A non-profit animal shelter, the Butler County Humane Society (BCHS) has been serving the Butler community for more than 100 years, converting to a no-kill shelter in 2000.
The BCHS is not supported by county taxpayer dollars as the name leads many to believe. The Society does have contracts with some local municipalities for pick up and care of stray animals that represents about 5 percent of our 2008 annual budget. Surrender and adoption fees made up another 20 percent.
We are dependent upon private donations for survival. The bulk of the Society’s funding – about 75 percent – comes from the generosity of area pet lovers through bequests, monetary donations and support of our many fund raising events.
When an animal arrives at our facility, it receives vaccinations. After the mandatory 48 hours, the animals are screened for disease. The heath care administered by a veterinarian can range in costs upwards from about $40 per dog and $35 a cat. The animals then are implanted with a microchip and spayed/neutered, which costs up to $100 an animal.
Those costs represent just the physical care for the1,000-plus animals the Society helps each year. The goal is to ensure that each animal receives the medical treatment necessary to become available for adoption, but we also make certain they receive social and emotional help.
All of our animals have been through a difficult experience. Losing their former home and ending up at the shelter is not easy for any animal. These animals are bewildered and often go through a grieving process for their former owners. It’s that caring and tenderness provided by our staff that helps shelter animals through their initial stages of fear, confusion, and loss.
While not the same as a loving home, the BCHS strives to establish a routine for the animals that is vital is helping them adjust to their new situation. Through training, foster, and volunteer programs, BCHS helps the animals begin to understand what is expected when interacting with people. Mostly what the animals need is patience, understanding, and time to adjust to their new surroundings.
We have a dedicated corps of volunteers, who give freely of their time to help our animals achieve a “furever” home. Without them, our animals would not receive the individualized care and attention they deserve. But volunteers can only give so much. With that, we maintain a staff of 16 people in order to ensure that our animals are receiving the care and attention needed.
The BCHS staff are deeply dedicated to every animal that comes through our shelter doors. Our staff has a unique love and understanding of these abandoned, neglected and unwanted dogs and cats that are dropped off daily to our facility.
BCHS also comes to the rescue when community members call after finding a sick or injured stray animal. These caring people know our furry friends need immediate veterinary care, but few people can afford to take a stray animal to a clinic for emergency care. Because of the enormous need, we established an Emergency Medical Fund in 2007 to help defray the costs for veterinary care. The poor economy has led to more people being unable to care for their pets and more abandoned animals. We have only $18,000 in that fund currently. The fund is entirely supported through community donations and fund raising. The care of these particular animals can cost anywhere between $50 to $1,000.
But here at the BCHS, we strive to do more to meet the needs of the animals in the community. The shelter is hoping to remodel an unused kennel area into a cat socialization room. We also are expanding the medical room to create a quarantine area to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as kennel cough in order to better protect our entire animal population.

As one can see, BCHS works hard to serve a great need within the community. The shelter depends upon the kindness of our community and their love of animals to protect and care for the many unwanted, neglected and abused animals of Butler County. With that, we would like to take a moment to recognize the generosity of The Peterson Family Foundation in remembering our furry friends. We thank the trustees for their consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information as needed.