Imagine a community where every dog and cat has a loving home. Imagine a community where families are able to experience the joy of animal companionship and have the resources needed to take great care of their pets. That’s the vision of Woods Humane Society and the North County Humane Society, and they are now one step closer to making it a reality.
Woods Humane Society, Action for Animals’ Rights and North County Humane Society (NCHS) have signed a “Letter of Intent” to merge the organizations, combining resources to improve services for animals in San Luis Obispo County. Both organizations have a rich history of providing vital services for animals for decades, and both are interested in growing those services to better meet the needs of the North County community. On Tuesday, November 29, NCHS members voted to give their board of directors the authority to negotiate and approve a merger agreement.
Northern San Luis Obispo County is a vibrant area with a community that is passionate about animals. The availability of local resources to assist people with animal issues, however, is lacking. Pressing needs identified include a low cost spay/neuter clinic, an adoption center where people can both relinquish and adopt dogs as well as cats, humane education opportunities for children, and a convenient location for residents to reclaim stray pets. It is our joint vision, to leverage the great programs NCHS already has in place and grow to provide more essential services for the animals.
Following completion of the transaction, the shelter and current operations of NCHS will be operated under the name Woods Humane Society – North County. NCHS employees will become Woods’ employees and will continue to operate all existing programs at the current NCHS facility. There will be no interruption of services for the cats or the community. Pending city approval, Woods intends to open a temporary low cost spay/neuter on the 2300 Ramona Road property in Atascadero. Long-term plans include securing a suitable location where the organization can construct a permanent facility to house a low cost spay/neuter clinic, dog and cat adoption center, and humane education center. Following completion of the capital campaign and construction of that facility, all Woods North County operations will move to the new facilities.
“We are incredibly excited to officially join forces with North County Humane Society to help continue their great programs and dramatically increase services for animals in the North County community. Our missions are aligned, our goals are the same, and we know that together, we can accomplish so much more.” – Jill Tucker, Woods’ executive director
The NCHS Board has concluded that this in an ideal time to take this important step to solidify the future of the organization, provide more services for North County animals, and give NCHS staff the opportunity to continue their careers in a larger organization that offers more benefits and professional development opportunities.
“Our missions are well-aligned, negotiations have been seamless, and we are excited about what we will be able to accomplish more rapidly for North County animals. We have complete confidence this is the right thing to do for both our organization and the community,” NCHS Board President Martha Pedersen said.
As management and legal counsel work out the next steps in the process, staff members from both organizations are working together to map out the logistics of the merge. Following completion of the merger transaction, it is estimated to take up to six months to combine operations and ensure a consistent customer experience at both locations. Woods intends to open the doors of the new spay/neuter clinic within that time frame as well.