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Our History |
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| The Humane Society of West Alabama, located
in Tuscaloosa, was established in July 1971 when a group of concerned
citizens rallied on behalf of the local animals. Animal control
at that time was very rudimentary: the “housing” consisted
of a double-tiered row of open cages with no protection from rain,
heat, or cold. Dogs were handled with pitchforks and rumor said
a bullet to the head ended their lives. There was no provision for
cats or other animals.
After a public meeting in the auditorium of Alabama Power
Company, the new Tuscaloosa County Humane Society formed a board
of directors, which promptly gained 501(c)3 status. Through the
generosity of Dr. Sarah Rogers, we were soon able to build a shelter
on 35th Street with a 100-animal capacity and a small pasture to
the side. As is common in many American communities, we became a
dual agency when we contracted with the Cities of Tuscaloosa and
Northport and Tuscaloosa County to perform animal control and then
house the strays—and yet still function as a private, nonprofit
humane society. |
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For over twenty years, we tried to keep the
animals in our care healthy, safe, and happy as we took in strays
through our animal-control officers and accepted owner-surrendered
family pets at the shelter. We were instrumental in developing local
animal ordinances to supplement the weak state laws; in the late eighties,
we were able to persuade Tuscaloosa and Northport to pass a leash
law—so that many fewer dogs were automobile casualties and many
fewer puppies were born from random breeding. Unfortunately, the Humane
Society board also spent most of those years trying to increase the
dollar amount of the contract to cover the services we were providing.
Our costs (and the number of animals) steadily increased, yet the
governments wanted to cut our funding and occasionally tried to mount
“hostile” takeovers. We found ourselves more and more
frequently subsidizing the animal-control program with money donated
for our humane work.
Negotiations over the contract failed when “politics”
came to a head in late 1993. Various local officials believed that
the government could perform animal control more cheaply (Tuscaloosa
through the Department of Transportation, Northport through the Police
Department, and the County through the Sheriff’s Department).
For a few months, we functioned as the governmental holding facility
but had no field officers. Soon thereafter, amid much controversy
and with the presumption of cost-effectiveness, a private individual
(as a for-profit enterprise) created the Metro Shelter on Watermelon
Road, to be used as the official holding location.
Our long-time dependence on the governmental contract made
the 1994 transition to being strictly a humane organization rather
difficult. One of our first decisions was to become a no-kill shelter
with the name Humane Society of West Alabama (reflecting our willingness
to help animals anywhere). Our supposed ill fortune got us really
focused on our mission to help animals and out of the political struggle
to maintain the contract. Financially, we no longer could expect a
lump sum of money each month; instead we had to support our shelter
through fund-raisers and donations (the nationally known humane organizations
do not distribute funds at the local level). It soon became obvious
that we would also have to “raid” our nest egg (saved
toward building a new and larger shelter) for operating expenses.
We were inundated with animals almost immediately and needed $7,000
a month for salaries, veterinary care, overhead, etc. We wanted to
save as many lives as possible and always kept an increasingly long
waiting list. As money became tighter, our building deteriorated and
we could afford fewer and fewer employees. When the nest egg had been
depleted, we found homes for the last of our dogs and cats and sadly
closed the shelter on November 1, 1997.
Through the sale of our building, land, and equipment, we paid
our debts and still had enough funds to stay in existence, but not
enough to establish another shelter. For three years, we relied on
our voice-mail system to find homes for animals, learn of cruelty
cases, reunite lost pets with their owners, educate the public about
proper pet care, treat sick and injured animals, etc. In 1999 the
Metro Shelter moved to the site of our old pasture, creating confusion
about our separate roles in the community.
In October 2000, the Animal Coalition of Tuscaloosa (ACT)—consisting
of the Humane Society, T-Town P.A.W.S., West Alabama Animal Rescue,
and Metro—began operating an adoption room at Pet Supplies “Plus.”
This cooperative venture resulted in the homing of hundreds of cats
and dogs. However, it was an exhausting effort, entailing the scheduling
of almost 50 volunteers each week and ensuring that someone would
always be on-call for emergencies. It was also an expensive effort,
since employees had to be paid for 86 hours a week. One by one, the
groups dropped out, until only the Humane Society remained in June
2003. Paying the salaries became prohibitive, so we moved out of Pet
Supplies “Plus” on December 24th. In May of 2003 we had
formed an auxiliary called Friends of the Humane Society, which would
provide enormous aid in our next incarnation. |
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We decided that it was important to continue
to house animals and also be in a central location. We invested in
an older home on Veterans Memorial Parkway—prime real estate
and yet for a reasonable price. With the help (time and money) of
volunteers, we have made renovations and converted the kitchen into
our office/headquarters; the remainder of the building is home to
numerous cats that are free to romp and play—no more cages!
Our dogs (and more cats) are in foster care; unfortunately, our plan
to bring them in on weekends has thus far not been allowed by the
City. With no paid staff, we are open on Saturdays only—yet
we are stronger than ever, with more donors and volunteers than in
our previous history.
As always, money and space remain our ongoing hurdles to help
animals; as always, we are overwhelmed with requests for assistance.
The Humane Society of West Alabama has traveled a long and often rocky
road, but thousands of animals have benefited from our work—“because
we care.” |
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