Moose Jaw Humane Society Information

TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR, the MJHS has indeed provided the city with a breakdown of what it costs to provide these pound keeping services; in August 2012, a comprehensive package of information was prepared for the city about exactly what happens from the moment the MJHS receives a call about a stray animal, throughout the duration of the 72 hours of impound required by this contract, until the animal is claimed or the humane society chooses to place for adoption. This package also included the breakdown of the expenses of associated services to provide this care, which illustrated how the money we currently receive from the city does not nearly begin to cover the costs of pound keeping. What the city is referring to in the media and in these email replies is that it is seeking the financial information for the BENEVOLENT side of the shelter - i.e. for the time invested and care provided for the animal AFTER the 72 hours of impound has elapsed. The MJHS receives NO FUNDING from the City of Moose Jaw for the care of the animals AFTER this time has passed, so why should we have to provide them with this information, since it does not concern the pound keeping services in the slightest? The money we generate through events and fundraisers, as well as donations SHOULD be going to the care for the animals AFTER the 72 hours of impound has passed, however, because our current contract falls far short of the funding we need, that money raised and donated by our community is actually going to help subsidize a city service. WE ARE NOT A BRANCH OF THE CITY. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization who believes all animals deserve a true second chance, and this is why we also believe that the MJHS is the best home for the pound - because we choose NOT to euthanize after 72 hours. The average length of stay for our MJHS dogs and cats is 65 days; since our sheltering philosophy changed over the last five years, we are happy and proud to say that as long as a dog or cat is happy and healthy in body and mind, it can stay at our shelter for as long as it takes to find its forever home. We will continue to need your help to convince the City of Moose Jaw to come back to the negotiation table - to date, we have not yet received any form of counter offer. Please keep writing to council members and the mayor - let them know we will want to continue to care for our animals but need an increase in funding to look after the pound services. We need to let as many people as possible know that we have provided the city with the financial information they require, but we desperately need an increase in our funding to continue with our handling of the pound keeping services. And now on to today's story! This photo from our archives features our Fundraising and Promotions Coordinator Karla, not long after she joined the shelter staff as a kennel attendant back in 2009. Karla is holding an elderly poodle that the shelter named "Wilson". The shelter received a call on a damp spring day in early May that a small poodle had followed some people into the Moose Jaw Library downtown in Crescent Park, and Karla was the one dispatched to go and pick the dog up. Waiting for her was a slightly soggy little old poodle. The dog eagerly hopped into the MJHS rescue truck with Karla and away they went back to the shelter. Karla, not being a particularly big fan of these curly-haired dogs, did the paperwork and took the old fellow back to the kennels. He was given the name Wilson. Wilson was not a happy camper back in the dog room or the outside runs.