Good News Update from The Humane Society of St. Lucie County

Many animal rescue facilities are 501(c)(3) organizations, receiving their money from charitable donations.

These facilities are committed to providing the best care possible to the homeless dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. in their care.

South Florida heat can be brutal.

The Humane Society of St. Lucie County (HSSLC) was in desperate need of donations to be able to add air conditioning to their dog kennels.

HSSLC needed to raise $45,000.

They needed to keep their shelter dogs cool.

The following “GOOD NEWS FOLLOW-UP” shows the results of their fund-raising efforts.

GOOD NEWS FOLLOW-UP

The Humane Society of St. Lucie County was incorporated in 1955 to fulfill an ever-growing animal sheltering need in the local community of St. Lucie County.

Our original shelter was located on Savannah Road in Fort Pierce, Florida.

In 2013, the influx of homeless animals needing sheltering lead the Humane Society of St. Lucie County to expand and build a shelter on Glades Cut Off Rd.

Then in January of 2020, the Humane Society of SLC moved complete operations to the shelter on Glades Cut Off Rd in Port St. Lucie.

Since that time, we have expanded, revamped, and elevated to who we are today, which is a place of hope, education, resource, and advocacy.

Since 1955, the Humane Society of St. Lucie County has been operating without air conditioning in our dog kennel wings.

It can easily reach over 90 degrees in the back where all the dogs are sitting in their kennels waiting for someone to bring them home.

We were using fans to help circulate the air, but we needed to do better for our dogs.

Shelter leadership decided that 2021 would be the last summer our dogs would have to endure shelter life without air conditioning.

In May of 2022 with the summer Florida heat quickly approaching, we asked the community for help.

We were in desperate need of donations to install air conditioning.

This summer was expected to reach record highs and we had a big goal ahead of us.

In June of 2022, AC Unlimited agreed to install the air conditioning for a reduced price and they were willing to do delayed payment.

This allowed us 3 months to raise the money without our dogs having to wait another day.

On June 30, for the first time in Humane Society of St. Lucie County history, the dogs residing with us felt the cool breeze from our newly installed air conditioning.

“When anyone walks through our dog kennels, it typically involves dogs barking at you. For the first time, you could walk through without hearing a single bark. For the first time, the dogs felt relieved to come back to their kennels. Animal shelters can be very stressful environments. Having cool air in the kennels takes one more stressor out of the equation. I can’t believe this goal has finally become a reality for our shelter” said Glendinning, Director of Marketing & PR for the HSSLC.

We have always said that it takes a village to truly care for all these animals.

This could never have been accomplished without the help from our incredible village.

Sherry visits Lucy, a disabled dog at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, waiting for her forever home.

Two incredible members of our community stepped up and announced two separate match challenges.

Both donors challenged other community members to step up and help the homeless animals.

They each agreed to match every donation, up to $10k.

Now fast forward to August, less than two months after the install of the air conditioning, we have fundraised the entire $45,000 needed. We continue to strive each and every day to be a place of hope, education, resource, and advocacy.

Shannon Glendinning
Director of Marketing & PR for the HSSLC