News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Kaitlyn Tree, operations manager at the Huron Humane Society, cuddles with her kitty friend Gerald while at work on Monday. Gerald has been at the shelter for an extended period and is waiting to find a new home.

ALPENA — A pair of animal hoarding cases in Alpena has significantly impacted the number of animals at the Huron Humane Society and the shelter’s finances.

In a report to the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday, Humane Society board member Mary Eagan provided an update on operations and recent developments at the shelter.

Alpena gives money each year to help cover the cost of the shelter’s service. This budget year, which began on July 1, the city allocated $22,500.

The funding from the city only accounts for slightly less than 7% of the Huron Humane Society’s annual operating budget.

So far this year, the HHS has taken in a total of 193 cats through June 30, of which 106 were kittens. She said the cats that needed care at the shelter from the local hoarding cases were sickly and that caused a spike in medical care for the animals.

“A huge number of those animals were in ill health when they were admitted to the shelter, which means they needed veterinary care,” Eagan said in her report. “In the first four months of the year, HHS has spent a few cents shy of $19,000 on veterinary care alone. That does not include in-house testing, vaccinations, and the preventative medicine we perform at the shelter.”

It is not uncommon for HHS to have a large colony of felines, but most often there are few dogs and puppies. Eagan said the shelter has taken 32 dogs and puppies as of the end of June.

As prices rise, so do the costs of maintaining the shelter and caring for the animals.

“The cost to care for, house, feed, test, vaccinate, and provide veterinary care for our residents has cost HHS $98,746.87 just in the first four months of the year,” she told the council.

Thankfully, people are stepping up to adopt animals and provide good homes for them. Eagan said of the 225 animals the shelter served so far this year, 179 have found new homes.

Besides directly caring for the animals, over the last six months, staff and volunteers have been busy improving the shelter to make it a better place to house and care for the animals until they can be adopted.

Eagan said improvements have been made to the building, such as new flooring being installed in the dog room and painting throughout the facility.

She said the shelter is in the process of replacing two entry doors that will have electronic keypads and creating a new website that will make connecting with the shelter online simpler and offer educational aspects for users.

The HHS is also initiating a new microchip program for newly adopted cats that will offer free chips to customers of the shelter. Eagan said the HHS will begin the program with 100 chips to see how it goes and adjust accordingly down the road.

As is often the case, the shelter depends on the public for support to help fulfill the mission of the HHS, which is a no-kill shelter.

Eagan said people can donate cash or supplies to the shelter, such as laundry soap, bleach, and canned cat food. She said people can also donate a sponsor fee to help get animals who are long-term residents at the shelter a home more easily.

People can also donate bottles and cans by simply dropping off bagged returnables outside the shelter, any time of the day or night.

The Huron Humane Society is a private nonprofit 401(c)(3) organization operating in Alpena County since 1982. The mission of HHS is to use no-kill solutions to reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs in Alpena County through education, rehabilitation, and re-homing with the support and cooperation of the community.

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