Did you know? The Lynchburg Humane Society employs 60 people!

Author: Wendy King, Director of Finance and Administration

"Did you know" Lynchburg Humane Society logo, a green dog icon that has a confused head tilt

Who works at the Lynchburg Humane Society?

We are excited to have a robust workforce ranging from 18 years of age to 64 at our Center for Pets and Spay Neuter Clinic! Thirty percent of our employees are considered part-time working less than 28 hours a week. Our largest generational pool is Gen Z with that also being the largest group of part-time employees.  

Many of our employees are students (one is even in high school!) who are studying at local colleges in a variety of courses. We have had several employees come back temporarily while on break from college! We’re very proud of our team members that are seeking advanced degrees in nonprofit management or seeking a license as Veterinary Technicians. 

Speaking of which, these jobs are hard and are definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, BUT for many; these pets and this mission get in your blood and bones.  Seven of our current employees took a break for more than three months and found themselves missing LHS and rejoined our team. 

What different teams does the Lynchburg Humane Society Have?

LHS has seven different teams in which employees work.  

Pet Help Coordinators provide assistance and resources for those who seek assistance with their pets. These individuals help pet owners find solutions when it is difficult to keep a pet in their current home.  They are also responsible for helping lost pets find their way home. 

Our Medical team is responsible for performing physical examinations, dispensing medications, and providing care and treatment for sick shelter animals. 

Pet Care Associates are responsible for the care, feeding, cleaning, well being and enrichment of pets in our Center.

Adoption Counselors have the overall responsibility to provide an excellent customer service experience, market pets for adoption, and help clients/pets find the best match for adoption.

Working with the previously mentioned teams, Community Pet Coordinators are responsible for the recruitment, training, retention, and supervision of foster volunteers as well as the placement of foster pets in appropriate foster homes, maintaining and growing positive relationships with foster volunteers, in addition to the management and organization of the foster program and assisting people in the community keep their pets by offering public promotion for short-term, situational, and private foster needs.

Vet Tech Assistants are responsible for daily care of all patients, assisting doctors and licensed veterinary technicians with pre-, peri- and post-operative care of patients, general cleaning, and training others to utilize our patient care protocols.

There are many positions with our Development team. In a nutshell, they are responsible for our fundraising programs, including recruiting and managing individual, corporate, foundation and business contributions, major gifts, special events, and direct mail/email for the organization. This team is also responsible for our volunteer program as well as communications. They create newsletters and weekly eblasts as well as maintains our social media channels and branding.  

As you can see, LHS has room for all ages and backgrounds.  We welcome you to apply to open positions by following the prompts on our employment page.

As always, LHS is an equal opportunity employer practicing Diversity Equity and Inclusion. 

We Were Adopted! June 13th-June 19th.

50 dogs and 37 cats found happiness this week!

If you’ve been keeping up with our socials, you’ll know that last week we were completely maxed out on dog space. We decided to have a “Spaced Out” adoption special and waive the adoption fees for our dogs! With lots of hard work from our staff, and of course, our dedicated community rallying together, we were able to find homes for 50 dogs!

Though the cats weren’t included in this adoption special, we still managed to find 37 cats and kittens homes this past week! On Saturday, 6/17 we had an adoption event at Petco, where we waived the fees of 8 kittens. Four of those kittens found homes and as well as Ginger Spice who had been hanging out in the condos there!

On this week’s blog we couldn’t find it to just spotlight one pet for the story, we had so many pets find new moms and dads and we couldn’t be happier for all of them! We have decided to share a couple of the adoption photos instead!

Thank you so much to each one of our wonderful adopters as well as Kevin Davis from Terry Subaru, Ashley Danielle Photography, and others for sponsoring over 60 microchips fees!

Petco Love has always been a reliable sponsor and this month, their support was well spent!

Sweet girl Hijinx (Left) went home to a new brother, LHS Alumni Harry! She also got human siblings, too!

Khufu (Right), the face of our special, went home with the BEST new mom!

Sweet Honeydukes (Center) fell asleep right in his new mom’s arms while getting adopted at Petco.

Pets that were adopted June 13th through June 19th.

Cats that were adopted:

Bennett, Blair, Bulette, Burt, Calypso, Casey, CC, Cheer Bear, Cheese Puff, Chelsea, Coppelia, Digit, Ernie, Ginger Spice, Giselle, Hemingway, Honeydukes, Honeylemon, Jackie, Jason, Karen Sirko, Manti, Marlon, McKenzie, Michael, Miss Barbara, Nathaniel, Nutcracker, Ondine, Owl Bear, Robert Scott, Samosa, Spitfire, Tito, Toney, and Vader.

Dogs that were adopted:

Anastasia, Baby, Bella, Blue Steel, Bo, Bolt, Braydon, Brendon, Bugga Bugga Baby, Buster, CiCi, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Coco, Daisy, Dante, Dotsie, Eddie, Eren, Grilled Cheese, Hijinx, Honeybee, Hotsie, India, Jax, Khufu, Koi, Loki, Luana, Lyla, Maverick, Meatloaf, Midnight, Mila, Motsie, Newman, Panda, Poppy, Raven, Roman, Rotsie, Rugrat, Sampson, Scarlett, Snow White, Sylvie, Toby, Tomato Soup, Tootsie, and Zenobia.

