It is with great pleasure we announce Kitsap Humane Society placed 15th among 49 shelters competing nationwide in the ASPCA $100K Challenge for more lives saved in August. This morning there was a brief pause with breath held while I clicked the link and waited for the results to load. Months of planning and preparation, hard work, sweat (literally) and tears (those of joy for sending home 487 pets in one month) would be captured in a ranking. Where did we place? Did we do enough to surpass last year’s lives saved?

For us, our biggest competition is ourselves. We are competing not only against other shelters, but our own 2010 adoption, rescue and return-to-owner numbers. In 2010, KHS had the highest numbers in our history and we knew to try and beat them would not be an easy feat. To do it, we needed everyone to give 120 percent, step outside their regular daily duties, help other departments, revise current processes and be at the top of their game. It was going to take everyone’s commitment – volunteers, staff, rescue groups, adopters, partners and the community to make this happen.

To see KHS ranked 15th among top shelters in the country means so much more than money or a competition – it means life and sharing in the joy and service animals can bring to families and their community. We have entered the field of animal welfare for personal reasons with a shared passion: our love of animals. Every day we care for those that cannot care for themselves. We are the voice for those who cannot speak, find homes for those who are homeless, rescue those in need, rehabilitate when others may have given up, work with those who may have lost trust and love them when they have no one else.

Each supporter of KHS (volunteers, staff, donors, adopters, partners) gives unselfishly of their hearts and time to make a difference in an animal’s life one at a time and in their own way. Ranking 15th in the competition so far is the validation that by putting our all into our mission of “Rescue. Rehabilitate. Rehome” we continue to make a difference, help more animals than ever and our improvement results are enough to make an impact well after the challenge is complete.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our cause and continues to believe in our work. We’ve only just begun…

                    – Stacey Price, KHS Director of Animal Welfare