The Humane Society of Del Norte was able to secure funding for new kennels at the animal shelter. | Photo courtesy of Danielle Larsen-Wheeler

For the last nine years, the number of animals Humane Society of Del Norte snipped has steadily increased, and 2023 is no exception.

The all-volunteer nonprofit organization got 832 cats and 450 dogs spayed or neutered this year — 134 more than last year. It’s not the 2,000 goal President Danielle Larsen-Wheeler was shooting for.

But the organization has been busy helping Del Norte County Animal Control transition from the agricultural department to the sheriff’s office. This includes paying for new kennels at the county shelter, installing sun sails over the yard so the pooches have a shady spot in the summer and a “semi-dry” spot in the winter. The Humane Society is also on track to receive its second year of California For All Animals grant dollars, about $128,000 for 2024, Larsen-Wheeler told the Wild Rivers Outpost.

Bumps in the road for the Humane Society include Public Vet, an Indiana-based nonprofit, the organization had contracted with to offer spay-neuter clinics, deciding not to work in Del Norte following a complaint and social media controversy over how a pet owner’s kitten was treated.

It’s also difficult to get veterinarian appointments, though a handful of regulars continue to work with the Humane Society.

“We’re doing two trips to Coos Bay instead of one a month and that probably helped,” Larsen-Wheeler said, referring to trips she takes to S/Nipped. “Four Paws [Pet Hospital] upped me a couple appointments a week. They used to give me two, now they give me two to six depending on the week. Town & Country has done a couple of clinics for me where they fixed 25 cats in one day. I’m hoping they’ll continue doing that.”

It was the organization’s vice president, Eileen Bennett, who learned in October 2022 that California For All Animals was prepared to award the organization a total of $385,200. She said that grant would give the Humane Society the ability to reach 1,000 more people every year.

Funded through the fiscal year 2020-21 state budget, California For All Animals is a UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program grant. The Humane Society of Del Norte had initially applied for a one-year $128,400 grant to hold monthly spay-neuter clinics, but the funders committed to all three years, according to Bennett.

According to Larsen-Wheeler, when someone calls the Humane Society seeking help to get their pets fixed, she asks what they can afford to pay. The Humane Society tries to make up the difference.

At events, they’ll raffle off vouchers for a free spay or neuter, Larsen-Wheeler said. She’ll then call those who don’t win to find out if they need help.

Larsen-Wheeler said she has also reached out to the homeless community to help them get their pets spayed or neutered through Del Norte Mission Possible founder Daphne Cortese-Lambert.

“Probably in the last two years we’ve seen an influx of animals just free-roaming,” she said. “[They’re] picked up by animal control or brought in by police and sometimes we have homeless people come in and try to get them. Either they don’t have the money or it’s a neglectful situation so they sometimes choose not to return the dogs. Everybody that comes into the pound, we offer them spay or neuter services and in some cases it’s free, we’ll pay 100 percent if necessary.”

According to Bennett, another goal for the Humane Society, which operates a cat shelter, is for its intake numbers to go down while its spay and neuter numbers increase. This year the Humane Society’s cat shelter took in 164 animals.

Bennett said the Humane Society’s California For All Animals grant allows the organization to help anyone who needs it.

“It’s a slow process to watch those intake numbers decline and spay and neuter numbers rise,” Bennett said. “If you look at our last 12 years, it’s been a gradual change. We can see that it’s working and that’s why we’re determined to keep going with the spay-neuter program and hopefully some day have a clinic in our area. In the meantime, we’ll help everyone who reaches out to us in one way or another.”

Those who need help getting their animals spayed or neutered can call (707) 464-1686 and leave their name and phone number and say if it’s a dog or cat they’re looking to get snipped, Bennett said.

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