HELENA — 2025 was quite the year for the Lewis & Clark Humane Society, from reuniting animals with their families, creating new families, and taking in large groups of animals at once.
“Absolutely a record year in comparison to the last five years,” said LCHS director Kelsee Dalton Watts. “We were really excited about what we were able to do.”
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Last year, they saw over 2,100 animals come through the humane society, the most that many staff have seen in a long time.
One key ingredient in their recipe for success was restructuring their adoption team, giving more time to care for their animals and help them find forever homes more quickly.
“We have so much more time and energy to put into taking care of the animals and making sure that everything that we’re doing is as close to best practice in the industry as possible,” said director of development and communications Cassidy Cook.
Another area they improved on was their foster programs. With over 1,300 animals fostered, they introduced new ways for people to spend time with animals outside the shelter.
This allowed them to avoid turning away animals and increase capacity, with over 50% of their furry friends placed in foster care.
“Every weekend, most of our animals get to go out,” Dalton Watts said. “You get this great information that we don't see here. We get to see how they are in a family.”
The year did not come without challenge, including three large-scale animal seizures that tested the team, but they rose to the challenge.
“Even though no day ever looked the same as the last, we were always ready for it,” said director of operations Kat Kartineau.
Staff say they wouldn’t have had the year they did without support from both volunteers and the community, logging in well over 4,000 hours.
“We worked really hard to make the community a kinder place for animals, and our community rallied around us to make that happen,” Dalton Watts said.
Staff hope to keep last year's momentum going, staying educated on how to make an animal's transition into a pet as seamless as possible.
