2024 Impact Report by lawrencehumanesociety

Shannon Wells Executive Director

2024 Looking back on

The past year has been a year of challenges. With our facility at capacity with pets who need us, like so many shelters across the nation, the work never seems done. Yet in spite of the persistent challenges, we remained committed to utilizing our resources to maximize the positive impact on pets and people in our community and beyond. And in that, we find so many reasons to celebrate.

In 2024 we set record numbers in several lifesaving programs:

• More animals were placed in foster homes than ever before, providing respite and love while making space at the shelter to maximize life-saving capacity;

• More at-risk animals were transferred to Lawrence Humane from low-capacity shelters than ever in the history of the organization, saving the lives of over 1,000 adoptable pets in our region;

• More innovative, lifesaving medical procedures were provided for animals with significant medical challenges that otherwise would have been life-ending in most other shelters; and

• More families and their pets received services through our Crisis Pet Retention program than ever before, ensuring healthier pets and keeping families together.

We did all this and more while simultaneously increasing our live release rate to 95%, achieving more positive outcomes in 2024 than in 2023. We won’t deny that it’s been hard. These kinds of outcomes require a lot of heart, grit, and sweat, and sometimes tears. But as you read through the account of 2024 in this report, you’ll understand why we persevere. It’s because we believe in the value of each animal’s life, the profound love between pets and people, and in the hope of new beginnings for animals in need. And none of this would be possible without our community of animal lovers supporting us along the way. The challenges of 2024 continue into 2025, but we move into the new year with steadfast commitment to continue our lifesaving work and maximize positive outcomes with your support.

Here’s to another incredible year of impact!

Amanda Jay Board chair

Letter from our board chair

As I step into the role of Board President at the Lawrence Humane Society, I’m filled with gratitude and excitement to serve an organization that has meant so much to my family. Like many of you, our connection to LHS began simply – first by helping stray animals find safety, then through donations and community events, and ultimately through the search for our own four-legged family members. That’s how we met Boomer, who has become my daily walking companion and friend. Then, our bond with the shelter grew stronger through fostering. This past August, during Clear the Shelter, we couldn’t resist adopting one of our foster puppies – a sweet boy named Meatball, who has brought even more joy and laughter to our home!

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to witness the incredible work of LHS from multiple perspectives – as an adopter, a foster parent, a volunteer, and a board member. What continues to inspire me is the unwavering dedication of our staff, who work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of both animals and people in our community. Their ongoing commitment to giving second chances and creating lasting bonds between people and their pets is truly remarkable.

As we look ahead to 2025, I’m particularly excited about the talented team we have in place and the opportunity to build upon the strong foundation that makes the Lawrence Humane Society such a vital part of our Lawrence community. With support from our dedicated volunteers, fosters, community partners, and board members, we’re poised to create an even greater impact in the coming year. I look forward to meeting many of you at community events and working together to build on LHS’s legacy of compassion and care, one paw at a time.

Warmly, Amanda Jay

BOARD MEMBERS:

• Board Chair

Amanda Jay Principal and Owner, LadderPoint Consulting

• Vice Chair

Charlotte Tritch

Faculty, University of Kansas School of Business

• Secretary

Lindsay Roesler

Group Fitness Instructor/ Lawrence Humane Volunteer

• Board Treasurer

Andrew Hagner

Team Lead Commercial Operations and Capabilities, Hill’s Pet Nutrition

• Kirk Putman

Retired Director of Finance - Europe, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc.

• Oyin Enoch

Marketing Director, Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc.

