The Beginnings of a Place for Jettisoned Animals

Volume 2 Issue 1
April 1, 2008
Author: Ann Faucher

Hungry, lonely, broken, weary, and unwanted animals steadily pass through the doors of the Humane Society of Waupaca County (HSWC). Friendly, loving staff members anticipate their arrival and eagerly help them, one precious life at a time. Their goal is to make a difference for as many stray, abandoned, and abused animals as possible.

The endeavor began in 1984, at the city dog pound located within the sewage treatment plant in Waupaca, Wisconsin. A small group of local residents volunteered their efforts to improve the conditions at the pound. "They would take treats and walk the dogs, but that was as far as they could get with the money they had," said Monica Gates, Operations Manager. "I was surprised when I moved here 15 years ago that there wasn't a humane society, so I got involved. When I walked into the board meeting, they made me vice president," she explained. "We did work as an educational group and had a spay/neuter program that we did every year where we gave money to people to get their animals spayed and neutered. As a team, we were involved; we just didn't have a physical shelter."

At that time, Monica had a grooming shop on the other side of town, empty cages, and extra room. "So, I started bringing home cats," she added.

Monica soon began placing cats with families. To help fund her efforts, she requested monetary assistance from the humane society. "That evolved into our early adoption program, which we called Purrfect Companions. Then, we were offered a one thousand square foot building and that is where we were for years."

The HSWC was able to find loving homes for over 2000 felines while in that facility and expanded into additional services, such as the spaying and neutering of animals. This improves their chances for adoption and helps reduce the future inflow of stray and abandoned animals. The endeavor grew as a satellite adoption center became available in Grand Chute. "We usually have six or seven cats there and if we have rabbits, we have at least one of them over there too," said Monica. "The adoptions there are handled by our staff, just like they at our Waupaca location."

As their presence became stronger in the Waupaca community, people began to trust them and donations began rolling in. "We launched a capital campaign and it took five years to raise enough money for a new building," said Monica.

The turning point for staff and animals came in April 2006. They began the transition into their new, five thousand square foot adoption center...