VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY INC

Valley Humane Society has three goals that address this issue:

1) Increase the number of animals supported and the new homes found each year;

2) Reduce the time and need for animals to be at Valley Humane Society’s shelter (i.e., decrease the length of stay);

3) Provide resources to pet owners in the community, so companion animals can remain in a loving home; and

4) Strengthen the human/animal bond by providing a variety of opportunities for people and animals to engage in positive interactions.

1) Valley Humane Society has forged strong collaborative relationships with seven public shelters in Alameda and Contra Costa County. Valley Humane Society also works closely with Stockton Animal Services. Through these relationships, Valley Humane Society regularly visits these facilities to help transfer animals, who need the care and adoption services, to Valley Humane Society’s shelter.

Once in Valley Humane Society’s care, cats and dogs are provided medical care, including age appropriate vaccinations, medical interventions, spay/neuter surgery, microchipping, and emotional support. Once approved for adoption, new homes are found through social media channels, VHS’ network of pet fosters as well as listings through pet adoption websites.

Valley Humane Society’s adoption program utilizes a relatively new concept of “adopter’s welcome”. Adopter’s provide answers to open-ended question. Rather than looking for reasons not to adopt to a potential pet owner, Valley Humane Society looks to reduce barriers to adoption. This helps streamline the adoption process whereby staff can assist the new pet owner with issues that may arise (e.g., first-time cat owner, special needs animal, etc.).


2) Valley Humane Society’s two main strategies for reducing the “length of stay” for animals at Valley Humane Society’s shelter are:

a. Employment of supply-chain strategies that optimizes intake, spay/neuter surgeries and each animal’s availability for adoption. By developing a plan that focuses on advance scheduling based on each animal’s medical and behavioral needs, there is a significant reduction of animals waiting in the shelter for procedures, programs or recovery time.

b. To better assist community members who may need to rehome their beloved pets, Valley Humane provides a free service called Home to Home. Pet owners post profiles of their pets, which has the same effect as traditional pet adoption websites. The current owner screens potential homes themselves. This allows animals to stay with their owners and move directly to a new home, never requiring the animal to spend any time in a shelter.

Conceptually, Home to Home employs a different set of tasks and processes for shelter staff, but allows them to interact with current pet owners, in the community, who are having issues that may result in the animal being surrendered to a shelter. Sometimes, the owner realizes that, with some additional resources, they can keep their pet.

3) Valley Humane employs several strategies to provide key resources that allow pet owners to keep and provide for their pets.
a. Valley Humane Society runs a program called AniMeals, which provides pet food and supplies to community members whose most immediate need is to feed themselves and their pets. Working with area food banks that are providing food to people, AniMeals can provide its skilled staff and volunteers without burdening Food Banks and easing the burden of people to travel to multiple distribution centers

Valley Humane Society is able to achieve its goals related to the issue of pet homelessness because of the following:

A strong volunteer network; physical shelter; and staff.

Each capability allows Valley Humane Society to provide exceptional care to our animals as well as to the people who are struggling to keep their pet in their home. Each animal who enters the shelter is treated individually with custom assessments and treatment plans.

Employing a medical team that includes two veterinarians allows Valley Humane Society to address all treatable medical conditions and prepare the animals for their new forever home. Valley Humane Society's operations and adoption team members watch for any behavioral issues that may arise during the animal’s stay at the shelter. With a staff trained in fear-free sheltering techniques, staff and volunteers work on a plan of action for each animal.

Valley Humane Society’s marketing team and adoption program work collaboratively to allow animals to move through the various stages of the organization and into new homes. This team also keeps our supporters engaged so people in our community know they can turn to Valley Humane Society in times of need.

Valley Humane Society's capabilities reflect our values of compassion, collaboration and integrity. Every animal and person that comes to our shelter is treated with kindness with the understanding that the organization's goals address both pets and people. These capabilities are performed as an experienced team, including partnering with external resources such as shelters and veterinarian practices. These capabilities underscore the Valley Humane Society's value of providing its programs and services with honesty and integrity.

Lastly, Valley Humane Society has an exceptional group of staff and volunteers that provide the comfort, care and compassion to the pets and people. Thanks to private donations and support, Valley Humane Society has maintained the financial stability to carry address the above-stated issue.

Valley Humane Society is able to achieve its goals related strengthening the human/animal bond because of the following capabilities:

Valley Humane Society utilizes a single staff member to help coordinate programming for children. This includes scout workshops, junior volunteer opportunities, camps, classroom visits, and team projects. The Canine Comfort Pet Therapy program has 200 pet therapy handlers who are certified through Valley Humane Society's program. The organization coordinates all visits and works directly to facilities to ensure a safe environment for handler/dog teams and those that are meeting with these teams.

1a. From 2017-2029, annual animal adoptions increased each year by at least 10% . In 2021, 626 adoptions took place. This was a decrease from 2020, which was the result of a nationwide reduction in potential adopters after a record adoption rate in 2020.

1b. From 2019-2021, the save rate at public shelters in the Tri-Valley increased.

2a. In 2021, overall length of stay for animals increased slightly over 2020.

2b. In 2021, length of stay increased/decreased for the following animal types from 2020:
i. Cats – increased 2.6%
ii. Dogs – increased 3.1%
iii. Puppies – decreased 9.9%

2c. In 2021, Home to Home listings increased 32% from 2020, and positive outcomes (adoptions) through Home to Home increased by 27% as well.

3a. In 2021, Valley Humane Society’s AniMeals program distributed over 466,363 animal meals, which was a nearly a 33% increase from 2021. Since 2019, Valley Humane Society has seen a 388% increase in pet food distribution.

4a. In 2020, Humane Education provided opportunities to 11,222, which was an increase from the prior two years. Social distancing and stay at home orders are reasons for this decline from the previous year (7,000 children).

4b. With the resurgence of in-person gatherings in 2021, while continuing to use video conferencing, over 5,432 hours were logged by canine comfort volunteers providing comfort and companionship at community schools, assisted living facilities, companies and public libraries.