Humane Society of Utah

The Humane Society of Utah's murray clinic has licensed veterinarians who provide all necessary medical services to animals before adoption in our resource center. Like many others nationwide, we experienced a veterinary shortage in 2023. However, we addressed the issue by hiring two additional full-time licensed veterinarians. In 2023, in-house veterinarians and medical teams spayed/neutered 7,339 pets in the community, providing affordable spay/neuter surgery to help prevent pet overpopulation. In addition, we also carried out 568 tnr sterilizations through our catnip program. Our clinics perform just under 12,000 spays/neuters and administer 114,000 vaccinations, which offer medical procedures for shelter animals to improve their adoptability and quality of life. The Humane Society of Utah operates two low-cost preventative care clinics in murray and st. george.

The Humane Society of Utah's pet resource center cares for and adopts companion animals. In 2023, our pet resource center found homes for 5,529 companion animals - with the average length of stay for available animals being seven days for cats and seven days for dogs, well below the national average. As the need for assistance to community pet guardians grows, hsu continues to invest in keeping families together and animals out of the shelter through our pet retention program. In 2023, hsu distributed 3,943 bags of pet food to local food banks and rescue groups. We served 1,881 companion animals through our pet retention and shelter diversion program in 2023.

Foster care, transfer program, Humane education, behavior programfoster care program: the Humane Society of Utah plays a crucial role in caring for animals that need extra attention. Our foster volunteers care for ill, shy, injured, or baby animals until they can be adopted. In 2023, 411 foster families provided 1,438 animals with a temporary home to recover in until they were ready for adoption. Our volunteer program is the foundation of our organization. In 2023, an effort was made to conduct 53 volunteer orientations to expand the program. The dedication and commitment of our 1,312 volunteers were instrumental in contributing an impressive 25,689 hours of invaluable service, estimated to be worth $367,352.70. These volunteers are of great value to us as they help us advance our programs and provide excellent care and support to the animals in our pet resource center.transfer program: (currently on pause): our animal transfer program had to be temporarily paused due to a significant increase in the number of pets being surrendered by their owners. As a result, we stopped bringing in animals from other states. However, we were still able to work with various animal shelters in Utah to transfer 780 animals. This program aids in reducing shelter overcrowding throughout western states and enables hsu to provide medical and behavioral care to animals from overburdened or under-resourced areas.humane education: in 2023, educating younger generations is the key to ensuring better lives for animals in the future. Our proactive approach to ending animal cruelty and neglect is through our Humane education program. Hsu serves children of all ages by providing various unique learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. In 2023, we visited 128 schools across Utah. Teaching children in-person and virtually, reaching 14,049 children total. We teach proper pet care, pet safety, greeting a new dog, spaying/neutering a pet, and other age-appropriate animal welfare issues. In addition to classroom visits throughout the year, our Humane education team also hosts kids' camps at hsu for hands-on learning.behavior program: this program works hands-on with 40% of the dogs and cats surrendered or transferred to the Humane Society of Utah. We provide enrichment and training needed during the animals' stay at our center and ensure adopters have the information they need to help make a good match. We also provided 593 training and behavior consults, a 10% increase in 2023 for community members to work with their pets and keep them in homes with families who already love them.