• Dale Slusser

Retired, KU Endowment Association

• Jackie Harmon

Customer Strategy and Activation Director – US Petcare, Zoetis

• Anne Johnson

Senior VP & Senior Search Consultant, Aspen Leadership Group

• Megan Richardson

Vice President & Bank Manager

First State Bank & Trust

• Hailey Drescher

Senior Consultant, Trask Consulting

• Sheree Miller Poff

Owner, Lawrence Pet Friends

*Animals categorized as “other” include handheld animals & birds

Cats

Upholding Our Promise THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSFERS

During the Capital Campaign for Lawrence Humane’s new shelter building, we made a promise to the Lawrence and Douglas County communities: Help us fund the building’s construction and our kennels will always be filled. While the visual of an empty shelter offers hope and inspiration, a kennel that stays empty is not our preferred measure of success. We know that there are homeless and vulnerable animals that need a safe place to go both within our community and in our neighboring communities. And an empty kennel in our shelter means that somewhere out there is an animal not receiving the help it needs. This is why Lawrence Humane not only takes in animals as strays and owner-surrenders, but also as transfers.

We are proud to have a robust animal transfer program which includes transferring animals to Lawrence Humane from rural and low-capacity shelters and from Lawrence Humane to breed-specific and specialty licensed rescue groups. By transferring animals to Lawrence Humane, we are able to provide our community with more diverse options for adoption and ensure that people continue to adopt from their local animal shelter when looking for a pet. It also allows us to provide relief to shelters and communities who aren’t as fortunate as Lawrence in terms of resources and support. And most of all, it means a second chance at life for animals who otherwise would be facing euthanasia.

At a time when transfers among animals shelters and rescue groups are down across the nation, Lawrence Humane achieved what so many others are struggling with – we transferred in the largest number of animals in the shelter’s history, while simultaneously serving our own community AND increasing our live release rate from 94% to 95%. The 688 cats, 332 dogs, and 1 pig that came to Lawrence Humane in 2024 faced uncertain futures and many faced euthanasia. We are so proud that we could offer these animals a second chance and continue to fulfill our promise to our community!

In 2024, Lawrence Humane transferred in

1,021 animals

STATISTICS Outcome

This means that 95% of animals who entered Lawrence Humane had a positive outcome through reunification with their owner, adoption, or transfer to another licensed agency. Lawrence Humane never euthanizes animals for space or length of time in the shelter and only does so when absolutely medically or behaviorally necessary.

*Animals categorized as “other” include handheld animals & birds

Offsite ADOPTION PARTNERS

Lawrence Humane is incredibly fortunate to have four different businesses with whom we partner to facilitate offsite adoptions. In fact, 432 of the 2,962 animals adopted through Lawrence Humane in 2024 were adopted at one of our offsite adoption partners. That’s nearly 15% of all adopted animals – wow! These partnerships are hugely impactful to the number of animals Lawrence Humane is able to help and find homes for every year. Not only does this free up space at the shelter so that we can serve more animals, but it also helps us reach new audiences and potential adopters while simultaneously increasing the visibility of the animals looking for loving homes. We are so grateful to our incredible partners at Espurresso Cat Café, Petco, PetSmart – Bauer Farm Rd, and PetSmart – Iowa St!

This is Syd - Espurresso Cat Cafe’s resident cat! She’s super social and makes the new cats feel right at home!

Foster

PROGRAM

Cats predominantly give birth during warmer months, so this time of year is commonly known as “kitten season.” In Kansas, kitten season typically begins in March/April and lasts through October/November. During the height of kitten season, Lawrence Humane receives anywhere from 2 to 40 kittens a day! And in 2024, Lawrence Humane saw a 15% increase in the number of kittens we took in versus the previous year.

Many of the kittens we receive are only a few days or a few weeks old. However, kittens cannot be spayed/ neutered and made available for adoption until they are at least two months old, two pounds, and healthy. Foster care is critical to having healthy kittens as underage animals are especially susceptible to diseases that can be present in a shelter environment. Of the 1,144 kittens that came through our doors in 2024, 690 kittens (60%) had to first go to foster care so they could get a little older, stronger, and healthier before they could move forward in the adoption process.