We Were Adopted!! June 6th through June 12th.

Richie Rich and 56 other pets found happiness this week!

We all know Richie Rich as the spoiled boy who has it all. That is, all but friends.

Our Richie Rich had SOO many friends here at LHS that loved to snuggle and cuddle him any chance they got, as he patiently waited for a family to come and adopt him. Richie Rich is a lap-loving, shoulder-perching, loud-purring, long-bodied love bug!

Luckily Richie didn’t have to wait too long for a family to come and fall in love with him. He was adopted over the weekend and is now living the life of luxury with his new family.

We want to say thank you to his adopters and to Petco Love for making adoptions like this possible.

Pets that were adopted June 6th-June 12th.

Cats that were adopted:

Apricot, Batman, Beans, Christine, D.J., Daenerys, Ember, Emma, Evie, Farthing, Garfield, Garfunkel, Garrison, Graham Dunne, Halfpipe, Heathcliff, Hickory, James, Jesse, Jumbo, Kickflip, Kumiko, Maple, Meadow, Minor, Mykelti, Pierogi, Ponyo, Ravioli, Richie Rich, Simone, Sun Bear, Tortellini, Truely, Vivian, and Yoshie.

Dogs that were adopted:

Ace, Addie, Alex, Anastasia, Clint, Dug, Elle Woods, Holland, Jazmen, Kylo, Layla, Mabel, Memphis, Nana, Pluto, Rick, Roger, Rosemary, Shortie, T-Rex, and Takala.

Did you know? Rehoming Saves Lives!

Author: Chris Luther, Pet Help and Special Ops Manager

Why should you try to rehome a pet before taking it to a shelter?

"Did you know" Lynchburg Humane Society logo, a green dog icon that has a confused head tilt

The Lynchburg Humane Society encourages and helps owners rehome their pets so they never have to set a paw in our center.  Our Center for Pets is very nice, but it can still be very stressful for pets and because of the unknown background of the pets at our center, illnesses can spread and pets can get sick.  Stress also increases the likelihood of illness..  Rehoming is better for the pets, and it also saves lives.  You see, if we can divert pets from entering the shelter and have them go right from one home to another, we are able to help more pets, pets that don’t have owners and are at risk for euthanasia at other shelters.

Lynchburg Humane Society’s Rehoming Program

How do we help someone rehome their pet and avoid the shelter?  First, we talk with the owner to see if there is anything we can do or provide so that they can keep their pet.  If that’s not possible, we gather information about the pet, we market them on our social media and our website and we provide information to the owner on how they can help find their pet a safe, loving home.  We check up with the owner to see if there is anything we can do to help, and get updates on their progress.  Keep in mind, we will always take a pet in instead of asking the owner to rehome, if the pet or a person is at risk or in danger.

It is important for us not to judge anyone when they have to rehome their pets.  This is typically an emotional situation for the person, and they are just trying to do what is right for the pet.  It’s not up to us to judge someone who is looking for help for their pet or their family.  

Learn more about our program

There are so many benefits to rehoming a pet rather than bringing them into a shelter.  But the bottom line is –  rehoming saves lives.  

To learn more about our rehoming process, visit our Pet Resource Center on our website at https://lynchburghumane.org/services/pet-resource-center/

We Were Adopted! May 30th through June 5th.

Independent gal, Norma and 44 other pets found happiness!

Norma, Norma, Norma.

This independent, beautiful girl came into our care June of last year. She was considered one of our working cats, you know the kind, just wants a place to sleep and eat but never be touched. She stayed in our porch room hiding away from all human interaction. Though everyone thought she was pretty, she would never give them a chance to get close.

One of our staff members reached out to a friend who has lots of farmland and told her about Norma’s year of not really enjoying life being cooped up. That friend then said, “I’ll come and adopt her.” Just like that Norma was, surprisingly, happily put into a carrier and taken to her new home. She now lives on a farm, where she gets to spend her days laying in the sun and chasing off rabbits from the garden.

We want to say thank you to her adopter, for giving her a life she has dreamed of and to Petco Love for making adoptions like this possible.

Pets that were adopted May 30th-June 5th.

Cats that were adopted:

Acorn, Aramis, Armando, August, Baby Spice, Cardigan, Fancy Cakes, Folklore, Fyr, Georgie, Guinea, Hoax, Honeycomb, Ignis, Juno, Meri, Norma, Odette, Olivia, Owen, Paedon, Quid, Reagan, Sweety, Tamara, Tia, Tobias, Wattle, Weezie, and Wendy.

Dogs that were adopted:

Blossom, Buddy Boy, Daz, Jenny, Levi, Lexi, Mari, Nixon, Perdita, Ryan, Tatianna, Taylor, Tomato Soup, and Triston.

Small Pets that were adopted:

Caroline Morgan