Humane Society of Weld County

We have adopted from this shelter several times in the past few years. Yesterday we adopted Buddy and Snowball (changed to Cotton as we already have a Snowy). The young gal that was assigned to help us by bringing us the cats we were interested in was so sweet! She was very helpful and when we chose Snowball she mentioned he had a good friend there also… She agreed to let us see the two together and that sealed the deal! They are fitting in and enjoying their new home
I find this shelter clean and fairly organized. I did give 4 stars because it took over an hour to complete the paperwork. About 3 minutes of it included me and the rest was the quiet gal on the computer while we stood there. If it is set up in a way that it truly takes that long, there should be some changes made. We are business owners and my husband ran late for a meeting.
One more thing. There seems to be confusion on policies. While we were there waiting to complete the transaction there were 3 different situations that were mishandled then they had to figure out how to fix. The most heartbreaking was a young woman who came in sobbing, she had to surrender her dog and pay to have her euthanized. She had an appointment. After she left, there was talk about having to call her back to take the dog home for a 10 day quarantine! I hope they decided to handle it differently. The poor girl had suffered enough.
I will always return here to adopt our next family members! Also we will continue to donate. The animals are clean, happy and well cared for. Good job!

My rating is not based on my preferences, but on comparison with comparable humane societies. First realize that the Human Society of the United States is more of an animal rights organization than an animal welfare organization. The HSUS clams to «reduce suffering and to create meaningful social change for animals by advocating for sensible public policies, investigating cruelty and working to enforce existing laws, educating the public about animal issues, joining with corporations on behalf of animal-​friendly policies, and conducting hands-​on programs that make ours a more humane world.» I don’t know whether animals really need «social change.» Nor am I aware of specific activities of the HSUS in regards to cruelty. Most of what I’ve seen from them falls under the category of education or re-​education, and lobbying. Local «human societies» such as the Human Society of Weld County, are independent agencies. They are under no obligation to support the HSUS or to follow any suggestions or policies promoted by the HSUS. For that and other reasons, I wish that local animal welfare organizations would find some original names that doesn’t include the misleading term «human society» in them. Something like «Weld County Animal Rescue and Placement».
Unlike the HSUS, local «human societies» actively seek personally to prevent cruelty and to provide health and housing services (or release into the wilds) to animals, everything from bats and rats and snakes, to horses, wolves, and skunks. Local «human societies» traditionally provide opportunities for the cats, dogs, gerbils, and certain other animals they house, if unclaimed, moderately healthy, and not vicious, to be adopted as pets. By contrast the HSUS seems to be at heart an anti-​pet organization, one of whose goals is to eliminate pet ownership altogether, and hamper if not eliminate pork production and more. Their money management has also been brought into question, as only a small portion of what is donated to them actually makes it to charitable activities. Most is used for various kinds of lobbying and fund-​raising. The Weld County Human Society seems to use their funds directly for directly handling and caring for animals in various ways in the shelter itself, plus naturally salaries for the employees.
Like all such shelters, WCHS simply cannot keep the animal cages as clean as your dining room. So don’t complain about the smell. The staff knows. The staff cleans. And as soon as they clean, Fido and Chiffon pee on the floor again, Rex vomits, and Billy licks his window slimy. WCHS accepts volunteer help. I suggest «walking a mile or two in their shoes» — volunteer for a couple of weeks — before you think you’ve got the whole thing figured out, before you start telling them what they’re doing wrong and how to do it better. You may have great suggestions. They will be better received, and will be more practical, if you become personally more familiar with routines, regulations, limitations, and obligations that the WCHS are required to work under. Given all that, the WCHS staff is doing as well as other staff I have seen at other «humane societies» and much better than a few of the less savory «agencies» that substitute in some small or sad places, for proper animal welfare organizations.
The staff has always been ready to help us, within the limits of their authority and ability. I recognize that they must use euphemisms at time, and not give details about some procedures. That is pretty common among «human societies,» and will not change until the public changes by becoming more educated about animal population problems, and animal behavior problems that it currently doesn’t want to know about.