Number of foster homes:

Animals placed in foster care:

488

1,362

One of Lawrence Humane’s most dedicated neonatal kitten fosters is Stacy Smith. Stacy is always willing to take on the youngest and most fragile kittens that need the highest level of care and intervention. Neonatal kittens are incredibly time and resource intensive. They have to be bottle or syringe fed every two hours (including through the night), need help going to the bathroom, and need a consistently warm environment as they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Not only does Stacy borrow incubators from Lawrence Humane for neonatal kittens, but she even has her own incubator – THAT is dedication! She often fosters multiple kittens in separate incubators at the same time, feeding and pottying each kitten every two hours. In 2024, Stacy cared for 18 of the tiniest, most vulnerable kittens that came through our doors. We are so grateful to Stacy and all of Lawrence Humane’s foster caregivers, who are a critical life source for our organization!

532 hours

Volunteering at LAWRENCE HUMANE

Volunteers play a critical role at Lawrence Humane and we are so grateful to every single person who gave their time, energy, and love to our shelter’s animals in 2024! Lawrence Humane volunteers use their unique talents and skills to perform a variety of much-needed tasks such as making enrichment for the animals, socializing shy cats, exercising dogs in daily playgroups, helping with offsite events like Petco puppy adoptions, taking dogs out for Mass St Mutts adventures, helping with fundraising events, and so much more!

Sheryl Bailey 179 hours Marina Debernardi 121 hours

As each volunteer spends more time at Lawrence Humane, they get to know every department and can request to get specialized training in order to volunteer in that department. Volunteers Janet, Sheryl, and Marina are regular fixtures in Lawrence Humane’s clinic, collectively contributing over 800 hours of volunteer time in 2024! Janet, Sheryl, and Marina support Lawrence Humane’s veterinary team by assisting with animals’ daily medications, helping with monthly pet vaccine clinics, keeping the clinic’s supplies well organized, and much more. While Janet and Sheryl have been volunteering in the Lawrence Humane clinic for several years, Marina is a newer volunteer, but as a retired veterinarian we are grateful to have her experience in the clinic. Janet, Sheryl, and Marina are integral members of the Lawrence Humane clinic team and we appreciate all that they do for the animals (and humans!) of Lawrence Humane!

“

We are so fortunate to have the most kind and helpful clinic volunteers! Janet often notices subtle changes in a cat’s behavior or overall health, bringing it our attention so we can address it right away. Sheryl is always willing and able to help where ever she is needed, often taking care of something we need before we even ask, and she makes the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had! And Marina’s background as a veterinarian has been an incredibly valuable resource. All of them are often willing to jump in and spend extra time in the clinic when our team is short a member, allowing us to continue to function. Their hardwork, kindness, and knowledge are an integral part of the clinic team!

- Dr Lea Craig Lawrence Humane Veterinarian ,

Hosting Kitten Lady AT LAWRENCE HUMANE

In October 2024, we had the honor of hosting Hannah Shaw (better known as the Kitten Lady) at Lawrence Humane! Hannah is an award-winning kitten rescuer, humane educator, New York Times best-selling author, and unwavering animal advocate who has dedicated her life to protecting the tiniest and most vulnerable felines.

Hannah is the founder of Orphan Kitten Club, a nonprofit that seeks to create a safer world for neonatal kittens by building and enhancing kitten programs throughout the country, offering lifesaving funding to shelter kittens in need of medical assistance, advancing veterinary pediatrics through ethical research, providing dedicated specialty care in their San Diego-based kitten nursery, and ending the cycle of reproduction through sterilization. Lawrence Humane is fortunate to have been an Orphan Kitten Club Mightycat Partner since 2021 and in that time we have been awarded nearly $84,000 to help us save kittens right here in Kansas! Thanks to grant funding from Hannah and OKC, we have been able to purchase incubators and foster supplies for neonatal kittens, build a kitten foster supply shed, hire kitten-specific staff, improve our kittenspecific clinical practices, and provide life-saving specialty surgeries to 10 kittens!

After taking a tour of our shelter and seeing in-person the massive impact that she and OKC have had on Lawrence Humane, Hannah

spoke at The Granada Theater to an audience of over 150 people who braved active tornadoes to hear her present a workshop on saving kittens, answer audience questions, and discuss her new book! Hannah emphasized the impact that one person can make in the animal welfare world and inspired attendees to stretch a little beyond their comfort zones when it comes to fostering kittens, knowing that education, resources, and support are out there - like through Lawrence Humane!

