NEWSLETTER – The Paw Print Summer 2024
A Letter from the Director:
In June 2018, I began my career at the shelter as the new Executive Director. During my first several weeks on the job, I spent my days meeting with board members, staff, donors, and volunteers to learn more about the shelter and to help prioritize the work ahead of us. There was a common theme to these meetings — ECCHA needed a new shelter! It didn’t take me long to learn about the dreams of a new shelter on everyone’s mind.
The dream is now a reality. Fast forward six years and we are in our new 15,000-square-foot facility planning our grand opening event on July 13th. It took years of planning. It took an entire community to build this new $6.5 million facility. It took a lot of hard work from our volunteers, staff, and board members. The day we moved into the new shelter was emotional. To see the shelter animals have more space, natural light, and a cleaner and safer environment was amazing. I am truly humbled that I was picked to lead this project and can’t thank the community enough for supporting us.
In July, we will have a grand opening. We will once again open our doors to the public and help place more animals in loving homes. We are still working though and adoptions continue by appointment only for the time being. We hope that you will join us in July for this grand event.
In closing, with this new shelter comes new costs. Our operating budget has increased 25% with the new facility. More than ever, we appreciate your support as donors throughout the years! Every donation counts and helps us serve more homeless animals!
See you at the Grand Opening on July 13!
Shelley Janke
Operational Updates
ECCHA WELCOMES A NEW HUMANE OFFICER
The Eau Claire County Humane Association (ECCHA) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Kayla Johnson as our newest Humane Officer. While Kayla steps into this position with fresh enthusiasm, she is no stranger to ECCHA, having been an integral part of the organization for the past six years.
Read the full press release: ECCHA Welcomes New Humane Officer Kayla Johnson
You are PAW-SOME!
Shelter Thank You’s & Recognition
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Thank you to Bettie Scott Photography for volunteering their time to take nice photos of adoptable animals, donating services as prizes, AND having fundraisers for ECCHA! Make sure to check them out at Fido this year.
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Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with our move in March! We had hundreds of hours over the course of two weeks and truly could not have done it without you.
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Thank you so much to Daycation/foster volunteer Annabella Zeman for taking out so many dogs on a weekly basis! Just getting them out of the shelter greatly reduces stress. We are so thankful for her!
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Thank you to the board members for helping to feed our staff and volunteers all throughout the move! From ordering in, making homemade meals, and dropping off snacks, we appreciate everyone!
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Thank you to Volunteer Kevin Mars has been amazing with taking our dogs out on really fun days! He brings them to Barks and Rec for daycare, to nursing homes to visit residents, and to big fields to run on 30-foot leashes. We (and the dogs) appreciate him so much!
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Thank you to Mike Brantner, our superintendent for our new building project. He has helped with more than just the construction project, and we don’t know what we would do without him! We also want to thank all of our subcontractors.
Volunteer Spotlight
Mr. Kitty’s Cat Cafe
We wanted to take the opportunity to share our friends at Mr. Kitty’s Cat Cafe! While they are a separate business from ECCHA, they are essentially a foster home for 10-15 adoptable cats at a time! Since opening in April, they have adopted out over 20 cats (as of May 1)!
Make sure to stop by their business in downtown Eau Claire. Scheduling an appointment online to see cats is highly encouraged, but at times they will have walk-in availability.
Mr. Kitty’s Cat room is run by ECCHA volunteers — learn more and sign up here.
The 38th Fido & Friends Run/Walk is almost here!
Join ECCHA for a 5k Fun Run on Saturday, May 18, 2024
ECCHA is bringing in a lot of new, fun ideas this year! THE TOP FUNDRAISER’S PET GETS TO BE THE OFFICIAL FIDO AMBASSADOR FOR THE NEXT YEAR! Including a large portrait in the shelter, a CASH prize, and the ability to participate in marketing efforts for 2025! They will then pass the torch to the 2025 winner at the next Fido.
PLUS, for every $100 participants raise for ECCHA, they are entered into a drawing for a Doggy Vacation Package with Hayward Cabins! The winner will enjoy a 3-night pet-friendly stay at one of their rentals.
Registration is LIVE — sign up here!
RCU Rock the Riverfront
June 22nd | Phoenix Park
Join ECCHA and the RCU foundation for the 30th annual Rock the Riverfront Race! Multiple lengths and age groups available. Register and vote for ECCHA to help us with $15,000 for homeless animals in Eau Claire!
Register at RCU.org/Race
Featured Adoptable Pet
LaLa is a very sweet senior dog who was surrendered to ECCHA. LaLa loves to hang out with people of any age and does very well with the other dogs here. LaLa absolutely LOVES the car and wants nothing more than to stick her head out the window. Her most favorite thing to do though is to curl up and take a nap with her person.
FAQ of the Quarter
Q: When will the new facility open?
A: The new ECCHA building is still undergoing a lot of changes even though we have moved in. Many things need to be done outside, including paving a new parking lot, laying pathways, and landscaping the entirety of our campus.
ECCHA is slated to open to the public again after our Grand Opening on July 13th. Remember, we are still open for adoptions and other appointments until then!
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Whether you’re looking to adopt, volunteer or simply want to chat about your love for animals, we’re all ears (and paws). Contact us today!