Thanks to the public’s response to pleas for help, the Oconto Area Humane Society won’t close its shelter’s doors anytime soon.
While efforts to find sustaining donors have come up short, according to society officials, enough money has come in to enable the shelter to function well into 2015.
Last August the shelter sent almost 200 letters to county businesses and about 600 letters to county homeowners hoping to receive sustaining commitments for donations.
“We got a nice response, but no sustaining sponsors,” treasurer Jean Fogelberg said.
Board president Kathy Campshure said she was pleased with the response from area residents, though the group was unable to contact as many businesses as it hoped.
“We had awesome support from individual donors,” she said.
The shelter received a number of one-time donations of $100 and other various amounts, but no sustaining sponsors.
“We are good well into 2015 at this point,” Campshure said.
Fogelberg agreed. “We got enough in that we could breathe a sigh of relief,”
Efforts in seeking contract commitments from area municipalities have also failed.
Campshure said Oconto is the only municipality contracting with the shelter. It pays $250 quarterly regardless of the number of animals that the city takes to the facility.
It is money the shelter can count on, Campshure said, but costs can exceed that amount depending on how many animals come from the city.
Expenses at the shelter exceed $9,000 per month, including utility costs of $1,100.
“We’re generally behind $4,000 to $5,000, in the red, every month when relying on (just) donations,” Campshure said.
Shelter volunteer and Oconto Falls Alderman Jay Kostreva asked the city finance committee last fall to budget $1,000 for the shelter’s services, but the city did not act.
City Administrator Vicki Roberts noted that the city has its own animal shelter, for dogs only, at the waste water treatment plant.
A request to the county finance committee also was not acted upon.
“The county was very supportive—that the humane society is critical to have for the community, but the issue was not put on the agenda,” Fogelberg said.
Fogelberg said new laws that took effect two years ago have increased the shelter’s veterinary costs. State law requires the center to have a vet exam each animal at least monthly, which means that if an animal remains at the shelter longer than the state-mandated seven days, it can receive multiple exams.
Area veterinary clinics have helped by providing services at reduced cost, Fogelberg said, “but there is still a lot of expense with vaccinations and needed medicines.
Animals also receive vaccinations when they first arrive at the shelter to ensure that spreadable diseases are not introduced to the other animals.
Municipalities pay the shelter when an animal is brought in, but the amount only covers the cost of care for seven days.
Campshure noted that the facility is not a no-kill shelter, but every effort is made to find homes for the animals.
“As long and they’re healthy and happy, we make every attempt to adopt out,” Campshure said.
The shelter is continuing to meet with area businesses, hoping to keep money coming in. In January, shelter personnel will meet with the Bond Foundation. But the foundation offers funds for specific projects and not for operating costs, a critical concern for keeping the facility open.
In November, a $5,000 donation from ST Paper in Oconto Falls was used to provide the panels needed to replace the outdoor kennels at the facility. But while the money covered the cost of panels, the shelter had to kick in for the hardware needed to install them. Labor for the installation was provided by volunteers.
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