This was the first time that Hannah had ever presented in Kansas and her visit was made possible thanks to our incredibly generous friends at Hill’s Pet Nutrition! In 2024, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Hannah announced a new collaboration in order to make an impact on the lives of kittens. Not only did Hill’s Pet Nutrition sponsor Hannah’s visit to Lawrence Humane, but they also provided copies of her new book, Cats of the World, to everyone who attended her presentation. AND they sponsored the adoptions of 80 cats and kittens at Lawrence Humane in honor of Hannah’s visit!

We are so grateful to Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Kitten Lady, and Orphan Kitten Club for their support of Lawrence Humane and for how much they care about shelter animals. We are honored to save lives alongside them and can’t wait to do even more in 2025!

Animal Services STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Whether they are responding to calls about loose dogs, stray cats, injured wildlife, equine welfare, or any of the other dozens of unique types of cases that get called in, Lawrence Humane’s Animal Services team is dedicated to helping resolve each case till the very end, no matter how long it takes or the obstacles in the way!

Animal Services Manager, Tia Ezell, has a unique ability to catch stray dogs when no one else can.

In 2024, Lawrence Humane and the Douglas County Dispatch received call after call about a dog at large near Henry’s Lake. Multiple people had tried to catch the friendly pup, but to him it was all a fun game of keep-away! When Tia arrived at the scene, several people were in the process of trying to catch the evasive pup, all to no avail. But with some treats and pets, Tia was able to earn the dog’s trust, leash him up, and get him back to the shelter. It turned out that he was microchipped and was shortly thereafter reunited with his owner!

Our Executive Director, Shannon Wells, helps provide staffing support to the Lawrence Humane Animal Services team. While on duty one day, Shannon received a call regarding a stray Great Pyrenees. This dog had been at large for several weeks, evading all attempts from neighbors and community members to catch or befriend him. When Shannon learned of the dog’s whereabouts, she quickly responded and spent hours trying to build rapport with the dog, eventually getting him to eat bits of chicken from her hand. However, any attempts to leash him resulted in his retreat. Shannon spent the next three days tracking the dog and slowly working to earn his trust. With the help of boiled chicken and a mild sedative, Shannon was finally able to leash the dog up and bring him to the shelter, where it was discovered that he was severely matted, with fecal matter and two-feet of metal wire embedded in the mats. And, as it turned out, he was microchipped! This dog had gone missing weeks prior and his owner was eager to get him home. After a sedated sanitary shave by our veterinary team and a short medical stay in the Lawrence Humane clinic to ensure that he was healthy, the dog was ready to end his adventure and go home!

Crisis Pet Retention PROGRAM

The Crisis Pet Retention (CPR) Program helps pets and people stay together through poverty, houselessness, job loss, and other systemic issues and inequities. This program proactively addresses pet problems that otherwise might result in a pet being neglected, abandoned, or surrendered.

2024 Statistics

954 applications for assistance were received.

961 animals from 651 individual households were treated at Lawrence Humane for essential, preventative care (spays/neuters, vaccines, microchips, flea/tick treatment, dentals) for a total of $67,241 in care provided.

14 families who collectively owned 20 pets were assisted with pet deposits, pet rent, and/or pet fees for a total of $3,519.

83 animals have utilized temporary crisis boarding, 83% of whom have been reunited with their owners.

Trusted Partners:

OPERATION

WILDLIFE AND KANSAS CITY

PIG RESCUE NETWORK

Lawrence Humane is committed to the safety and welfare of all animals. However, that does not mean that all animals can be taken in at Lawrence Humane nor that all animals belong in a shelter setting. This is why we are so grateful that we have trusted partners like Operation WildLife and Kansas City Pig Rescue Network!

