Wisconsin Humane Society Brings Positive Change to Racine

My first blog entry was on June 9, 2010.  It was entitled "Would Somebody at Countryside Humane Society Please Stand Up"?  Countryside Humane Society was the animal shelter in Racine, Wisconsin. Six hundred animals had been given outdated vaccinations at Countryside and nobody from the management or board of directors would accept responsibility.  In fact, the shelter employee that had blown the whistle, was fired.  The whole incident was a prime example of what is so wrong with much of the animal sheltering industry in America.  There is no accountability, no transparency, no oversight  and no repercussions when things go wrong.

I wrote about Countryside again a couple of months later: "Circling the Wagon Rarely Works" when the  whole fiasco still refused to go away and instead of coming clean; the board and management of Countryside tried to bury their heads in the sand, hoping that it would all just go away.


Today, almost three years later, there is good news to report. Wisconsin Humane Society took over the operations at Countryside in January 2013. It is now called Wisconsin Humane Society - Racine Campus.

From an update that appeared over the weekend in South Milwaukee Now, an online newspaper, the following accomplishments have been achieved in just two short months of the acquisition. You can read the whole update by clicking here:

• The Racine Campus has found home for 171 animals in just the first two months of operation.  In 2012, records indicate that there were 88 adoptions during the same time period at Countryside.
• Low cost vaccinations were provided to 298 animals and 76 spay-neuter surgeries have been completed for low-income families.
• The  "Adoptable Dogs" page of the website had 70,803 page views in January and 85,477 page views in February. 
• Donations received from January 1 through February 28 totaled $45,576.  Last year, only $24,000 was received by Countryside for the entire calendar year.

I am also pleased to say that the Racine Campus is making a big effort to successfully reunite lost pets with their families by posting pictures on line on the Stray Animals of Racine Facebook page.

Hats off to Wisconsin Humane Society - Racine Campus for making a big difference in the lives of the people and pets in Racine County.