 Welcome to Serving Locally with Me, your host, Michelle Dynas, the podcast where we spotlight service in the Longmont and surrounding communities. All right, let's connect. Welcome to today's episode of Serving Locally. I am here with Cliff from the Humane Society and I just wanted to say thank you for taking time out and meeting us here and doing this podcast to talk about the Humane Society. So just who are you and what is the Humane Society and just a quick little overview? Yeah, absolutely. So like you said, my name is Cliff Cullen and I've been deputy director at the Longmont Humane Society just a few months now since February so I'm fairly new in the role but the Longmont Humane Society has been in existence for a long time since 1972 and we serve our local animal population and we are available for adoptions of animals or surrenders of animals. We have an onsite well pet clinic that's our veterinary services and so we and we're presented a lot of community events around Longmont. Very good. We got our last two dogs from the Humane Society so they got good puppies there sometimes and yeah we like to go there and look at the dogs and sometimes the guinea pigs and stuff that you guys have. Yeah, yeah we have small mammals and that can be anything from guinea pigs to rabbits. We have several rabbits in house right now. We had hairless rats a few years a few weeks ago excuse me and those were very odd. I held them and they were very warm but someone adopted them very quickly so people people love all different kinds of animals. I had rats growing up. They were cool. Her name was Wendy. I also had hedgehogs. Do you guys get many hedgehogs? I haven't seen any hedgehogs since I've been there but we might get them. I know the only small mammal that we don't keep is ferrets and that's because they're technically predators and so they give off like a predator pheromone that makes all the other small mammals and the cats very nervous so we don't get them. Interesting. I love doing this because I learned so much it's great. So could you give us a little bit of background about your organization? Yeah so like I said we were founded in 1972 when the Boulder Humane Society kind of split into two so we became the Longmont Humane Society branch and then there's the Boulder Valley branch. We're completely separate organizations but we're a private organization non-profit and we have a contract with the city and several surrounding cities including Frederick, Firestone, Mead, Decano, and Lyons. Oh I think there's one more that I'm forgetting and I can't remember what it is but I'll come back to it and so we contract with those cities for them to bring in any kind of homeless pets and then we treat them with medical treatment. We take in any animal no matter their behavioral or medical issues. Do you guys base on age? No no no limits on age. We take in all of them so and that's dogs, cats, and small mammals. Longmont does have a reptile humane society that if we get any reptiles we send them to them. If we get any wild animals we send them up to Greenwood and yeah and so we've we've been doing this for a long time. Our early years were pretty tough you know just a lot of underfunding and turnover and staff, sicknesses. We actually started out in a turkey shed on the the edge of the Boulder County fairgrounds and then in the 80s we built a big dome which people who've been longtime residents of Longmont I'm sure will remember and then in 2008 we started a large capital campaign to expand our building and thanks to a generous donation we opened the Allen Center which is our current building and it tripled the amount of square feet I believe that we have. It's a huge difference and that's where you're at now. It's a beautiful building it really is. So what is your focus at the Humane Society Yeah so our mission is hold on I wrote this down because I can never memorize it. So our mission is caring, serving, and educating to improve the lives of companion animals and so we see our mission as a community service so when we bring animals in we're treating members of our community because then we see the animals as members of our community and not only that but we're preparing them to enter the homes of other members of our community so we see what we do as very community focused and yes I think that's okay so yeah yeah so that's so yes so our dogs is people too yes cats is people too they they are part of the family they are definitely they live with us we take care of them um they're yeah they are part of the community whether you like it or not they they are and um our dogs are family so who are you trying to reach with your organization so like I mentioned we're very community focused um so we want to provide a place where people within the community can find companions in the animals and then the animals can be treated with dignity with having all of their needs met whether that's food housing medical treatment like I said we don't turn away any animal for medical needs or behavioral issues we have a world-class behavioral training team so they will take any animal no matter what the issue and train them and hopefully get them to a point where they're safe to go back into the community that's always kind of our measuring stick is is this animal a danger to other animals this is animal a danger to people and if not