Located in Linwood, but covering nine Kansas counties, Operation WildLife (OWL) has been providing rehabilitation and veterinary services to injured and orphaned wild animals in northeast Kansas since 1989. They are the largest publicly funded clinic and wildlife rehabilitation service in Kansas and receive thousands of wild animals each year! The amazing folks at OWL provide rehabilitation and a temporary haven for wild animals in need. They are committed to helping wild animals be physically and behaviorally prepared to return to their natural habitat and have release rates averaging 69% - that’s 20% higher than the national average! Every time that Lawrence Humane Animal Services staff go out on a call regarding injured or displaced wildlife, we always work with our partners at OWL to make sure that our team is being safe and smart, and all of the wild animals that come into our possession are immediately transported to OWL. Over the last couple of years, we have transported baby and juvenile opossums, raccoons, and hawks to OWL…even a bald eagle and a beaver!

Kansas City Pig Rescue Network (KCPRN) is a fosterbased organization composed of two main foster farms in Cleveland and Winston, Missouri; a smaller foster farm for pigs with unique needs in Paola, Kansas; and a number of private in-home foster families. Although only founded in 2017, KCPRN has already rescued, rehabilitated, and found loving adoptive homes for over 300 pigs! KCPRN is different from the more commonly known farm animal sanctuary model. Their goal is not to keep all of the pigs at their farms. Rather, the folks at KCPRN believe in taking the time to understand each pig who comes into their program as an individual, so that they can better help the pigs rehabilitate and prepare for a forever home of their own. For some pigs, this is a quick process and for other pigs, it can take years. Pigs arrive at KCPRN in a number of ways, but the folks at KCPRN especially try to prioritize taking in pigs from animal shelters. No matter how nice an animal shelter is or how caring and attentive animal shelter staff are to them, pigs fare particularly poorly in animal shelter settings. In 2024, Lawrence Humane transferred three pigs to our friends at KCPRN – one of whom ended up ultimately being adopted by one of our staff members!

Lawrence Humane is so fortunate to have such incredible partners as Operation WildLife and Kansas City Pig Rescue Network who are willing to share their expertise and help us ensure that all animals in Lawrence and Douglas County receive the best possible care!

Community Outreach Partnership WITH K-STATE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

While Lawrence Humane and the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine have worked together many times over the years, 2024 presented a new opportunity for partnership. K-State is one of two veterinary schools in the country that has Community Outreach as part of the curriculum.

Led by Dr. Ron Orchard, all of the students do a one-week rotation, traveling across the state to provide outreach and veterinary care to various communities – some very urban and some very, very rural. Twice a month, Dr. Orchard brings 4-7 veterinary students to Lawrence, where they work with Lawrence Humane Social Worker, Maddie Lockett, and Animal Services Manager, Tia Ezell. The veterinary students help the Lawrence Humane team serve the pets of the unhoused community by joining Maddie and Tia on visits to campsites, the Lawrence Community Shelter, and other partner agencies.

Under Dr. Orchard’s tutelage, the students provide annual wellness exams, preventative vaccines, microchips, and routine testing for diseases such as heartworms. They also assist our team in distributing pet food and needed pet supplies, as well as arrange for pets to go to Lawrence Humane for spay/neuter surgeries. This partnership not only expands Lawrence Humane’s medical resources and allows us to serve even more pets in our community, but also gives the veterinary students exposure to real life hardship that is becoming all too prevalent. We look forward to continuing our partnership in 2025!

A look at Lawrence Humane’s

VETERINARY CARE

Vet care for shelter animals

Shelter animal spay/neuter surgeries:

Cats: 1,353 | Dogs: 731 | Rabbits: 3

Specialty surgeries: 219

Community Veterinary Care

While Lawrence Humane is not a full service veterinary clinic, by providing low-cost spay/neuter surgeries for pets whose owners struggle to access or afford private veterinary care, we are promoting responsible pet ownership and trying to prevent additional burden to animal shelters. By providing emergency specialty care and low-cost euthanasia services we are ensuring that owners who are financially struggling do not have to experience the trauma of being unable to provide for their beloved pet in a time of crisis or at the end of the pet’s life. And our monthly low-cost vaccine and microchip clinics ensure increased access to veterinary care and a healthy pet population in Douglas County!

