The Winnipeg Humane Society helped over 8,000 animals in 2011. They found homes for 3,531 pets through adoptions and satellite locations. They assisted with evacuating 57 dogs from flooded Lake St. Martin and helped most find homes quickly. The humane society engaged the community through education programs, advocacy efforts, social media presence, and various fundraising events that raised over $500,000. They thanked everyone who supported their mission to help animals in need.
4. 2011 Presented Difficult Challenges
The homeless, lost, ill, injured, abused, loved or simply
+ unwanted...
...they turn to us in their time of need.
In 2011, we saw 8,048 faces who needed our help.
5. To us, success means adoptions!
Of the 1,736 dogs who came into the shelter, 1022 found their home.
Of the 5,319 cats who came into the shelter, 2,347 found their home.
Of the 245 small pets who came into the shelter, 162 found their home.
That means 3, 531 pets were
able to find happiness in a
forever home.
We celebrate this every
day.
6. Satellite Facilities
In 2011, our Satellite Adoption Centres grew to include 10
different locations across the city. 294 animals were adopted
through the program this past year.
We began featuring dogs at all of our adoption fairs, in addition
to regularly housing cats.
+
7. Special Promotions
We began our monthly Whisker Wednesday promotion, where cats over 6
months of age are adopted out for $25.
8. Special Promotions
Our special events supported
adoptions when there was a need
for space.
The WHS’ relationships with
Winnipeg newspapers and media
outlets helped promote these
special events and in the
community.
9. Kitty Midnight Madness
The WHS teamed up with the Andy Hill of Kern Hill Furniture Co-op to create the
Kitty Midnight Madness video, which was nominated for several awards and
received viral success with 480,404 views to date!
10. Adoption Photos
+
Our fun photographs help adoptable animals show
off, resulting in many happy adoptions!
11. The Lake St. Martin Dogs
2011 Evacuation of Flood Affected Communities
12. Lake St. Martin Dogs
We helped with the removal of 57 dogs from the flooded
community of Lake St. Martin. This was only a portion of the
300 dogs retrieved.
+
13. Lake St. Martin Dogs
The WHS is a member of the Emergency Measures Organization Animal Evacuation
Coordination Committee, with the primary goal to assist in situations like these to
receive dogs and animals left behind in flood situations.
14. Lake St. Martin Dogs
Fortunately, many of these dogs were well-socialized.
With the help of other
rescues and in
partnership with the
provincial and federal
governments, nearly all
of the dogs were adopted
quickly, some in as little
as 3 weeks.
Others were reunited
with their owners.
15. The Lake St. Martin Dogs
The Winnipeg Humane Society played a large role in helping the Manitoba
Emergency Response for Animals (MERA) group during the removal, as well as
with the food drive that was organized for the dogs.
In addition, The WHS emergency
drivers and investigators responded to
over 2039 calls in their first year
The WHS continues to educate
owners to take their pets with them
during emergency evacuations
16. The Lake St. Martin Dogs
Valour was the last of the dogs
that were rescued, brought to The
WHS by MERA. He was found shot
in the hip and ankle by rifle fire
and required extensive surgery for
his wounds.
He is now in foster, and is almost
ready for adoption!
“It took over five months, but
our clinic has healed the
fractures in his hip and ankle
caused by the bullets”
18. A Voice for Animals: Circuses
In 2011 amendments to the Animal Care Act
were put into action, updating regulations for
housing, transportation, recapture plans and
record keeping.
These sections had a direct impact on circuses
and events featuring animals in entertainment,
and allowed The WHS to inspect each event to
ensure the companies were adhering to the
new regulations and amendments.
“These new regulations are a
huge step forward
concerning the welfare of
wild animals used in
entertainment.”- Bill
McDonald
19. Advocacy
We covered a variety of farm animal welfare and animal advocacy topics in our
newsletters and print materials, including the Quit Stalling campaign.
The WHS filed a resolution
for the Maple Leaf Foods
2011 AGM to end sow
crates by 2017.
This was an extension of
our work done in 2010,
where 10,000 signatures
were given to the Minister
of Agriculture Stan
Struthers.
20. Education in the media
We were featured in
community
newspapers, the
Winnipeg Free Press,
the Winnipeg Sun on a
variety of topics.
