Monthly ED Update – Facing New Challenges

Every day we wake up and we seem to face another hurdle.

The impacts of 2 years of self-isolation. Our increasing population. A facility that cannot serve the needs of the community. Inflation and monetary challenges. Our diminishing resources. Rising incidence of mental health issues.

Simultaneously, we know that pets help people. They get us outside. They connect us socially. They calm us. They keep us company when we’re lonely. They love us unconditionally. They help us through grief. They are, indeed, a gift to humanity.

And pets need us too. They rely on us to keep them safe. To love them. To feed them. To keep them warm. That’s where we come in. The Georgian Triangle Humane Society’s role is to help pets. We do this by directly assisting pets and helping people help their pets.

As we face these challenges, our job is to understand how these challenges affect you and your pets and to respond by offering the programs, services and information you and your pet need to be healthy, happy, and safe.

With all of this in mind, last year we restarted our Strategic Planning process, engaging our community, volunteers, staff, donors, and Board members for input. The results are the Strategic Priorities for 2023-2025, priorities you will notice have not changed significantly in their direction or theme but have become laser focused on their intended impact.

Over the next three years, the GTHS will help 10,000 pets in need. We will strengthen our foundation, readying our organization to meet the needs of our community. We will be a thriving charity that has a clear identity, an engaged team, a solid financial footing, and unwavering public support.

We will measure our work by how many pets we help, recognizing that compassion for pets is rooted in compassion for each other. People will be the key to our success. Community members, staff, donors, volunteers – united, we will reach our vision of a kind and compassionate community – working together, one pet at a time.

We recently shared this Plan with our Board, Staff and Volunteers at our quarterly Town Hall meeting. Attended by over 70 team members, it was inspiring to be in a room filled with so many people with shared values and goals. Together, we envision a community that is compassionate and caring towards pets and each other – a vision that drives, inspires and unites us.

As we wrap up the first quarter of 2023, I’m pleased to share the following impacts our donors have made in our mission:

    • 259 homeless pets brought into care.
    • 340 surgeries performed.
    • 539 vaccinations provided.
    • 238 microchips administered.
    • 6,923 meals given out through Pet Pantry.
    • Launch of a reading program in our Main Cat Room.

While challenges will continue to exist, we will work to overcome them together as a community. With compassion.  With kindness.  With love.


With gratitude,

Sonya Reichel

Stay informed on GTHS events, initiatives and programs. Learn how the GTHS team is serving the pets and people of the South Georgian Bay Area. Read heart-warming Happy Tails about GTHS Alumni. See a lot of really cute pictures of dogs and cats!