Vet care for publicly owned animals

Low-cost spay/neuter surgeries

Cats: 977 | Dogs: 494 | Rabbits: 37

Public specialty surgeries: 171

Public vaccine + microchip clinics

Clinics held: 17 | Households served: 418

Total number of animals served: 732

Pet Food PANTRY

Lawrence Humane serves as Douglas County’s primary pet food pantry. We know that if forced to choose, loving pet owners will choose to feed their pets instead of themselves. We never want anyone to choose between caring for themselves or caring for their pets. By providing pet food 7 days a week, 9 am-6 pm Lawrence Humane is providing care to our community’s most vulnerable pets AND people. We rely on donations of pet food from our community to stock our pet pantry and appreciate every single bag of cat and dog food donated!

Lbs. of pet food distributed from our Pet Resource Center:

Lbs of pet food supplied to partner pantries

Food Not Bombs LFK

659 Heartland Community Health Center

272

105,630 Catholic Charities Food Pantry

340

Dogs of Kansas Athletics Calendars

In 2024, Lawrence Humane embarked on one of the most special projects we’ve ever done. Thanks to our incredible friend and rescue-dog champion, Voice of the Jayhawks Brian Hanni, Lawrence Humane partnered with University of Kansas Athletics to create the 2025 Dogs of Kansas Athletics wall calendar. This never-before-done calendar features a variety of KU Athletics coaches (and KU Athletics staff!) along with their beloved dogs, with all calendar sales proceeds benefiting the animals served by Lawrence Humane! The coaches and their pups were photographed by our own Executive Director (and professional photographer), Shannon Wells, and the calendar was designed by our Marketing Coordinator,

The calendar features: Sydney Martin.

KU Athletics holds a special place in the heart of Lawrence Humane. Not only do many of the student athletes volunteer at the shelter, foster, and adopt animals, but so do many of the KU Athletics staff! The families of KU coaches and administrative staff regularly adopt, foster, volunteer, donate, and fundraiser for the animals of Lawrence Humane. KU Athletics is composed of animal lovers and animal shelter supporters – what other Division I athletics department can so assuredly say that?!

• Travis Goff – Director of Kansas Athletics

• Brandon and Ali Schneider – Women’s Basketball

• Brian Hanni, Greg Gurley, and Steve Kincaid – Basketball Broadcast Crew

• Carrie Cook-Callen – Rowing

• Stanley Redwine, Doug Reynolds, Michael Whittlesey – Track and Field

• Dan Fitzgerald – Baseball

• Jamie Bermell – Men’s Golf

• Todd Chapman – Tennis

• Lance and Kelly Leipold – Football

• Jeremy and Lauren Case –`Men’s Basketball and Soccer

• Ray Bechard and Brennan Bechard – Volleyball and Men’s Basketball

• Bill Self – Men’s Basketball

Thank you to our 2024 EVENT SPONSORS

Hawks & Hounds | Mullie Classic | Paw Valley Challenge | Clear the Shelter Day | Fur Ball

April Kelsey

Robbins Painting, LLC

Partner Profile: LAWRENCE BEER COMPANY

In 2024, we were honored to award the annual Lawrence Humane Community Partner of the Year award to our East Lawrence neighbors, Lawrence Beer Company!

Since 2022, Lawrence Humane and Lawrence Beer Co. have partnered to host the annual Cutest Crowler Contest – a monthlong fundraiser through which pet owners enter photos of their pets and encourage their friends and family to vote for their pet at $1 per vote. The winning cat and dog photos are then drawn by local artists, with the artwork appearing on LBC’s crowler cans. Over the last three years, the Cutest Crowler Contest has raised over $70,000 for the animals served by Lawrence Humane!

