A Letter from the Executive Director

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Dear Friends of Chesapeake Humane Society, 

We are quickly approaching the one-year mark of modified operations and restrictions we would never have imagined feasible due to the pandemic. The care we provide to the pets in our adoption program and through our veterinary clinic is essential service so our team hasn’t skipped a beat over the past ten months. It’s been stressful and trying more often than not, however, we are grateful that we have not had to furlough or lay off any staff members as so many other companies have had no choice but to do so. 

Throughout the pandemic, Chesapeake Humane Society’s (CHS) services continue to be in high demand. We have seen a significant increase in adoptions and fostering as families are home more often. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have seen an increase in need for our low-cost veterinary services and pet pantry assistance as folks are financially impacted by the pandemic.

A little back story about CHS – as you may know, our sheltering model is a bit different from the traditional shelter model. Throughout the years we have refined our program to help shelters in our region as they need support with caring for homeless pets. We work to transfer animals in from our shelter partners as they need assistance due to space, behavioral needs, or medical needs. 

We often take in animals that require a lot of time and money to care for such as heartworm positive dogs, litters of kittens and puppies, and FIV+ felines, to name a few. All of these animals deserve a second chance at life and we are here to help provide that for them. 

This model works well for our region and we plan to continue building off this structure as we expand our shelter program. Last spring, we embarked on a plan to expand and by happenstance, we had an incredible opportunity presented to us by one of our long-time partners, The Las Gaviotas Pet Hotel and associated Animal Assistance League here in Great Bridge. It’s an opportunity many organizations only dream of – the gift of a building and property.

 It was certainly a poignant moment as they brought their operations to a close and turned the building over to CHS. The Pet Hotel and Animal Assistance League was a staple in our community for nearly 30 years.  We are committed to put the property to good use and save the lives of many shelter pets. Our mission is aligned with that of Animal Assistance League and we vow to build on the good work that they’ve accomplished in our community. 

 In the coming months, we will be doing some renovations to our new building located at 1149 New Mill Drive to suit our programmatic needs. We hope to be open to the public later this year. Once renovations are completed, the New Mill Drive location will serve as a dedicated sheltering facility for CHS and our location on Battlefield Blvd will continue as our low-cost veterinary clinic.

This new building will greatly expand our shelter program and we plan to offer a new, much-needed service in our community for crisis-based boarding. We are currently exploring partnerships with local human service organizations to offer pet boarding to individuals and families escaping domestic violence or facing other hardships such as displacement from a fire or boarding needs due to unforeseen medical procedures. Our new crisis-based boarding program will help pets stay with the ones they love at a time when that human-animal bond and companionship is so important.

Whether you are familiar with CHS or not, I invite you to get to know us better over the coming year. We have a lot of exciting goals ahead of us and I hope you’ll continue to support us in our venture.

If you’d like to make a gift to support our expansion project, please reach out to CHS Executive Director, Lacy Shirey, at 757-401-6201 or director@chesapeakehumane.org.

 

Warm Regards,

Lacy S. Shirey, Executive Director

Chesapeake Humane Society

Chesapeake Humane Society on WCTV

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Chesapeake Humane Society’s Executive Director, Lacy Shirey, joins WCTV to talk about two dangerous diseases pet owners need to be aware of: heartworm disease and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Plus, she shares information about a fun new cat cafe in town! Special guests George and Carob also make an appearance.

Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast

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Community Service Spotlight: Chesapeake Humane Society Giving Tree
Posted: 12-08-2020 

Girl Scouts love helping others and the holiday season is an especially busy time of year for Girl Scouts doing community service to help their community friends, including the four paw friends!

Girl Scout Brownie Troop 382 in Chesapeake, led by Carolyn Engler, decided to create a Giving Tree to support animals cared for by the Chesapeake Humane Society. The Brownies identified the need in the community to help animals. They took action to research what the animals most needed and then set about developing a plan. They contacted a nearby animal feed store in Chesapeake, Tractor Supply Co. located on Centerville Turnpike, and asked if they could place a holiday tree in the store with wish list ornaments. The answer, yes!

The girls then set about making ornaments. Each ornament is made of paper but unique in design, and each has a written item from the Chesapeake Humane Society’s wish list. The girls’ goal was to have customers and community friends pick up an ornament and then place the gifts they purchased or made under the tree.

Each week, the troop checks on the gifts and arranges a pick-up. To date, they have collected more than 100 pounds of food and items to donate!

Whether you’re out shopping or celebrating with friends and family, don’t forget your furry friends this holiday season! Check with your area animal shelters or animal services to see what they might be in need of and then take action!

Each ornament has a wish list item

Picking up donations from the tree

Helping Animals and the People Who Love Them

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Animal Connections
Published by the Virginian Pilot on 11-11-2018
Written by Lacy Kuller, Chesapeake Humane Society Executive Director

What an honor it is to fill in as a contributing columnist while Phyllis Stein is on hiatus to handle important family matters. I certainly have big shoes to fill!

I met Phyllis and Tony Stein in 2008. Since the 1970s, they had worked diligently to shape how our community treats and respects animals. They filled me in on the conditions of Hampton Roads animal shelters and how far we’ve come since that time. Phyllis, a wonderful storyteller, described what measures she and Tony took to make a difference, be it helping a kitten or changing legislation.

In honor of Phyllis and in memory of Tony, this column is dedicated to the area’s compassionate animal welfare providers – and to the hard work still to be done.

I have volunteered and worked in animal welfare for over 10 years now. There is still a lot to learn. It’s not just about basic animal care, although that is certainly an important component. To be successful in this field means building a team of staff and volunteers who have excellent customer-service skills and are knowledgeable in animal behavior and training, shelter medicine, fund development and marketing strategies just to name a few elements.

I’ve found that those in this field don’t just work with animals, they dedicate their lives to improving the lives of animals. When it’s time to clock out for the day, more often than not, they head home to provide around-the-clock care for a foster animal or two … or more.
Animal welfare professionals also serve the people who help animals.

Chelsea Tracy Photography

That’s done through programs that provide low-cost veterinary care and pet food pantries; match appropriate animal companions to families; instill compassion for all living things in our younger generations; and serve as an important resource when people can no longer care for their animals.

If you look at the websites for our local animal shelters, they mention people, humans and community: “…help pets and the people who love them find each other and stay together”, “…eliminating animal suffering while increasing human compassion”, “…promote the human-animal bond.”

The message, in short: In order to create a community that embraces our companion animal residents, we must work together. Shelters are dependent on support from the community, and in many ways our community is dependent on the vital, life-saving programs and services that animal welfare organizations provide.

So the next time you visit a shelter or meet someone who volunteers or works with animals, thank them for their dedication. And I thank all of you who support the good work we do and/or provide a loving home to a companion animal.

I’d love to hear what animal-related topics you would like to learn more about. Please don’t hesitate to share feedback and suggestions with me.
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Lacy Kuller is executive director of the Chesapeake Humane Society. She can be reached at director@chesapeakehumane.org.

Helping Homeless Animals: Tree for the Animals

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Help the Chesapeake Humane Society light the 11th annual Tree for the Animals on December 18th from 3 to 4:30 p.m.  You can purchase a light in honor of a pet or loved one and all proceeds benefit homeless animals in Hampton Roads.  Click here to purchase a light online or visit White’s Nursery.

treeforthenaimals