These included subjects
like spay & neuter
programs, dog
licensing, and fostering
animals.
We are so appreciative
of our support from the
Winnipeg media.
21. Humane Education
We offered many courses, kids camps, dog classes and more in 2011. Our
abundance of programs keeps the community engaged and educated on all
aspects of pet ownership.
22. Dog Licensing
The WHS supports
the City of
Winnipeg’s decision
to make dog licensing
mandatory.
This system allows
The WHS to reunite
The Winnipeg Humane Society owned dogs with
supports the crackdown, says CEO their families, and
Bill McDonald. also promotes
“the shelter receives about 2,000 responsible dog
dogs a year, and only 30 per cent are ownership.
returned to their owners.”
23. Classes and Support
Classes like our Pet First Aid
course, Pet Loss Support group,
Dogs & Storks and Puppy
Socialization continue to support
the community, and always fill
up quickly!
In addition, we continued to
offer Pet Loss Candlelight vigils
in our Pet Memorial Scattering
Garden.
25. The Website
The WHS website has become the
best resource for visitors to find
information on programs, news,
services, and of course adoptable
animals!
There are over 40,000 visitors per
month to our website.
This is a huge advantage to our
sponsors and for promoting our
fundraising events!
26. Social Media
Our Facebook fan page is an important tool
for communicating with our audiences. In
2011, we grew to over 15,000 “likes” and
active users!
The WHS Facebook page is an open forum
where we promote our programs and services,
animals available for adoption, and invite
feedback.
The WHS twitter feed has also
grown quickly and now has almost
1,800 followers.
27. Publications
Three newsletters were published in 2011, each bringing new animal-related issues
and information to the forefront of people’s minds.
A successful, full-sized calendar packed
with winning images from the annual
Pet Photo Contest raised $144,000!
28. Breakfast Television
Our weekly Thursday morning Breakfast Television spots allowed representatives
from all of The WHS departments to appear with adoptable animals and create
awareness about various programs and services we offer.
Thank you Breakfast
Television for all of
your support over the
years!
29. CTV’s Pet Ed
We continued doing our popular monthly CTV Pet Education segments.
+ They bring awareness to various animal care issues, and cover tips and
tricks to keep owned animals safe and happy!
Thank you, CTV!
30. Stormy’s Retirement
In 2011, we said goodbye and “happy retirement!” to Stormy, our
shelter cat. After four years of hard work with our behaviour team,
Stormy went home with one of our dedicated volunteers and our new
addition, Milo went to work!
+
31. Black Dog Club
In September 2011, The WHS created the Black Dog Club. The idea behind the club
was to stop “black dog syndrome” that leaves black dogs in shelters longer than
others. After all, black goes with everything!
We’ve now grown to 150 members, and have received international media
coverage resulting in new members from as far away as California!
32. Black Dog Club
Our black dog members came to
us in all shapes and sizes…
And sometimes we even had non-black dogs
come out to support!
34. 1001 Donations
Lights, camera, action!
Our live radio and
telethon raised both
awareness for our
shelter and over
$60,000.
35. Used Book and Movie Sale
Our second used book
and movie sale raised
over $10,000 and was a
great community event.
36. Yappy Hour’s Mardi Growl
We brought our own flair
to Mardi Gras, and made it
a Mardi Growl affair!
Other smaller events like
the Paws for the Season
and Yappy Hour helped
raise over $34,000.
37. Paws in Motion
Our largest fundraiser of
the year raised over
$250,000 for our spay &
neuter programs!
38. The Bow Wow Ball – Mew York, MewYork
This year’s “Mew York” themed Bow
Wow Ball raised $192,438 including
$14,403 to purchase Oxygen
Concentrators for our remote spay and
neuter clinics!
39. Holiday Pet Pics
Pet Pics with Santa Paws
and Hannukah Pet Pics
put everyone in the
holiday spirit.
We are always so
happy to welcome
Doug Speirs back as
Santa.
40. Thank You
We are so much more than an animal shelter; we
are a community of animal lovers.
We would like to thank everyone who helped us
with our mission in 2011; to our donors, volunteers,
sponsors, media support, staff and ambassadors
– THANK YOU!