then they can be a part of the community if there's health issues we do everything from dental treatments and heartworm treatments all kind of that normal stuff spay neuter and then all the way up to even amputations if an animal just can't function with the the limbs that they have we have done that and have and animals very successfully come back from that so one of the things we're most proud of is our live release rate is 98 percent from 2022 so 98 of every 100 animals that comes through our doors alive leaves alive they go they're adopted they return to their owner if they're stray or they're transferred to another facility that's better equipped to handle them so there's certain facilities that maybe are focused on particular dog breeds or cats or different things that sometimes will have more space or better facilities to treat an animal and will transfer to them sometimes as well what makes the work of the humane society different than other similar serving organizations um so i think probably the thing that makes us the most different is just our willingness to take any animal um it's really that's part of our mission and goal is that every animal is worth putting the effort and energy into um we in fact will do a lot of transfers from other states texas is a big one louisiana is another and i think new mexico is our other third largest um places that maybe are a little overcrowded and um societies that might euthanize because of space issues we never euthanize for space um so we'll take in a lot of animals from those other communities in order to take really good care of them um and you know that's that's just not the mission of other organizations sometimes um you know that's i don't want to speak negatively of any of the local organizations um they all have their missions and the work that they do but our mission is to bring in every animal that we can um and you know we do that also through when there are disasters um so when harvey hurricane harvey hit houston we brought in a lot of animals from houston and so what really helps with that is it creates space in their shelters so that any animals that get displaced by the hurricane can then go into a shelter and be returned to their owners um and much more easy much easier than um trying to handle all of the strays they just send all their strays to us and then we can treat them and get them adopted out do you guys um like send them to other facilities then sometimes sometimes yeah it depends on you know how crowded we are we're pretty crowded on dogs right now we have a lot we're almost full i think um although we have an adoption event going on right now that is um hopefully getting some of those dogs moving um and then cats tend to leave pretty quickly so we're we're not too full on them um but we have a whole transfer um system the other places that we partner with well we'll bring in animals and we'll send out animals that's kind of a constantly shifting demographic just to find the right the right home for them exactly how many dogs do you guys house um so we can house i believe it's 350 animals wow um it yeah it really depends that's it dogs and cats um and it's pretty evenly split i think between the two typically as far as space goes um it really depends on the animals that we have so some dogs do really well staying together they either came in together or they just became friends in the prolet group um so they stay together and then that doubles up one of our kennel spaces um other dogs not so much um so they have to take one so but we can pretty much fit 350 animals pretty comfortably that's a lot that's a lot of animals yeah there's a lot of love in that building yes yeah and we have um 3,500 animals who come through our doors um living um every year um and then you know they're either adopted out returned to owners or transferred um we also um perform euthanasia and cremation services um we have a pet cemetery on site um and so that's the other we have about 4,000 animals that come through um and so the other 500 are are those that are are uh uh being cremated um which again is a service we offer and anyone who do that once yeah yeah we have to um and we got the paw print and yes all and yeah because he was he was my buddy yeah we do that for all of them including shelter pets if it comes to a point where we do have to euthanize a shelter pet because of extreme behavior or they're just in extreme pain um then we will do the paw prints and you know it's a whole the staff really really cares about all of the animals yeah um and so it's a whole morning process that we go through um anytime that has to happen um which again is very rare but it does happen so good so what are your greatest needs so uh we have many many needs um but uh cash is always appreciated obviously you know donating is is huge um we also have a wish list on both amazon and chui um where people can go on and purchase things that are either desperately needed or kind of perennial continual needs of ours um right now is kitten season um so if you don't know anything about kitten season when it gets the weather gets consistently above 40 degrees um kittens start being born um and we start getting a lot of them so we have we have a lot we have 450 kittens who come through our our foster program every year and um we always need kitten supplies because sometimes they