The Hobart Humane Society was founded in 1954 and has one of the highest adoption rates in the nation; animals at the shelter have a 75% chance of finding a home, where the national average at humane societies is only 15%. Servicing Hobart, Lake Station and Portage, the humane society not only provides shelter but also animal control services for the community. The Hobart Humane Society is able to thrive and help so many animals because of the dedicated staff and volunteers.
Brenda Slavik, Director of the Humane Society, has worked there for 30 years.
“I love it. The animals need a safe haven. Here, I know they are being taken care of,” she said.
The Bainbridge family comes to the shelter once a month to make a donation and spend some time with the animals.
“We donate every month; it’s just the right thing to do,” Bob Bainbridge said. “We got our cat and dog from the shelter. They don’t make any money here; they rely on donations for help. Just look at these animals - these guys need love.”
Bob’s daughter, Anna Scott, recently started volunteering.
“I want to work with animals when I grow up,” Scott said. “I want to be a Zoologist.”
She excitedly explained that she’ll do anything to help the shelter including cleaning cages and litter boxes, taking the animals on walks, and playing with them. Scott was taking a one-year-old Husky for a walk while Bainbridge’s youngest daughter, Abygale, was playing with a Jack Russell puppy.
“Even if you don’t have money to donate, just come and play with them. If you came to visit a dog and took him outside, you would make his day,” Bainbridge said. “I’ve even volunteered my skill as an electrician.”
Board Member Chris Skrenka said that a number of the union locals from the Plumbers Local 210 and IBEW 697 volunteer their time and skills as well.
“With the help of the unions, we are going to be remodeling a storage area in the shelter, dividing it into two rooms so that we can separate different species of animals, and use it as a recovery room for the animals that aren’t ready to be put in the general population with the others yet. It takes about five days for a vaccine to really take, so we need to keep them separate. The Bricklayers of Merrillville will help us with some of the masonry, and IBEW 697 has given us a verbal contract to do the lighting. Arctic Engineering will be helping us do the heating and air at the end of February.”
Skrenka explained that recent retirees can be of great help to the Humane Society, along with recent college graduates.
“Obviously we can use help from tradespeople, we lean on electricians and plumbers but it would be great to have more people to help. Recent graduates or people who are home for the summer from school are a huge help as well. People don’t think of how their skills can translate to the Humane Society, but we need help at adoption events, with fundraising, fostering, photography, and more.”
The Hobart Humane Society is currently in need of donated items including kitty litter, paper towels, 40 gallon garbage bags and bleach. For more information on how to donate, volunteer or adopt a pet, call 219-942-0103 or visit www.humanesocietyofhobart.org. The Hobart Humane Society is located at 2054 East State Road 130 in Hobart.