Program areas at KHS
The khs sponsored out reach events at ministry with community and the salvation army. These included preventative vaccines, microchipping, wellness exams/counseling and emergency pet food distribution. Ongoing contact with members of the news media throughout the year was achieved with broadcast interviews conducted with wkzo radio, channel 3, channel 8 and channel 47 on topics included winter health hazards, the new animal care & resource center and special grant funding initiatives. Educational resources Humane Society staff members responded to approximately 28,000 calls (@100/day) and an additional (45/week) curbside visits from people asking pet-related questions or requesting emergency food assistance. The khs maintained a food bank drive up service on tuesdays and thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm.animal welfare/cruelty complaints khs staff members received an average of five calls per week pertaining to alleged animal abuse or neglect. Referrals, counseling and educational information were given based on an evaluation of the caller's complaint/concern. The khs board and staff works closely with the director of the Kalamazoo animal services and enforcement shelter to help make improvements aimed to improve animal health and help increase pet adoptions.
Animal servicesanimal care & resource center: the charles & lynn zhang animal care and resource center had its first full year of providing non-emergency veterinary services to the public. A total of 939 wellness checkups were given along with 646 sick appointments, 190 recheck appointments and 76 surgery appointments in 2022. Animal shelter veterinary services: a khs veterinarian perform weekly routine health checkups on stray animals at the County operated animal shelter. A khs veterinarian provided emergency care to animals picked up by animal control officers that needed immedicate care. Dogs were provided with a heartworm test and rabies vaccine prior to adoption, courtesy of kchs. Prior to adoption all cats/dogs deemed all good surgical candidates were spayed/neutered prior to being adopted. Adoption counseling: a total of 10 volunteers volunteered 274 hours of service conducting adoption counseling, dog walking and cat grooming at the County run animal service shelter. Safe pet housing: aid to victims of domestic assault throughout the year, khs staff members made pickups and safe housing arrangements for the following animals that were companions of domestic violence victims or victims of a disaster. A total of eight dogs and two cats were provided with safe housing. The animals were housed for a grand total of 268 days. Khs covers the cost of any boarding fees or medical care the animals may need. Many victims of domestic assault will not leave an abusive situation because they don't want to leave their pets. This program gives them a safe and secure sheltering option for their pets.lost and found and pet identification microchips: khs responded to approximately 260 calls from the public asking questions related to lost or found animals. Callers were referred to the lost/found report area on the County's website. A total of 1925 animals were micro chipped for improved identification by the khs staff.humane shelter program: a total of 7 doghouses and 54 outdoor cat houses and 80 bags of straw were issued to pet owners lacking proper shelter/bedding for their pets. Animal control officers from the Kalamazoo County animal services & enforcement department made referrals for doghouses to the khs. A pet supply company, a high school woodshop class and local residents donated the doghouses as well as provided financial support for making dog houses.assistance to the unhoused and those with limited resources: the khs provided veterinary care and emergency housing assistance to income challenged or unhoused pet owners who had pets needing food and medical attention. A total of 78 people with 10 cats and 74 dogs were assisted with this program which was funded by a special grant from the Kalamazoo community foundation. Care included emergency housing, surgery, vaccines, x-rays, blood tests, antibiotics/medication and Humane euthanisa if necessary. Spay/neuter assistance: a total of 4,947 cats and dogs were spayed/neutered through our community spay/neuter assistance program that paid all or a portion of the surgery costs. Event displays, posters and informational brochures promoting the benefits of pet population control were sponsored by khs. The mission of our robeck spay/neuter clinic is to spay/neuter the pets of people who cannot or will not have their pets spayed/neutered by a veterinarian in their area. Pet owners using the community spay/neuter program are asked to pay a greatly reduced fee to assist with surgery costs. Feral cat trapping/nuisance animal trapping: live traps were loaned to 7 individuals seeking to humanely trap and spay/neuter animals living on their property. Referrals were made to other trap loan agencies/businesses and animal removal services. Emergency pet food bank: the khs emergency food bank had 3,147 visits. It distributed 144,931 pounds of dry pet food, 21,961 cans of dog/cat food, 76,930 pounds of cat litter, and 5,000 bags of cat/dog treats to 404 individuals/families experiencing temporary difficulty feeding and caring for their pets. Six area businesses, three animal welfare organizations, one human non-profit and over 30 private individuals/families provided food and cat litter to the program. Some organizations and individuals provided financial support so that khs could purchase food for the food bank. Over 211,000 pounds of pet food and cat litter was provided to area families in need. Volunteer programs: the khs volunteer engagement coordinator supervised 51 active volunteers who worked a total of 1505 hours on behalf of khs. A total of 5 court-appointed/community service volunteers worked an additional 60 hours. A total of 21 new volunteers were introduced into our programs and attended one or more orientation/training sessions. A total of 35 volunteers assisted the khs office staff by providing clerical assistance on 6 projects or by bagging pet food in the emergency pet food bank. The operation fix-it program utilized 5 volunteers to assist with clinic operations. Comfort services the khs provides compassionate care to pet owners navigating the end of their pet's life. Euthanasia and cremation services are provided on an appointment basis. The Kalamazoo Humane Society cremated approximately 1,400 pets during 2022.