However, Lawrence Beer Co.’s support of Lawrence Humane isn’t limited to just the Cutest Crowler Contest. LBC generously donates beer to Lawrence Humane events such as Hawks + Hounds and the Paw Valley celebration. LBC has formed a 4-person team every year to play in the Mullie Classic Golf Tournament. The LBC staff have collected donations for our pet pantry, socialized puppies, and adopted dogs, cats, and even rats from Lawrence Humane! What’s more, LBC’s support of Lawrence Humane extends beyond the beautiful brewery/restaurant to the families of the people who make up Lawrence Beer Co. The families of LBC staff have volunteered at Lawrence Humane, purchased merch, raised money through bake sales, and, of course, adopted!

Continued on next page

New crowler design every summer!

We are so fortunate to have Lawrence Beer Company as a partner in saving animals’ lives, and so grateful for all of the support they provide to Lawrence Humane. We cannot imagine a more deserving organization to whom to award our Community Partner of the Year award. Let’s all raise a pint to the wonderful folks at LBC!

What’s next for Lawrence Humane?

● Thanks to a generous grant from the Kriz Charitable Fund, in 2025 Lawrence Humane will have tops installed for 121 dog kennels so that every single dog kennel at Lawrence Humane is covered and provides full containment. This will ensure that we can provide safe containment for all dogs in our care at all times (especially those in high distress), as well as the highest level of safety for staff, volunteers, and the public.

● At the end of 2024, Lawrence Humane embarked on a significant construction project that will conclude during the first half of 2025. In partnership with Cromwell Solar, we are having 224 solar panels installed on the roof of the shelter. The solar panels will cover approximately 25% of all of Lawrence Humane’s electrical needs and will allow us to save over $700,000 over 25 years, ensuring that more of the organization’s funds will go towards animal care, supporting staff, and serving our community.

● In 2025, Lawrence Humane looks forward to building out our mobile medical clinic van. Thanks to generous grants from Petco Love and the Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation, Lawrence Humane was able to purchase a high-top transit van to serve as our mobile medical clinic, and in 2025 the van will be outfitted with all necessary equipment, such as a foldable exam table, an affixed kennel, and proper storage solutions. This will significantly expand our capacity to provide nonsurgical veterinary care outside of the shelter.

Leaving a Legacy of HELPING SHELTER ANIMALS

In 2025, the dog play yards at Lawrence Humane are finally going to get the glow-up that staff and volunteers have been dreaming of for five years – shade structures. The play yards are where shelter dogs go out with staff and volunteers multiple times a day. It’s where they go to the bathroom, play and socialize with humans, meet potential adopters and fosters, have dog-to-dog meetings with potential adopters’ and fosters’ dogs, and where daily dog playgroups are held. Play yards are critical to letting dogs who are kenneled most of the day get some exercise and expend some pent-up energy. For many shelter dogs, the play yards are literal lifelines to surviving a stressful environment.

The shade structures don’t just look impressive, they serve many important functions that benefit the dogs and humans of Lawrence Humane. Because the play yards are outside, they are subject to the elements. This means that if it’s raining, the dogs can’t go out and get the exercise they need. If it’s snowing heavily, staff have to spend time shoveling the show that builds up on the play yard turf so that it doesn’t hurt dogs’ paws, and that reduces the time they’re able to spend outside with the dogs. And in the height of summer when the sun is beating down, dogs can get overheated without shade, and again have to have their outdoor time limited. The shade structures provide protection from the elements. These are not flimsy

tents that buckle and break in a strong wind. These are heavy-duty structures that are installed by professional engineers and will last for the entire duration of the building’s lifetime. And accordingly, the cost is significant.

For nine shade structures, we expect to pay approximately $225,000. A capital project of this nature would not be financially possible without a bequest by a generous Lawrence Humane supporter who sadly passed away in 2024. This individual truly lived life to the fullest. She embraced every adventure that came her way and took every opportunity to help those in need. She supported Lawrence Humane in her life and extended that support into her death. She worked with her attorney and financial planner to ensure that her estate would continue to help shelter animals, and the gift she left behind is what will pay for the shade structures. And so, her legacy will forever remain a part of Lawrence Humane.

If you are interested in learning more about legacy giving and how you can support Lawrence Humane, please reach out to our Director of Development & Communications, Elina Alterman.