American Humane Association

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Impact Statement

Accomplishments: We’ve enhanced our Children’s Division initiatives that protect children from abuse and harm, and that preserve families instead of breaking up homes. We have expanded our National Center on Family Group Decision Making to further the practice of engaging children’s extended families in determining how best to care for and help children. We have created a Restorative Justice for Youth Initiative that gives kids an opportunity to right their wrongs on their own and take accountability for their actions. And, our Front Porch Project® has continued teaching people how to look out for the children in their communities and giving them tools to intervene appropriately.

Through our Animal Protection Division, we’ve continued to encourage animal adoptions by promoting American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month® and Adopt-A-Cat Month®. We’ve provided extensive grants, training, and resources to animal welfare professionals to help them better care for animals. We’ve ensured the humane treatment of animals used in entertainment. When disasters have struck our nation, our Red Star Animal Emergency Services has deployed to rescue and care for thousands of animals. And recently, we have revamped our American Humane Certified™ program to better help food producers ensure that farm animals are given the most humane treatment possible.

With our focus on both children and animals, we’ve taken advantage of our natural position to delve deep into not just the vulnerabilities of children and animals, but, through our Human Animal Bond Division, we focus on issues affecting children and animals together. We concentrate on humane education, we study and address the “The Link” ® between animal abuse and other types of violence, and we implement our direct-service Animal-Assisted Therapy and Activities Program to help people heal through the company and understanding of specially trained pets.

Recent accomplishments include:

• Red Star Animal Emergency Services teams deployed to North Dakota during the threat of the Red River flooding and helped set up an emergency shelter. And we have just returned from responding to an animal hoarding case in Wisconsin where we helped local authorities retrieve more than 300 animals from dangerous and inhumane living conditions.
• American Humane has scheduled over 120 animal emergency and animal welfare trainings for professionals and volunteers across the country. In Maine alone, we hosted our Euthanasia by Injection Workshop in 2008 and have scheduled to return in 2009 to host our Animal Fighting Investigation Workshop – both times in Augusta.
• We recently launched our Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS)® Program grants, which enable domestic violence shelters to accept and thereby ensure the safety of the pets of domestic violence victims.
Goals: The goals of American Humane are as diverse as our many programs and initiatives. They include expanding our disaster response and animal rescue capabilities, producing our touring Children’s Museum Exhibit focusing on humane education, maximizing our programs affecting the issues of children and families in the child welfare and social services systems, developing our Animal Protection Division shelter assessment and training program, and bolstering our Leadership Development Program for animal welfare professionals.

A goal of our Human-Animal Bond Division is to continue to expand our Animal-Assisted Therapy Program to additional facilities and individuals throughout Colorado. We plan to accomplish these specific objectives:
• Continue to conduct handler training courses, develop supplemental materials, and provide continuing education.
• Enhance the services of the health care and education communities through animal-assisted therapy.
• Educate the community about the benefits of animal-assisted therapy and the power of the human-animal bond.
• Continue expanding the reach of our program to meet the demand for services and enhance the healing and learning processes of more people in metro Denver.
This past year we impacted the lives of 90,000 individuals. We know by continuing efforts toward these objectives, we can reach even more people in 2010.

Needs Statement

American Humane’s Children’s Museum Exhibit. Known as “Kindness in Critterville County” it is an interactive and kids-size “Town” wherein children learn about animals by visiting a miniature-size veterinary clinic, school, theater, and stores. By making this Exhibit a reality, American Humane can reach kids through play and exploration, and ultimately help eliminate animal abuse and other forms of violence.

Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS)® Program. This national program guides domestic and family violence emergency housing shelters toward permitting residents to bring their pets with them. Result: Greater safety for domestic violence victims and their pets.

Animal Emergency Services. Every day, emergencies take place -- natural disasters, large-scale animal abuse cases, puppy mill seizures. When disasters strike, animals are too often left in jeopardy. Many perish. American Humane's Red Star Animal Emergency Services™ responds to emergencies across the country to rescue, treat and shelter animals. We also help people prepare for disasters before they strike. When the unthinkable happens, we make sure vulnerable animals will stay safe.

The Second Chance® Fund. Each day, an alarming number of animal abuse or neglect cases occur across the country. Many times, local shelters and humane societies are forced to cover the cost to medically treat these abused animals, and, as a result, shelters accrue high -- sometimes overwhelming -- medical bills. American Humane's Second Chance Fund helps offset the cost of treating homeless animal victims of abuse or neglect. Through the Second Chance Fund, American Humane is able to financially assist member agencies that rescue, care for, and re-home abused or neglected animals.

Colorado Disparities Resource Center (CDRC). American Humane, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Division of Child Welfare, recently launched the CDRC to address longstanding issues of service disparities in child welfare based on race and ethnicity. Through consultation, research, community collaboration, and awareness efforts, the CDRC is committed to ensuring service equity for all of Colorado’s children and families.

Background Statement

American Humane was formed in 1877 to bring together humane leaders from throughout the country to protect children and animals – the most vulnerable in our population – from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Our Children’s Division has broad programs that, each in a different way, serve children who may be at risk of harm, whether it is from abuse, neglect, poverty, or lack of resources. Through our Animal Protection Division, we focus on education, training, and collaboration to create a better world for animals.

With our focus on both children and animals, we have evolved to take advantage of our natural position to delve deep into not just the vulnerabilities of children and animals, but of children and animals together. We created our Human-Animal Bond Division to explore and build on people’s relationships with animals and the role animals play in our lives. In this area, we concentrate on humane education, we address the “The Link”® between animal abuse and other types of violence, and we implement our direct-service Animal-Assisted Therapy Program to help people heal through the help of trained, skilled volunteer handler-animal therapy teams.

Executive Director Statement

This year, we’ve seen prominent public figures engaged in dogfighting, disturbing video on the news of farm animals being abused, the devastating effects of flooding in various parts of the country, companion animals neglected en masse or horrifically abused individually, women staying in abusive relationships because they can’t take their defenseless pets with them, and people abandoning their pets when faced with a foreclosure.

All of these unfortunate and atrocious circumstances have motivated our work here at American Humane. And as long as these kinds of things take place, we will work tirelessly to protect the most vulnerable among us — children and animals — from abuse, neglect
and exploitation.

Our people make the difference. That may sound like an old business cliché, but it’s true. This important work would not be possible without the team of people who include our staff, board of directors, volunteers, and especially our donors and supporters. Sadly, we lost one of our most devoted and enthusiastic team members this year. Our co-worker Marcus Martinez, who had been with us here at American Humane for 18 years, passed away. He is greatly missed.

Over the course of the year, our team grew as we added more than 60 new staff to ramp up our efforts to protect children and animals. We hired a chief operating officer, Dale Austin, to help us increase our organizational efficiency and program effectiveness. Dale was most recently senior vice president, chief operating officer and interim chief executive officer for the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States. His extensive experience and professional success in leadership positions with national and regional organizations will benefit us greatly.

As the fiscal year ended, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Marie Suthers McCabe, D.V.M., as the vice president of our new Human-Animal Bond Division. Dr. McCabe is an acclaimed international expert on relationships between people and animals, including the positive impact of animal interaction on people and the well-being of animals employed in therapeutic interventions, also known as animal-assisted therapy.

But our most valuable team members are you — our donors. With your help and dedication, American Humane continues to make progress and enhance its standing as a national leader in protecting children and animals and Advancing Humanity®. What a privilege it is to be part of this amazing organization!

Sincerely,


Marie Belew Wheatley , President and CEO

David L. Gies, Chairman of the Board

Board Chair/President Statement

(See Executive Director Statement)