Carthage Humane Society faces 'dire' financial crisis
Oct. 18—CARTHAGE, Mo. — Finances have been tight for the Carthage Humane Society for years but Amy Anderson, director of the shelter for the past two months, called the current situation "dire," with about a month left before it may have to close.
The Humane Society announced on Friday it won't take in any animals and it is focusing on caring for the animals it has now and finding "loving homes or secure placement with other rescues," according to the shelter's Facebook page.
"We deeply appreciate the support of our community during this challenging time, and we are hopeful that with continued fundraising efforts, we can remain open," the shelter said in a Facebook post. "However, our top priority right now is the well-being of the animals we are already responsible for. If you are able to adopt or foster, now is the time when your help is needed the most. Even if you cannot take in a pet, sharing our mission or contributing to our fundraising efforts can make a significant difference in the lives of these animals."
Anderson said the costs to take care of animals and run the shelter have risen faster than the Society's income for years, and the situation is now critical.
"Our payroll every two weeks is $12,000 to $15,000 because we have to stay open seven days a week. Whether it's a holiday or not, these animals have to be fed, their cages have to be cleaned," Anderson said. "I think we have enough money for two more payrolls. I'm going to speak to the board this evening about doing a hold on any further intakes because we owe it to the animals that we've already taken in to get them either adopted, fostered or placed in another no-kill shelter. Right now, we need to be realistic on that and focus on taking care of the animals we already have."
Other costs and overhead to run the shelter amount to $40,000 or more a month.
"Blue Buffalo pet food manufacturing, they donate our dry dog food now so dog food costs have changed," Anderson said. "We still have to purchase wet food, but they're gracious enough to donate dry dog food. We have a lot of good businesses who do give us discounts. Our veterinarian we work with — because we do not have a full-time veterinarian on staff — Carthage Animal Hospital, they give us a discount."
Anderson said the shelter receives no state funding, and the contract with the city of Carthage provides $47,740 in fiscal year 2025 to compensate for the hundreds of animals taken to the shelter by the Carthage Police Department animal control officer.
The contract provides for a flat payment for the first 360 animals the city brings to the shelter, then $125 per animal for animals in excess of 360 over the year.
This is the final year in a three-year deal that called for the city to pay $45,000 in 2023, $46,350 in 2024 and $47,740 in the current fiscal year.
Anderson said the cost to care for injured animals is a cost that can be estimated but changes month to month.
"A lot of times when animal control bring us animals, they are sick or are injured," Anderson said. "We've got several in the intake room right now. One dog has a broken bone that hasn't healed properly and has a dead eye that has to be removed. Sometimes we get pregnant cats and kittens, and animal control doesn't pay us for the seven kittens that might be born in house. So we have to incur all the costs for those additional lives."
Carthage Mayor Dan Rife said the city needs to see what it can do about possibly increasing funding to the Humane Society, but they also need to find out if what the council can do is enough to save the Humane Society or is it just pushing off the inevitable.
"We've tried to work and raise the amount we provide them each year," Rife said. "It's always been the city's position — since I've been around anyway — that we can't be the sole supporter of the Humane Society. We try to do as much more as we feel like we can, but it's a sad deal."
He acknowledges the Humane Society closing would have a big impact on Carthage.
"The city would be in a big fix," Rife said. "It's obviously something we've got to talk about and consider. I think between (the City Council's) Public Services Committee and Budget Committee, we're going to have to put some heads together and see if there's anything we can do. I think the big thing is can we do more and is it enough? Are we able to do enough more to keep their doors open, or are we just prolonging it another month or two."
Anderson said the shelter holds frequent fundraisers, including events in Central Park last weekend as part of Maple Leaf Festival, but those fundraisers are just not bringing in enough money.
She said monthly subscriptions of any amount would help the shelter stay afloat.
"We really need our community to step up," Anderson said. "Even if you're giving up one trip to a coffee place a month and you're giving us $5 or $10 a month, people say well what can that do? It could do a tremendous amount when you have 1,000 people giving $5 a month or $10 a month to the shelter. That's $5,000 or $10,000 a month. Most of us can afford to give that."
She said people who can't afford to give can come to the shelter and volunteer to spend time with the animals and help socialize them so they're better prepared for adoption to their forever-home.
"Be a part of what we're trying to do," Anderson said. "We want to encourage them to be a part of our family and help us with these animals. I want to start getting the board's feet on the ground and start reaching out to the different companies and businesses we have in town for corporate sponsorships. Whether that's yearly or monthly, however we can do that. It really boils down to what do we need to cover each month and how do we get to a place where through our community and through other outreaches we're getting what we need each month."
Anderson said the shutting down the shelter would be a drawn out process, but she's asking the Humane Society Board of Directors to be prepared to take care of the animals already in their care.
She said the shelter stopped accepting animals as of Friday and the priority is to get the animals adopted out or into other no-kill animal shelters.
She said euthanasia's never been an option unless an animal is too badly hurt or sick to recover or in the rare case of an animal that's so aggressive it can't be safely adopted or transferred.
"It also looks like 21 people out of a job; 21 people who have family and have a home and have bills and responsibilities are going to have to look for a new place to work," Anderson said. "It's going to wreak havoc on the city in a very short amount of time. I don't really think the community understands just how many cats and dogs we take in and what will happen to the city if we're not here."
