Blue Mountain Humane Society was founded in 1967 by a group of local residents committed to creating positive outcomes for animals in the Walla Walla Valley. Over the years, the Society has grown and evolved to include a humane, state-of-the-art no-kill shelter facility designed to serve companion animals.
Our mission is to prevent cruelty, promote kindness and to foster the human-animal bond.
We work to educate, inform and equip our community with the tools required to accomplish our ultimate vision: to end pet overpopulation and homelessness and to inspire a compassionate community.
To that end, in addition to sheltering pets, we provide subsidized spay, neuter and vaccine services for pets belonging to income-qualified families. We also provide humane education programming and volunteer opportunities for supporters of all ages. As the contracted provider for animal control services in rural Walla Walla County, we provide cruelty and neglect investigations to ensure that animals have homes with responsible, committed caregivers.
Little Lives Small Animal Rescue started out as an idea a few years ago when we started noticing how many small animals in our community were ending up homeless, abandoned or neglected. In June of 2016 we decided to pursue the idea of a small animal rescue. With the support of our community we raised funds necessary to apply to become an official 501c3 non-profit. Our dream came true on July 10th and on October 19, we became exempt from federal taxes (501c3).
Since our inception, we have served close to 250 animals ranging from birds to rodents, rodent like, reptiles, fish and even wildlife, several having significant health care needs, resulting in expensive veterinary care and medications/treatments. The majority of our funding has been out of our own pockets or through support of our friends, family members and community members who our mission resonates with. Our passion for animals is what drives everything we do and we want to be able to continue to do that for many years to come.
With a goal to reduce neglect, abandonment and homelessness one of our key focus areas includes providing community education on proper animal care, the importance of spay and neuter (in appropriate animals) as well as understanding other key factors to consider before purchasing an animal i.e. average lifespan, special equipment, cost of food, supplies and vet care as well as opportunities to adopt.
Pet Over Population Prevention’s (POPP) primary purpose is to promote responsible pet care through educating the public on the importance of spaying and neutering their cats and dogs, as well as providing spay and neuter assistance.
We are an all volunteer pit bull rescue. We will help any dog in need if we have the ability but our focus is the pit bull and bully breeds.
We are currently working on a permanent facility where we will house a small number of dogs until they can be introduced to a foster home environment. Our goal is to place as many pit type dogs into the best possible homes, educate the public about the breed, destroy the stereotype of viciousness and reduce the unwanted dog population.
Our facility will be at 22206 E Kennedy Rd in Benton City, nestled among the many wineries in our area. We have a 50×50 foot building where we will have indoor kennels, intake area, training/meet and greet room and everything we need to care for our dogs. There are outdoor yards where they can play, meet other dogs and just hang out and enjoy the nice weather. We are currently under construction and plan to be complete later this summer. At that time we will be able to house up to 20 dogs and unlimited number of puppies.
We also provide food for individuals in need, assist with training to help keep a dog in their home as well as limited vet care, vaccinations and other medical necessities including spay/neuter if it is needed.
We spay/neuter, micro chip, vaccinate, worm, vet every dog that crosses our path. Follow up checks are made and we will take our dogs back at any time during their lifetime if living conditions are less than satisfactory.
Tri-Cities TNR (Trap Neuter Return) is an organization that is establishing a TNR program in the Tri-Cities that allows free roaming cats to live out their lives without adding to the homeless cat population. Feral cats are: (1) humanely trapped; (2) evaluated to ensure they are healthy enough to live a free roaming lifestyle; (3) vaccinated; (4) spayed/neutered; (5) ear tipped to identify them as having been altered and (6) released back to their familiar environment. Kittens and tamable cats are placed with rescue organizations for adoption. Caretakers/volunteers monitor colonies to ensure any new cats that appear in the colony are trapped. Caretaker/volunteers provide food and water for the cats daily, making their lives a little easier. Our group has been informally in existence for ~20 years, and a formal 501(c)(3) organization for just over a year. We currently work with the Kennewick and Richland Parks, a couple of mobil parks and a retirement community. Our goal is to expand our volunteer base so we can address new/more areas where feral cat groups have been identified.
Founded January 7, 2009, Prevent Homeless Pets (PHP) is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) dog and cat spay/neuter clinic in south-eastern Washington state. We opened our own stand alone clinic September 6, 2013 in Benton City, WA.
Our Mission
WCHS values the human/animal bond, provides stewardship for homeless pets, and promotes compassionate treatment of all companion animals.
Vision Statement
Out of deep respect for companion animals, WCHS provides
- A modern, humane sheltering facility for homeless pets
- Affordable spay/neuter program
- Adoption services for homeless animals
- Community education and opportunities for community service
History
The idea for a new independent animal shelter in Whitman County came about after an article was published in the Daily News detailing how impending budget cuts due to I-695 could severely impact the operations of the Pullman Animal Shelter.
A small group of concerned citizens from Pullman and surrounding areas formed a task force to discuss the plight of the former Pullman Animal Shelter, the tragic loss of life at the shelter, and the sad irony of having an inadequate and inhumane animal shelter in a town renowned for its veterinary teaching hospital. This group first met on February 16, 2000 around the kitchen table in Ray and Cathy Schulhauser’s home. They approached the City of Pullman to offer a solution to the animal care situation when budget cutbacks made it impossible for the city to adequately staff and maintain its animal shelter facility. The task force formally organized into the Whitman County Humane Society, Inc. and subsequently entered into negotiations to contract with the City of Pullman to provide management services for the existing pet shelter.
The Society has been operating the facility since July 1, 2000.
Under WCHS’ management, several policies were initiated that more closely supported the organization’s mission statement. Under city management, overcrowding was addressed with a high euthanasia rate with very short time limitations on the lives of the animals. Because the Society and the community at large did not feel that this was an acceptable or humane management of the pet overpopulation problem, the Board of Directors committed to run a no-kill organization. No adoptable animals have ever been euthanized because of lack of space. Service was improved by fully staffing the existing shelter with trained animal care professionals.
The founding board members included Ray and Cathy Schulhauser, Carmel Travis, Robin Germain, Steve Barr-Jorgensen, Lauri Sue Torkelson, former shelter manager Bill Clark, veterinarian of record Dr. Chris Stone, attorney Jean Campbell, and advisory board co-chairs Mike and Susie Hardy Gormsen. Thanks to the Gardner House and Lauren McCluskey Foundation, we have been able to expand our facility and we have several more kennels to take care of the hundreds of cats we care for annually.
We offer spay neuter vouchers to help offset the cost of surgery, conduct TNR when possible, and help educate the public about good companion pet practices. We operate in Ritzville, Lind, Washtucan and Sprague Wa.
Our main mission at Hands ‘N Paws Animal Assistance is to work with the community, partner organizations, veterinarians and volunteers on behalf of animals and their guardians to enable each to stay together in order to reduce animal homelessness. We will also accept displaced and homeless animals as needed.
Hands ‘N Paws Animal Assistance strives to promote public awareness and provide education to the community concerning the importance of all aspects of animal care and the human/animal bond. We will be readily accessible in a crisis and be an informational resource. We will promote key animal issues by increasing our visibility in the community, participating in and supporting local events and causes.
Hands ‘N Paws Animal Assistance will fulfill these commitments by fostering a professional and compassionate volunteer base through training and continuing education, maintaining a strong and supportive Board of Directors and building partnerships with other organizations.