The Humane Society of Central Illinois is the most successful in the state of Illinois. The organization provides optimal love and care for each animal that enters the facility, no matter the size, breed, history, or attitude. They never turn their back on any pet, as it is their belief that every animal big and small deserves a good loving home no matter the age.
Hours of Operation
Viewing Hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 2:00 - 7:00 pm
Wednesday: Noon - 6:00 pm
Thursday: Noon - 6:00 pm
Friday: Noon - 6:00 pm
Saturday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday: closed
History
The Humane Society of Central Illinois started out very small in the beginning; it's a not-for-profit welfare organization meaning that they receive no aid from the federal, state or local tax dollars. They remain open only by charitable donations from individuals or businesses that want to commit to the welfare of animals. The Humane Society of Central Illinois was originally called McLean County Humane Society during the early nineties, but was changed to The Humane Society of Central Illinois when they moved to the bigger location on Kays Drive. The facility for the Humane Society opened in October 1996 on 3001 Gill Street, Bloomington. Prior to the opening in Gill Street the Humane Society of Central Illinois relied on foster homes or boarding at vet offices for the pets that came into their facility. It extremely limited the amount of animals that the Humane Society could help. Many people worked for years to raise enough money to open the adoption facility on Gill Street, though, the main contributor of funds was the president of Mclean County Humane Society: Leon Schmucker. His contributions to the funds enabled the Humane Society to open their Pet Adoption Center to help more pets that wanted to live in a loving home. The Humane society purchased the property with a mortgage and had the facility renovated to fit their pet help needs, including cages, furniture, supplies which were either purchased or donated by people in the community. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the Humane Society of Central Illinois took care of two groups of pets that were affected by the Hurricane. Happily, the last pet affected by the hurricane was adopted in October 2006 to a permanent home. The taking in of the Hurricane Katrina pets greatly expanded their notoriety in Bloomington-Normal as many people wanted to help these helpless, lost pets find loving, caring homes for good. The Humane Society of Central Illinois was renamed and moved to 423 Kays Drive, this would promote visibility as the Humane Society was now located on the major intersection of Fort Jesse and Towanda Avenue. The new location is easier to find for anyone wanting to volunteer, or adopt a new pet into their home. It's even easier for ISU and IWU students to get there via bus to volunteer. The new location was a medical facility beforehand which offered plenty of resources that they otherwise had to get elsewhere. The new facility also is more energy-efficient lowering the cost of utilities and they can even keep the dog area and cat area separated so the stress level of the pets is greatly reduced, as well as any diseases or colds that could be passed on from animal to animal. They also installed an outdoor dog play area so that the dogs could get outside and stretch out, promoting happy social dogs.
Mission
The Humane Society of Central Illinois' mission is: Find loving, forever homes for abused and unwanted pets. Vision: For every pet to be properly loved and cared for.
Many of the pets that enter the Humane Society of Central Illinois are either unwanted because of moving, lease will not allow pets, or a marital situation. Most of the pets are not abused when admitted to the facility, but many of the owners found it difficult to care for their pet. The process of admitting a pet into the Humane Society involves a very in depth description of why you are putting the pet into the Humane Society and the pets personality and traits. The Humane Society always tries to make it work for the owner before taking the pet in offering training courses or ways to make it possible for the owner to keep their pet. If it is completely impossible for the owner to keep their pet, the Humane Society will put the pet out for adoption and train it to be social and learn that every human is here to love them. They will be completely honest with potential adopters and have a fact sheet about the pet they are looking at, including why they were sent to the Humane Society, their age, breed, medical history, and even some things that they love to do/eat. They provide the pet with food, water, a soft bed and toys to play with. The Humane Society really cares about what they do there, and they make sure every pet that leaves to go to a new family is one that they can trust. Potential adopters must fill out an application describing their living style, how they would take care of the pet, and their pet history. The Humane Society wants to make sure that the pet is going to a loving, caring home and will never have to take step into the facility again.
Services
The Humane Society of Central Illinois spays/neuters every pet, as they believe that the reason so many pets come through their doors is the lack of responsibility to reduce reproduction of the pet. Each year, they spay/neuter 1,000 pets mostly through discounts with local veterinarians.
The Humane Societies membership is over 900 staff, and individuals who help the facility stay clean and the pets in the facility have clean bedding, water and fresh food every day.
Staff
There is a very small staff, as a large staff would be detrimental to their finances for the pets. The staff that is employed at the Humane Society give a huge amount of their time for the pets there, and do everything they can to provide loving homes for each and every one.
Volunteer
The Humane Society consists mostly of the volunteers who help keep the facility running in good, clean condition. Some of the tasks that volunteers have to do are: clean out cat/dog/rodent cages, give fresh water, clean litter boxes and refill with fresh litter, take the dogs for walks, clean bedding, play with the cats and dogs, sweep the floors.
