A doggone good year

COEUR d’ALENE — Numbers don’t tell the whole story.

But they help.

Consider these statistics about how 2020 went at the Kootenai Humane Society:

Adoptions, 1,586.

Spay/neuter, vaccine, microchips, 3,846.

Save rate, 97.3%.

Debbie Jeffrey, KHS executive director, recently met with the board and reviewed the final figures for last year.

“I couldn’t believe the numbers,” she said. “I thought there was a mistake.”

No mistake.

Just a good year, despite the turmoil that came with the coronavirus, being closed to the general public for much of the year and services by appointments only. KHS stayed the course with its mission to find homes for dogs, cats and other critters.

Through the COVID challenge, people still turned to KHS to give up pets they couldn’t keep for any number of reasons.

Surrenders for 2020 were: two birds, 292 cats, 263 dogs, 16 guinea pigs, one hamster, seven rabbits, 11 rats and two sugar gliders.

“We always say if we’ve got the room, we’ll take it,” said Victoria Nelson, KHS director of development.

KHS’s operating budget was just over a million dollars last year. Donations, big and small, helped it meet expenses, despite the cancellation of several fundraisers, including Tails at Twilight. The majority of donations were $500 and under.

That’s also with adoption revenue being down about 25 percent, due to 600 fewer adoptions compared to 2019. Small dogs remain the popular choice for adoptions. Older, larger dogs are more difficult to place.

“The community stepped up and helped us out tremendously,” Nelson said.

KHS handles more than local surrenders.

It receives hundreds of dogs shipped via ground and air from kill shelters around the country, particularly Texas, which reportedly is overrun with homeless house pets.

“We’re just trying to do the best we can to help as many dogs as we can,” Nelson said.

KHS also operates a free pet food bank program, which relies on donations, for low-income families. It’s currently assisting about 40 families a month.

"We have had more food delivered in 2020 than we’ve ever had," Jeffrey said.

KHS is closing in on its campaign goal of $6.9 million to build a new, 24,000-square-foot home on 10 acres west of the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Atlas Road.

“It’s not fancy by any means. It’s going to be functional,” Nelson said.

The current one at the end of Ramsey Road is 40 years old, with a leaky roof, septic problems and limited space.

“Ninety percent is the magic number to break ground,” Nelson said.

Since the fundraising stands at $4.7 million — 72% — it needs about another million — which is possible this year, Nelson said.

“I don’t know how else to say it,” Nelson said. “We’re pleasantly surprised that the community is taking care of us as well as they are.”

With expansion plans for the Coeur d’Alene Airport, a KHS move will happen, she said.

“They’re making room for bigger planes and our community is growing,” Nelson said "We need to get out of the way of their growth.”

Both Nelson and Jeffrey believe 2021 holds promise for KHS — assuming the economy stays strong, there are no government-ordered lockdowns and the coronavirus is brought under control.

But there is one certainty: The community supports KHS.

“The people that live in this town are awesome," Jeffrey said.