Humane Society of Manatee County Celebrates 50th Anniversary
CONTACT:
Rick Yocum – Executive Director
Humane Society of Manatee County
941-747-8808 Ext. 316
rick@humanesocietymanatee.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Humane Society of Manatee County Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Bradenton, Fla. January 12, 2021 – The Humane Society of Manatee County is celebrating its 50th Anniversary of serving the animals in the community in 2021. Founded in 1971 by Gertrude Decker, the Humane Society of Manatee County is the leading animal welfare organization in Manatee County. The original animal shelter, The Decker House located at 2507 14th Street, which opened in 1980, now serves as the Cat Cottage on the Humane Society of Manatee County’s expanded campus.
The Second Chance Adoption Center is located at 2515 14th Street W. and the Humane Society of Manatee County Veterinary Clinic is located at 2415 14th Street W. The Second Chance Adoption Center opened its doors on May 22, 1993. The 10,000 square foot state of the art veterinary clinic opened to the public in September of 2015 on the site where the abandoned Salvation Army building had stood vacant for many years.
Humane Society of Manatee County started out with a small group of passionate and dedicated volunteers in 1971 and has grown to include thirty- eight (38) staff members and more than three hundred (300) active volunteers. Throughout the fifty-year history of the organization volunteer board of directors served to oversee and strategically plan for the organization’s future. The Humane Society of Manatee County was selected as the Manatee Chamber Small Business of the Year, Non-Profit in 2018, and has received a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator for five consecutive years.
The Second Chance Adoption Center continues today as a no-kill shelter as it has since its inception in 1971. All breeds are welcomed into the adoption program as well as medically and behaviorally challenged animals. Shelter animals receive the highest quality care and medical care and on average spend under 35 days at the shelter prior to adoption. A Sleep Over program allows prospective adopters the opportunity to bring an animal home for three to four nights to see if the animal is a good fit for their family and lifestyle. The Sleep Over program has an adoption success rate of 99%. Behavioral programs continue to expand, serving animals with behavioral issues so that each
animal in the adoption program truly gets that “second chance”. All shelter animals are current on vaccines, micro-chipped, spayed, or neutered prior to adoption and all dog adoptions require heartworm prevention purchase by the adopter.
The Humane Society of Manatee County Veterinary Clinic is a full-service veterinary clinic and open to the public. The high quality, low-to-moderate cost services provided at the clinic continue to expand. Wellness exams, vaccines, spay & neuter surgery, x-ray services, heartworm treatment, and dog and cat dentals continue to grow in number and dental x-ray, walk-in vaccine clinics, and Dermatology services are now available. In fiscal year 2019 / 2020, 5063 Wellness Exams and 5615 Spay & Neuter surgeries were completed and 13,960 vaccines administered.
50th Anniversary events and activities will be taking place all year long, starting with the annual Paws in Motion Dog Walk Fundraiser being held on Saturday, March 20th at Caddy’s Bradenton. All anniversary related events and activities will be posted on the HSMC website @ www.humanemanatee.org as well as the HSMC Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/humanemanatee
For additional information on 50th Anniversary Events and sponsorship opportunities contact Rick Yocum, Executive Director rick@humanesocietymanatee.org
Humane Society of Manatee County is committed to leading Manatee County in fostering compassion and respect for animals through care, education, and collaboration.
About Humane Society of Manatee County
Humane Society of Manatee County is a 501( c ) 3 not-for-profit animal welfare organization that was originally formed in 1971, and today is considered the lead animal welfare agency in Manatee County. Humane Society of Manatee County operates a shelter and a veterinary clinic located at 2415 – 2515 14th Street W. in Bradenton.
