News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Taylor Tolsdorf holds a pair of kittens while working at the Huron Humane Society on Monday. The shelter overcame many challenges after the ice storm, but still found a way to care for the animals and find many of them homes.

ALPENA — The ice storm earlier this year complicated how the Huron Humane Society cared for its animals, but thanks to its dedicated staff and volunteers, the shelter succeeded in caring for and finding new homes for their cats and dogs.

In its biannual update, which was presented to the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday, the shelter said so far this year, it has taken in 186 cats, as well as 35 dogs.

As a no-kill shelter, the Huron Humane Society does its best to find new homes for the animals, which it has been able to do so far in 2025, despite obstacles from the late March ice storm.

According to the report, of the 221 animals that have been at the shelter, new homes were found for 184 of them. Seven pets were returned to their original owners, while one cat was sent to a facility downstate that cares for feline leukemia positive cats.

These numbers are impressive when you take into account the hurdles the fallout from the ice storm presented.

Mayor Cindy Johnon, who is also the president of the Humane Society, said after the ice storm, the shelter didn’t have power for 15 days. Because of that, there was no heat, phones, internet or plumbing. She said that made it difficult to care for the animals and to find them new homes.

She said the HHS reached out to the State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, to see if he could secure a generator to at least get heat. Johnson said Cavitt contacted Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith who provided a generator that would at least power one of the facility’s two furnaces, and although that helped, the working environment was still tough.

Others in the community began to offer their support, which also helped ease the burden on staff and help the animals. Switzer Veterinary Clinic offered to take in all of the kittens and other animals that had medical issues, which Johnson said was a godsend.

The City of Alpena dug a small trench in the long driveway at the shelter to help drain the standing water because it had become unpassable and residents and local businesses stepped up to lend a hand to help the shelter through the rough time.

Johnson said without all of the help, the situation could have been much worse.

“Everyone has been remarkable,” she said. “The staff and volunteers were remarkable, the public was remarkable, and I can’t say enough about the character of everyone. As difficult as it was for everyone, they rallied around us. We live in a remarkable place.”

Today, operations have pretty much returned to normal and improvements are being made to the shelter. There is interior painting being done, the doors on the dog kennels have been fixed or replaced, and the new website is up and operating.

Johnson said the HHS mission remains the same and believes its resolve to help animals is as strong as ever.

“It’s what we do,” she said. “This is a great organization and we have the most dedicated people that help us achieve our goals.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.