ROGUE VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY

Our pre-adoption spay and neuter programs officially began in 2011, but it was not until 2018 that Red House, RVHS's clinic, began performing in-house spay and neuter surgeries. Staffed by a part-time in-house veterinarian and a certified vet tech, Red House only alters rescued and community animals, but the shelter also distributes vouchers to low-income families.

Our spay and neuter programs are funded by the Rogue Valley Humane Society through private donations, fundraising and grants. We serve community animals, as well as rescued dogs and cats to be adopted. With our on-site surgical clinic staffed by a part-time veterinarian and a certified veterinary technician, we alter almost 1,000 animals each year.

We also work with local rescues to assist with the altering of community cat colonies in hoarding situations, depending on available surgery slots at our clinic.

Our Ani-meals program is unique in our region, because it helps to feed the pets of the 24 homebound seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities who cannot make it to our facility. Our Ani-meals program started in March 2015 with a $5,000 seed grant. It is patterned after the much older Helen Woodward Animal Center’s program, which RVHS's Executive Director had studied during a visit.

After filling out an application, a volunteer from RVHS determines the type of food, amounts and delivery frequency the resident needs. Then a volunteer delivery driver makes sure pet food deliveries happen without interruption and monitors the health of both seniors and their pets. Depending on what they see, delivery drivers provide food, information or resources, or ask a RVHS staff person to visit.

With a goal of keeping family units together with their pets and avoiding pet surrender, our eight-year old Food Bank program is the only one of its type in southern Oregon. Residents in the Rogue Valley have a high rate of animal ownership, but out of every five area residents live below the poverty line. We receive over 2,000 individual requests for pet food each year, many just temporary assistance to help make ends meet during an unexpected emergency. To address these economic disparities, RVHS distributes more than 800 lbs of pet food per month. These figures do not include the communities of unhoused individuals reached by our volunteers, or the housebound seniors served by our Ani-meals program. All recipients are screened and there is no limit to the number of times a resident in need may visit the shelter in search of food for their pets.

We offer three different types of foster care at our facility. Our Foster to Adopt program allows those who wish to adopt a pet and keep them at home until they are spayed or neutered. Our Forever Foster program is for dogs who require special foods, medicines, or treatments that many people would not be able to afford. This program improves the chance of the pet living in a home environment and not end up in our facility long term. The last of the three is our Hospice Foster program which is typically senior pets who are in their end of life stage but still maintain a good quality of life. We will cover the cost of special diets, medicines and or treatments that may be required so they can live out the remainder of their life in a loving home environment.

At the heart of RVHS's mission is its oldest program, dating back to the beginning of the organization in the 1960s. After an intake process where the health the rescued animals is assessed, their behavior is assessed as well. A staff member summarized the pet assessment protocol: "Within 48 hours, we are able to find out commands that a dog knows, their bathroom habits, and any destructive tendencies. Then we then work to correct anything that needs to be fixed before adoption."

A match is then attempted via various tools: an application form, home visits and an interview of the prospective adopter. The staff talks with prospective adopters at length about potential considerations and changes they might need to make before taking a dog home. Dogs are prepared for adoption through a program that includes basic obedience training, grooming, proper nutrition and lots of exercise to reduce the pent up energy. Because trained dogs are more adoptable and have better chances of joining a f

A building owned by the shelter, located 3.7 miles from our facility, houses our thrift store. In 2022 it generated more than $120,000 in revenue, all of which supports our adoption, spay and neuter, and other shelter programs. The store is staffed by two local residents, assisted by 3 to 5 volunteers. A thrift store program offers discounts and free items to displaced and unhoused members of our community.

1169 Redwood Ave
Grants Pass, OR 97527
541-955-3367

Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 9am – 4pm
Saturday: 9am – 2pm
Closed Sunday and Monday

Community cats are trapped by volunteers and trained local residents, who return them to the field so they can continue decimating the rodent population. RVHS's TNR program began in 2015 and today bears the majority of the cost of spaying and neutering community cats in our region. In 2023 that figure was $35,000. RVHS staff assess behavior, keep track of the traps, and train community members and rescue group volunteers on how to use the traps. RVHS provides sick feral cats with vaccinations when funding allows, and bears the cost of getting the friendly ones adopted.

The county shelter receives more than 1,000 cats every year, but together, Animal Control and RVHS can only house 120 cats. This is why RVHS needs to alter as many community cats as it can, as much as 40% of all the cats altered by RVHS during a year, or 250 community cats. 85% of the funding spent on altering community cats comes from individual donations.