Dear Animal Advocates & Friends,

This year, LCHS focused on new ways to help the animals and our community. Thanks to our amazing supporters, LCHS was able to do more than we could have hoped for in 2024!

Together, we, the staff, board, volunteers, fosters, donors, partners, and adopters saved 1,000 animals this year!

Our focus this year began with building a voice for homeless pets not only in our shelter but in our local area. Shelters have been tasked with developing innovative ways to help animals and people, while maintaining our original mission of rescuing hundreds of homeless pets.

One of our new programs is our “Home to Home” adoption option. This program allows pet owners of Lincoln County to utilize the resources of LCHS to rehome their own pets. The program requires verification of the animal’s spay or neuter and its vaccines. Our staff also coaches the current owners on how to verify homeownership, run a background check on potential new owners, and tips for a successful introduction for the animal. This program is great option because it reduces the number of animals in the shelter, ensures that animals being rehomed privately are fixed and vaccinated, and allows owners to build and maintain a relationship with the animal’s new family. We are excited to help owners find a safe, responsible way to rehome a pet without the animal having to enter the shelter. This also allows owners to maintain contact with the new family and receive updates.

In 2024, we also partnered with J & R Aquatic Animal Rescue to provide an exotic animal surrender day. J & R’s organization specializes in exotic animal rescue, caring for everything from alligators to angelfish. They also host surrender days throughout the state, where owners of exotic animals can surrender exotic without any questions being asked. This type of event prevents non-native species from being released into the wild by owners that no longer want them. Most reptiles, amphibians, and fish do not survive being released after living in a captive environment while the ones that do survive can threaten native species and cause damage to the environment. Our first surrender day was a success with several species being surrendered to the experts that can properly care for the animals. LCHS and J & R Aquatic Animal Rescue will partner again in 2025.

LCHS also developed our “Community Cat Fund” this year. Thanks to a generous grant, with continued donations from area supporters, LCHS is now able to provide spay & neuter services for outdoor cats in Lincoln County. This program has been a blessing to many residents with barn cats or cat colonies. The cats are also treated for parasites and vaccinated against rabies and distemper, ensuring they are healthier and happier. As of December 20^th, 61 outdoor cats have been spayed or neutered at no cost to the property owner. There is also a waiting list for cats to be fixed. This program will reduce the number of cats coming to LCHS in coming years because there are fewer outdoor cats having kittens.

We also worked closely with law enforcement to remove animals from multiple homes throughout Lincoln County. These three separate situations resulted in 99 animals having a brighter future, filled with hope. Although these situations can be physically and mentally draining, our staff and volunteers rallied and we are so proud of the great care we were able to provide for the animals that desperately needed it.

Locally, we were honored to receive support from more than one hundred area businesses. This expanding community support allowed us to embrace our vision of building long lasting relationships and establishing true “partnerships” in the community. We are so grateful to these organizations; they are the lifeblood of our fundraising.

Please consider supporting LCHS as this year comes to a close. Your donation will help us care for so many animals in the coming year. You can donate by mailing a check, using our online link, or our QR code below–

https://furrypets.com/donate/paypal-donations/

Thank you for helping us be a voice to the homeless pets, this year and always. Together, we will continue being a voice for the animals that need us, a haven for the homeless, and a source of support for our community.

May your holiday season be filled with peace, joy, and love,

Liz

LCHS Manager