NEWSLETTER – The Paw Print Winter 2024
A Letter from the Director:
Why Do We Help Other Shelters?
In March of 2024, we opened our beautiful new building. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the building expanded our ability to provide help to more animals and more community members.
Our philosophy has always been and will continue to be to help as many animals as we can in a humane manner. Our new building allows us to have more dogs, but it also allows the dogs to have more space. Our kennels are large and have natural light and each dog has his or her own space. Our cat space is populated according to national standards and shelter medicine. Each cat has space to rest and space for his or her litter box. We do not believe in overcrowding our shelters. We will only accept animals if we have the space, and because of our new facility, we now have more space to help! Would we be good stewards of what the community gave to us if we turned animals away?
Recently, we have seen several “critics” of ours appear on our socials. I encourage those who have questions to come out to the shelter and see what we do. Our staff and volunteers are amazing and we work tirelessly every day to provide care to the animals that need it. It’s hard work, it’s emotional and challenging. We welcome people to come out and help us or just see what we do before casting stones. After all, at the end of the day, we all want to be part of something that matters.
Shelley Janke
Featured Event
Purses for Paws!
Friday, February 7th | The Florian Gardens | Doors Open: 5 PM
Join us for the 3rd Purses for Paws event at the Florian Gardens! Win designer purses, raffle prizes, and cash, all while supporting shelter pets in Eau Claire! Tickets go on sale Black Friday – Don’t miss it, we sell out FAST!
Operational Updates
ECCHA CELEBRATES CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF NO-KILL STATUS
The Eau Claire County Humane Association maintained no-kill in 2023, according to Best Friends Animal Society’s annual data report – This means the shelter saved more than 90% of the dogs and cats that entered the shelter last year. In 2023, we are happy to announce we had a live release rate of 95.3% – incredible!
“We made a commitment to our community, to our stakeholders, and to our homeless animals in our area that we would do whatever it takes to save more lives. Thanks to the amazing support of the community, we have been successful at keeping our live release rate higher than it has ever been in the past. We do this because our community supports us financially, allowing us to treat sick and injured animals, and by the record number of adoptions we see each year” Shelley Janke, Director of ECCHA. Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025, recognizes the achievement as a positive step forward and one that can be replicated by other shelters in Wisconsin. *A 90 percent save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered “no-kill,” factoring that approximately 10 percent of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia rather than killing for lack of space.
You are PAW-SOME!
Shelter Thank You’s & Recognition
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Thank you to everyone who came to our Cats Meow Goes to the Kentucky Purr-by! Because of our generous supporters, we raised over $60,000 for ECCHA pets. Incredible!
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Thank you to All Paws Pet Wash for benefitting ECCHA for their Charity Golf Tournament! They raised nearly $5,000 for ECCHA and Bob’s House for Dogs – the most yet!
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Thank you to the Santa Paws committee for preparing all of the adorable ornaments for the Annual Sale! You can find the full list of participating businesses on our website starting November 15th.
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Thank you to all who have answered our urgent requests for supplies – our animal count has been higher than ever, and we are so thankful for the community support!
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Thank you to Manz Elementary for making tie blankets in honor of Mr. Pete. Mr. Pete had animals of his own, so all of the classrooms made a tie blanket in his memory to donate to ECCHA!
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Thank you to Security Financial Bank for the huge group who came in to volunteer for their day of giving! We were able to make tons of enrichment and do some deep cleaning.
Shelter News
Did You Know ECCHA Has Merchandise?
In our new building, it was important for us to have an area to display merchandise, literature, and information about events. ECCHA’s goal is not to make money off of these items, but to provide comfortable and useful items that support will want to use! New items are always being added, come and see for yourself! Shop our merchandise wall any time we are open: Wednesday: 1-4 Thursday: 1-7 Friday & Saturday: 1-4
Santa Paws is Coming to Town!
Featured Adoptable Pet
Selena is a big teddy bear with a tough exterior. She loves cuddles but is also a very active dog. She has lived with cats and children but would do best with a slow introduction to either. She would do best with an experienced dog owner who can help her work on her separation anxiety and provide her with some training.
Learn more about Selena & adopt »
FAQ of the Quarter
Q: What is the difference between a “Society” and an “Association?”
A: The operation of an Association versus a Society is not any different. An Association simply means that there is a membership base for the organization, while a Society does not. At ECCHA, the membership base gets perks, such as discounts on shelter merchandise and the ability to vote on policies, board members, etc. during our annual meeting.
Nearly 70% of ECCHA’s operational budget is from memberships and donations. Memberships are open for 2025 – make a difference for shelter pets by becoming a member today!
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Contact Us
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!
