Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society receives government funding.

Fiction: Lenawee Humane Society is a private organization and survives solely off of donations, grants, and fundraisers.

Your tax dollars do not come to us, but your donations do. Every donation is tax-deductible and very much appreciated by each of our furry residents.

Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society picks up stray dogs and cats.

Fiction: Lenawee County Animal Control is responsible for all stray dogs throughout Lenawee County.

We are not authorized to pick up stray animals but Lenawee County Animal Control is. We have a contractual agreement with them to house county strays until their stray holding time is up and the unclaimed animal can become an official LHS resident. Stray cats are never picked up by Lenawee County Animal Control because there is no cat ordinance in Lenawee County. Therefore, LHS takes in stray cats as space is available and operates a TNR program and Pet Food Bank to assist those cats that we cannot take in.

Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society is a no-kill organization.

Fact: Lenawee Humane Society never euthanizes animals to make room for new residents.

Humane euthanasia is only performed in cases of extreme suffering in which no other options are available. Highly-aggressive animals may also be humanely euthanized if they are a threat to the public but only after every other option has been exhausted. Every decision is made in the best interest of our residents.

Fact or Fiction?
It’s difficult to adopt an animal from Lenawee Humane Society.

Fiction: We believe every home should have an animal and every animal should have a home, so our adoption process is not difficult or intimidating.

Our adoption process follows the format of a casual interview. You tell us about you, we tell you about your adoption candidate. Our interview-style adoption process helps us make the best match possible based on your personality and lifestyle. Adopting should never be scary or stressful – it should be fun and exciting!

Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society hosts a Pet Food Bank.

Fact: It’s heartbreaking when families are separated due to a temporary financial crisis so we have introduced a Pet Food Bank to help keep pets in their current homes and out of the shelter.

Our Pet Food Bank is made up of donations by supporters who share our belief that current homes should be forever homes. We may not always have pet food in stock and our supply should only be used to help supplement your supply at home.

Tell me more about the Pet Food Bank.

Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society will take all sick and injured animals.

Fiction: As a private, non-profit organization, the reality is that we simply do not have the funds or manpower to take in and care for every sick and injured animal in Lenawee County.

Although we now host the Hope Clinic which is our spay/neuter clinic, severely injured or sick animals must be rushed to a full service veterinarian or specialist, which we cannot always afford. If you’ve found a sick or injured animal, please call your veterinarian first for advice. Utilize social media for help. Begin a Go Fund Me fundraiser. There are even veterinarian assistance grants available and can be discovered online after seconds of searching. Saving animals is always a community-wide effort and we cannot perform this task alone.

Fact or Fiction?
My child can volunteer while I’m completing community service hours.

Fiction: Your child can volunteer, but not while you are completing your hours. 

Children under the age of 16 must be chaperoned at all times by an adult 18 or older. If you are completing court-mandated community service hours, you will not be available to chaperone your child volunteer at all times. However, we welcome volunteers of all ages and ask that you bring your child (and yourself!) to volunteer when you are not completing community service hours.

Fact or Fiction?
Microchips allow me to track my animal by GPS.

Fiction: Although there are GPS-capable microchips available on the market, the 24PetWatch microchips we offer cannot be tracked by GPS.

24PetWatch microchips (and most other microchips) work the exact same way as your pet’s ID tag but they can never fall off or be removed in the event that your pet is lost or stolen. When a microchipped pet is scanned, the pet’s microchip number along with a phone number for the microchip company appears on the scanner’s screen. The finder can then call this phone number, give the microchip number to the microchip company, and the microchip company will then give you owner contact information for that animal. The best part is that microchips can hold much more information than a simple ID tag, including but not limited to several different ways to contact the owner, the pet’s name, age, breed, whether they’re spayed/neutered, and even where they originally came from.

Fact or Fiction?
Lenawee Humane Society is affiliated with other organizations, such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Animal Humane Society (AHS).

Fiction: Lenawee Humane Society is a private humane society with no affiliations to any other organizations.

100% of your donations to Lenawee Humane Society remain within our organization, positively impacting the homeless animals residing with us. We do attend conferences, workshops, and network with other humane societies and animal welfare groups in order to learn from them and grow our own organization, helping us stay up-to-date on current practices and latest trends to maximize lifesaving to the greatest extent possible.