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Q: Why is it the "Alternative" Humane Society?
A:
AHS was started 32 years ago as an “alternative” to the Humane
Society. We are all volunteer. We have never had a
shelter, an office, or any paid staff. The majority of
our work is done from volunteers' homes. AHS runs a limited admission
foster program for dogs. The number of animals we accept is determined by
the number of foster homes we have. Once we take in an animal, we keep it
for as long as it takes to find it a home. We are in
the process of research and development of programs to address the needs
of the large number of needy cats in our community.
The Whatcom Humane Society (WHS) is an open admission shelter with
contracts with the City and County that obligate them to take in any
animals that are brought to them. Until the problem of
animal over-population is solved, WHS inevitably gets overcrowded and when
the shelter gets too full, some animals have to be euthanized.
While AHS is different from WHS, we have the same purpose of helping
homeless companion animals. All rescue organizations,
whether we euthanize or not, are part of the bigger picture and recognize
that there are simply too many unwanted cats and dogs and not enough good
homes for all of them. The real solution is to reduce
the number of kittens and puppies born each year by spaying and neutering
our pets.
Q:
AHS is "no kill," right?
A:
Our goal is to end the euthanasia of healthy animals in our
lifetime. We do not endorse the use of the term “no
kill” because it implies that someone is “killing” and that “someone”
usually refers to WHS. When AHS turns an animal away
because we do not have room or do not deem the animal to be adoptable
enough, their guardians are usually forced to take them to WHS where they
might be euthanized because there is no space for them.
The answer to this tragedy is not to diminish or demean the
incredibly hard and important work WHS does through degrading language.
The answer is for all of us to work together to help reduce the
animal population through ambitious spay/neuter programs and to help the
shelter expand their operations so they can take in more animals.
Q:
What does AHS do?
A: AHS programs include
Spay/Neuter Assistance: AHS will help pay to spay or neuter dog(s) and cat(s).
We issue assistance vouchers to qualifying individuals based on
state low-income guidelines. These vouchers are
accepted at all
Whatcom
County vets and also
at the We-Snip Spay Station.
Education: AHS
Education Programs are designed to encourage and enable responsible pet
guardianship. Too many animals end up homeless because
their guardians do not understand how to care for their pets.
Canine Foster/Adoption Program: AHS recruits and trains volunteers to work as volunteer foster
homes and case managers to care for and find good homes for dogs in our
care. AHS pays all necessary expenses for our foster
animals.
Community Cats Programs: Because the majority of the calls AHS receives about cats concern
stray and/or feral cats, beginning in 2007, AHS will refocus our volunteer
energy and resources into the research and development of Community Cat
Programs that will allow us to do more for more cats, ALL cats.
We will continue to support the
WHS cat foster/adoption program in
every way we can.
Q:
How can I help?
A: AHS Teams do all the work to keep AHS going
and growing. To learn more about our
teams and
events, call our main line, 671-7445, to
schedule a conversation and volunteer orientation. You
are also invited to attend one of our monthly Operations Meetings held the
first Tuesday evening of every month at the St. Luke’s
Hospital
Education
Center.
Most but not all of these meetings start at
6:30, so check our
website calendar before you come.
Q: Where are your adoptable animals?
A: All the animals in our care are in foster homes
throughout
Whatcom
County.
You can meet many of our adoptable animals at our monthly
Adopt-a-thons held at Ruff Day Doggie Daycare at
2123 Lincoln St. the
second Sunday of every month from 11am to
2 pm, or at Petco on
the first and third weekends of each month from
11am to 2pm.
Appointments can also be made to meet an animal in their foster
home.
Q: What is your Adoption
Process?
A: Our adoption processes
starts with a completed Statement of Interest form. With this in hand, an
adoption counselor will contact the potential adopter and go from there.
Q: I called your hotline about adopting a dog or cat, but
no one called me back. Why?
A: AHS is 100% volunteer. Our hotline
receives about 20 calls a day, often more during the busy times of the
year. Messages are picked up once each weekday
evening by a
volunteer and routed to the appropriate team leader by e-mail.
Here are some of the things that happen with phone calls:
-we call back and there is no answer
-the phone number we recorded is out of service
-people call on cell phones and we cannot decipher their call
-callers forget to leave their numbers
-callers have caller-id and refuse to accept unidentified call
We work hard to return every call but sometimes it doesn’t work that way.
If you call and don’t hear from someone within a week, please call
again. |
