoo Humane Society (KHS), the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue (KAR), and the Kalamazoo Dog Training Club (KDTC) remain at the table, willing to work together and to raise money for a new state-of-the-art building that can house all four groups. The plan is for each group to remain independent of the other while working together to help lower the community's numbers of stray, lost and injured animals. At a time when money is tight, it makes sense to work together and consolidate resources. The groups have been working for 3 years on a plan that has never been done before, and to which there is no model to follow like the Kalamazoo Promise, this will be a first for Kalamazoo and will benefit our community.

Kalamazoo County has the same difficult financial and budget decisions as most communities in Michigan. The State has received lower than expected revenues, and Lansing is scrambling to figure out how to balance the budget again. The talk of increased taxes is inevitable for people that are already struggling with the tax burden they have. Kalamazoo County has been trying to find the funds for a new jail and a new juvenile home among other needs important to our community at a time when State revenue sharing may disappear and cause more budget problems. These are tough times to find ways to continue to provide the community with the necessary services that we all want and need.

Many Government Animal Control agencies and Humane Societies across the country work together with contracts, where the Animal Control brings the animals to a contracted Humane Society Shelter instead of having a shelter of their own. This relationship has failed for many of them because of increased costs to both agencies, and the difficulty of the Humane Society to fulfill two separate missions. Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement is not looking to contract with the Kalamazoo Humane Society, and the Humane Society is not looking to start a sheltering program. We will be working together under one roof with our own separate missions.

The Kalamazoo Humane Society will continue to focus their efforts in the community on lowering the pet overpopulation through low income spay/neuter programs and education. Within the new building the Humane Society will have a fully functioning veterinary office and surgical wing where low income families can have their pets altered at cost. They will have a reference library, offices, and a food storage area for their food bank. Being in the same building with Animal Services, their vets will be able to spay/neuter the shelter's adoptable animals before they leave the shelter. The Humane Society will be able to assist Animal Services with volunteers when they are needed. Animal Services will assist the Humane Society with educational programs and fundraising events.

Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement will have a new state-of -the-art shelter that will be more inviting to the public and provide a healthier environment for the animals that pass through our doors. The shelter will hold dogs in spacious pens instead of stainless steel cages. The drainage and air filtration systems will prevent the spread of disease instead of encouraging it as in the present shelter. There will be easy access to the Humane Society's Veterinary Wing for spay/neuters and injured strays brought into the shelter. The new shelter will hold almost twice the number of dogs and cats with separate holding areas for the adoptable animals and those that are quarantined or being held for court cases. Kalamazoo Animal Rescue will have office space within the building so they can keep track of the adoptable animals in the shelter which are having difficulty getting adopted or that need additional training or handling to make them adoptable. KAR will use their fostering program to help when the shelter gets overcrowded. KAR will be able to have their animals treated by the Humane Society's veterinarian.

The new building will have a large training room attached where the Kalamazoo Dog Training Club can offer their classes and where their members can practice with their own dogs. Classes will be offered for first time dog owners and new adopters to teach them how to socialize and train their dog so the dog does not become a future problem animal. The new training room will also be used for group adoptathons, seminars and fundraising events.

The money for this new building will be raised through donations - not tax dollars. We do not want to place a greater burden on the taxpayers. and we believe that there is enough money and enough people in this community that feel the people and the animals in Kalamazoo County deserve a better shelter than what we have today. The Kalamazoo Humane Society will raise the money for the shelter so that all donations will be tax deductible. The Humane Society will own the building and the other partners will lease their space in the building. This collaboration between government, private not-for-profit and private for-profit group has not been done before in the animal welfare field. This new building will not only benefit the animals in our community, but it will bring additional revenues into Kalamazoo. When people travel here to see the shelter, go to seminars and attend new events, their money will be spent in our gas stations, hotels, and restaurants. Kalamazoo County will become a model for other communities that are struggling with the same animal and financial issues.

Most stray and lost dogs in Kalamazoo County are brought into the current shelter and held until an owner or a new adopter rescues them. The current shelter, though mandated to exist by Michigan Law, is not acceptable to maintain these animals in a healthy state. We believe that a community who loves and values their animals like Kalamazoo County does, will help the Kalamazoo Humane Society to raise the needed funds to build a Community Animal Care Center that we can all be proud of.

Money is being raised for one facility

The Kalamazoo Humane Society will own the facility.
When multiple organizations were considering a new facility, ONE facility housing the groups made more sense than multiple facilities.
The new facility will become home to 4 organizations; Kalamazoo Humane Society (KHS), Kalamazoo County Animal Services & Enforcement (KCASE), Kalamazoo Animal Rescue (KAR) and Kalamazoo Dog Training Club (KDTC).
Each group remains as they are with the same missions they have always had, but they will collaborate" on their efforts to stop the flaw of animals into the shelter.
Four organizations working together will more effectively and more efficiently use resources. Animal Services & Enforcement chose to be part of this project.
Animal Services & Enforcement will run the shelter portion of this new facility.
One Stop Animal Welfare.
The new facility will educate the community, provide medical care to homeless pets, adopt animals into new homes, and end the needless destruction of animals through progressive spaying/neutering programs.
Our model of private and public collaboration working in the same building without contractual services is unique. This shelter will be the first in the area if not in the U.S. using this model.
Our first commitment is to the animals in our community. It is our goal to bring down the overpopulation of stray and lost animals that come into the shelter here so we can start helping other counties to achieve the same success.
Common goal -get every adoptable animal a home.
NO MORE HOMELESS PETS!

Aaron Winters, KHS Director