need special food you know if they're if their mother has been injured or is not to be found then they have to be bottle fed so we have volunteers who will bottle feed them every two hours 24 hours a day um it's it's a challenge um and then they can only be adopted when they are eight weeks and two pounds um and so that they have to be fostered until then because it's really hard to live in the shelter as a kitten there's just too much need that they have um so we have kitten supplies that are on the amazon a chewy lists um and then volunteers are um we have 350 active volunteers um last year that was 20 000 hours of work um it's just we could not do what we do without volunteers and right now as it's getting warmer um dog walking is huge um we have to walk every single dog in our facility two times a day at minimum we like to do three um if we can uh so that's we need people that's that's really where we need people the most um is uh is volunteering to dog walk so tell me a little bit more about the dog walking so um you can dog walk if you are 16 or older um on your own if um we allow um kids of any age I think to walk with their parents if their parents have gone through the training and are there with them um and it's really just coming in and looking we have a board that has all of the um ratings for all the dogs because we rate them um and if you're qualified to handle um the dog you can just come in and take it and take them out on a walk we're right on the edge of the fairground so it's kind of going around the fairgrounds 10 15 minutes just to get them outside play with them a little bit um give them some attention um and they they love it there it's just it's the best thing um in fact it's one of the perks of working there um we're encouraged to take dogs out for walks as well um staff are trained on how to walk them even if they have an office job like me um and all of our offices actually all have half doors and if we want to bring a dog up from the shelter to give them a little space and a little um socialization socialization yeah yeah they um they're we're encouraged to do that that's awesome i know that yeah that's that's a lot of dogs and a lot of walking a lot of dogs a lot of walking if you're younger than 16 we also have our jocah program um which if you don't have a peanut allergy you can come in and um put peanut butter and they call them kongs yes um so the toys for the dogs so that provides enrichment for them and we even have stuff for like um we can spray scents that the dogs like um for the kids they can blow up bubbles for the dogs um just kind of really all kinds of different things that can be done um so there's volunteer opportunities for all ages and abilities and interests and everything do you get a lot of seniors come in to walk dogs yeah we do i thought you would yeah that'd be that'd be a good thing to do yeah and we have dogs of all sizes so you know if you're not comfortable walking a dog that might pull you down the street we have little ones that you can walk and so that's awesome do you have any events coming up for volunteer opportunities we have several events coming up um we have like i was just talking about we have lots of volunteer opportunities to post those on facebook and instagram and stuff yeah we post those on facebook we also have an event calendar on the website okay that's got all of those listed out our hope is to partner with some local homeless shelters to provide pet supplies it's it's pretty difficult for someone who um is experiencing homelessness to come and get pet food from the humane society and then have to lug it somewhere so where our hope is to develop some of those partnerships we haven't done much of that yet but that's a goal um so the van would allow us to do that um anything of that nature um those are kind of the two big things we'll use it for cool can you tell me a little bit more about fostering so fostering um that program is really important um we have three over 300 foster volunteers um and that's for animals who maybe are stressed out by the shelter environment um maybe they've had a medical procedure and they need space to be able to heal maybe they need extra socialization until they're ready for adoption there's a number of reasons why an animal might go into foster um so that's people who volunteer to open their homes to bring in um cats dogs small mammals um primarily cats and dogs i think we foster small mammals but primarily cats and dogs um in fact my wife and i just fostered two kittens um and we're adopting one of them and then the other one was just adopted out but we fostered them until they were that would that would be my problem is i would foster and then it would be mine it was really difficult to give the one back um we we you know live in a town home and we're limited on space we already have an adult cat that we adopted from long humane society back in 2021 um and we just we kept going back and forth we're like are we gonna have three cats i don't know it's a lot so yeah i i totally understand yeah um if you can't open your house for adoptions or um sorry fostering um we also have what's called the expoditions program okay um where you can come in and take a dog um out for a hike um just to go to the park um you can do a sleepover where you bring them and they can stay at your house for a night um