November/December, 2021

Dear Friends,

In the face of the obstacles caused in the last 18 months, our work towards being the best we can be has not stopped. Staff kept going. They rose to the challenge and proved that forward is still possible. Your efforts have displayed that generosity is, in fact, not canceled either. While the staff was behind the scenes, swapping hats, spinning plates, putting out fires, you helped OPHS continue to save lives.

Thanks to you, our compassionate work and mission to transform animal welfare in Clallam County continues. Wishing you and yours a festive, happy, and healthy holiday season. As always, we are most grateful for your continued support.

Luanne Hinkle
OPHS Executive Director
New Enrichment Programs

Enrichment is important for all species. OPHS has introduced a volunteer program with a focus on this specialized area that helps our shelter animals. The program is based on the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA) best practice advice. Objectives Include: increasing animal adoptability; reducing stress; enriching animal time while in the shelter; and, increasing bonding with humans. The overall development of the program helps mitigate problem behaviors that may develop with longer-term residents. Smells, sounds, physical objects and physical space are all involved in the area of enrichment. Bubble machines, music, high-value foods, shaping and toys are just some examples of strategies used to make a cat or dog's stay more enjoyable and stimulating. .
Black cat on a black treadmill! Just one example of enrichment used at OPHS.
Success Stories
Every adoption is a success story. Here are some recent pictures sent to us by adopters. (The first picture is of Willikers, a blind dog whose infected eyes had to be removed by our Vet.)
Dogsgiving: Special Holiday Meals
Staff created a special Thanksgiving meal for the pups. See how much they enjoyed it in this adorable video above.
Kitty City Update
Supplies and labor shortages have created some delays in the new Kitty City McKay Campus in Sequim. However, things are moving along with top-notch design elements. The following are pictures of the 2-story spacious cat condos (for non-sociable cats), an addition for bunnies and the indoor/outdoor roaming room/catio combos.
Double-wide, 2-story cat condos
Room addition for bunnies (County would not allow a large enough separate shed/barn on the property, so we added on!)
Catios off of roaming rooms.
OPHS Develops New Foster Progam
OPHS received a $20,000 grant from ASPCA Northern Tier Initiative to devote staff time to develop a new Foster Program full of systems and procedures that allow for successfully placing animals out of the shelter until adopted. 

To support Foster families, OPHS authored a comprehensive care manual for dogs/puppies, cats/kittens, and a web-based resource page with bite-sized pieces of information by subject so caregivers can quickly research a myriad of topics from training and socialization to concerns about animal health (www.ophumanesociety.org/animal-resource-page).

Additionally, an app is used to survey families which automatically returns answers to the most common questions. Problems are ranked and flagged in the app to initiate a notification to OPHS veterinarian or staff. 

A new foster family receives a tub full of needed supplies and an emergency cell phone number to be used when critical care is required. As OPHS has a training plan for every dog, fosters are also mentored in the techniques used at the shelter to reinforce behaviors being taught.  

If you are interested in helping animals get a much-needed break from the shelter, please visit https://www.ophumanesociety.org/foster-program

Shop with
AmazonSmile & OPHS Receives 5%!
The shelter is open by appointment to the public:
Monday: 11 am to 6:30 pm
Tuesday: 11 am to 6:30 pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 11 am to 6:30 pm
Friday: 11 am to 6:30 pm
Saturday: 11 am to 6:30 pm
Sunday: Closed
Olympic Peninsula Humane Society | (360) 457-8206 |
info@OPHumaneSociety.org
http://www.OPHumaneSociety.org