Jan 7, 2018 4 min read

It’s easy to judge what the Washington Area Humane Society doesn’t do, but some people are not aware of what we do accomplish.

The case of a reindeer stands out as an example of how hard we work and where our hearts reside.

In December 2016, our humane officer received a call that eight dogs were tied outside in freezing cold, with little to nothing in the way of shelter, food or water. He responded, and posted a notice on the house to let the owners know he would return if the dogs weren’t given better living conditions.

He went back the next day to check. The dogs were still outside, and there was no response from the posting. With a snowstorm coming and temperatures dropping, the dogs were in imminent danger. The Humane Society made the decision to do the right thing, seizing the dogs and charging the owners with neglect. That night, many staff stayed late to check the dogs into the shelter and get them into warm kennels. The eight little Pomeranian mixes left in the cold to freeze were rescued.

And here we are, an entire year later, and the court case was settled in early December. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, fittingly named, were still warm and safe at the Humane Society. After a year of legal back- and-forth and posturing, the dogs were surrendered to us, and the owners received a slap on the wrist. However, the Humane Society wasn’t let off that easy.

We cared for these eight dogs for over a year, until the court case and final verdict. Little did we know when we rescued them that one of them was pregnant. Our new vet tech fostered the four puppies and the mother in her own home for months until they were old enough to come back to shelter. The other dogs received hours of grooming to remove mattes and to get rid of fleas. Vaccinations, medications and loving care were administered. The dogs couldn’t be adopted until the case was settled, and the pain of seeing these animals tied up in the legal system broke our hearts.

Doing the right thing is not easy. You question your choices. But we knew these dogs would not be alive today without intervention. The day we waited for finally came, and the dogs were finally surrendered to the Humane Society. They were all spayed and neutered within two weeks and adopted to happy, loving homes.

The reindeer were now gone. Well, all but one.

Prancer was the last to go. She was the most terrified from the beginning. She bit our humane officer when he rescued her on that cold night. But he understood. It wasn’t her fault. She was the one with the haunting eyes who had seen too much. Prancer was finally adopted last week by a nice man who will give her a peaceful and warm life.

All this involved tens of thousands of dollars in costs we will never recoup, numerous staff members with compassion fatigue, many loving foster families, and 12 months of wondering when the day would come when these dogs would be relinquished. Was it worth doing the right thing? All we have to do is look in Prancer’s eyes to get our answer.

This is just one of hundreds of stories from 2017. We’ve rehomed over 850 animals, cared for over 1,000 animals, and rescued 240 humane case animals this year. This is what we do day in and day out with the help of volunteers, our board of directors, our wonderful partners, and our loving and kind staff.

But most important is the public who support and fund our mission.

A society will be judged on how it treats its weakest members. Voiceless, abused, and abandoned animals in Washington County deserve a voice.

We are doing our best to give them one. We will continue our work in 2018, and continue to do our best to serve the voiceless.