anytime that an animal can get out of the shelter for a little bit because it's not a natural environment you know it's it's um it's loud it's crowded um it's just not a place where you can be yourself um even as a dog or a cat um it's just it's different um and so having just that time to be able to go and get a pup cut from starbucks or um walk around the park with someone for a couple of hours um that's a great opportunity and it's a just a great chance you know maybe maybe someone has kids and they're not sure how they'd feel about having a dog around the house you can bring them over for a sleepover and let them stay for a few hours that's that's a really exciting program so that's a really good idea yeah i'll have you guys in the show notes my qr code i post everything that you guys post on social media instagram and facebook but how can people contact and find out more about the humane society um so the best place to find out information that's the most up to date is our facebook and instagram accounts um that's really where we post everything that's happening um we do have an event calendar um on the website that you can go to and um then if you are interested in volunteering or doing a tour of the facility i forgot to mention that we also do tours um for groups of 15 um so school groups or local businesses we've done that for a number of places um can come by and tour the facility um that's just go online and there's a form you can fill out for that um but all of it's uh on the website and you can um you know sign up to be a volunteer and look for when the next orientation days are um that's all of our contact information's on there um so that's but uh keeping up with what's going on facebook and instagram is the best way to do it sounds great okay is there anything else you would like to add or discuss that you have a couple minutes or you know i think that that really covered everything i was going to mention the foster department but you asked about that sorry which is great no that's great um that's that's really important um and volunteering uh foster bake sale let's see i think that's everything yeah um we're we're really excited we have a lot going on um and um this you know the summer is exciting oh no there is one thing i want to mention um so this summer now it's a little unfortunate because it's full right now but we do have our kids and critters camp which is half days um every week in june and then the second week of july um 8 30 to 12 30 um for kids ages seven to 12 um so we take time learning about um animals and caring for them um how to properly handle animals um different careers that are available within um animal care fields animal welfare fields um in fact in the past and we're hoping to do this again there's even been a chance to observe a surgery in our um well pet clinic um so very very exciting opportunities um it is like i said full um at the at the moment but there is a wait list if anyone's interested um it's just a really fun opportunity um for kids that age to come hang out at the humane society for a couple hours yeah yeah yeah i've i've looked into that because chase which is his birthday happy birthday chase happy birthday this is his 12th birthday nice um yeah i've looked into that for for him because he's really he likes animals and stuff though too yeah nice yeah do you get chickens we we have gotten chickens i actually asked our so we have a night intake um where people can put animals in if they're you know if it's outside of our hours um and it's warm it's got food blankets water that kind of thing and i asked our um animal welfare supervisor one time what the weirdest animal that she's gotten from there and they got um a flock of ducks one time just hanging out in there and so we had to we actually didn't have to foster those we had to find someone who would take them home and you know had like a farm and stuff before we could figure out what we needed to do with them but yeah that's interesting that's a good question what is the most interesting animal you've had it's always interesting to me right yeah that's great well i just wanted to say thank you cliff for coming on and um discussing this and yeah um if you guys want to work with animals you know check them out because that's a lot of fun and um it's good it's uplifting it's positive for the community for your spirits for the dog spirits it's never a bad thing um they're they're people too um yeah thank you cliff for for coming on and um i appreciate your time thank you for having me it's uh it's great great opportunity so we appreciate it thank you thank you to my guests my listeners and my supporters serving together we can strengthen our community please like and subscribe do all those other things you know you got to do them because that's the easiest way that you can serve right now all right now go connect with others and be a blessing what makes the work of the humane society different than other similar serving organizations i may have moved my paper during that time okay um oh it's not gonna be perfect if you want i can redo it that's fine but no i'm not gonna edit out every um and every no no no we are humans here it is anything but perfect so that is i mean that's how it should be that's what makes it you know real because it's really real let's all start that over yeah but that's fine