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2021 started, with the hopes of coming out of lockdown, vaccines, and getting back to a normal routine at the Society. In January, we elected our new Board of Directors and helped 87 animals find their fur-ever homes. In February, love was in the air, and we renewed our partnership with Zin Valle Vineyards. |
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Love Is a Four-Legged Word |
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In January, 87 dog and cats found their fur-ever homes. We even said goodbye to a few of our long-timers like Zeus. |
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Getting By With a Little Help From Our Friends |
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In February, two great organizations, Zin Valle Vineyards and the Humane Society of El Paso, rekindled their friendship. The Poulos family are huge animal lovers and friends of ours at the Society. They always want to ensure the well-being of our animals and decided to help by donating a portion of the sales of their exquisite "Man's Best Friend" merlot. |
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March ushered in Kitten Season. This is the time of year shelters across the nation are overrun with the pitter-patter of kittens due to higher birth rates. While big-eyed baby cats are irresistibly cute, thousands of them can roll in all at once, making kitten season the most challenging time of the year in shelters around the country.
And while we were busy taking care of kittens and their moms, the community stepped up by opening their doors to care for these furry companions and organizing donation drives to gather the supplies to do so.
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The Mary Speer Spay/Neuter Program
for Community Cats
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Our Spay and Neuter program for Community Cats was established by Mary Speer, a wonderful woman who devoted her life to serving the animals of El Paso. Upon her death, she left a generous bequest to the Humane Society of El Paso (HSEP) to continue her work and provide spay/neuter services for community cats.
In 2021, 3,025 cats and kittens were spayed/neutered through the Mary Speer Community Cats Program. If you have additional questions concerning community cats in your area, contact:
- Patti Hack: [email protected]
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El Paso TNR : (915) 209-0190
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Sun City Cats: (915) 472-4926
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Staff Spotlight
Patti Hack, Mary Speer Program Coordinator
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In March 2021, Patti Hack, Coordinator of the Mary Speer Community Cats Program, was selected as one of Telemundo's "Mujeres Imparables". This is a new initiative by NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises that aims to show how women in leadership positions advance and grow in our society.
Patti Hack's journey with the Humane Society of El Paso began when she joined the Society in 2014 as a Customer Service Associate. In 2018 she was chosen to establish the Mary Speer Cat Spay and Neuter Program. When asked, "What is the best part of your job?," Patti will smile and say, "Knowing there will be fewer kittens suffering outside. For every cat we spay/neuter, there will be 100s less suffering on the streets."
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People and Groups Making it Happen |
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While kitten season was in full swing, we also had puppies and dogs that needed to be taken care of. We are incredibly grateful for all the community members that organized donation drives to help us ensure our dogs here at the Society and in foster homes had everything to be well taken care of.
We want to give a BIG PAWS UP to the Cielo Vista Neighborhood Association. By mid-April, their members had organized and delivered multiple donation drives on our behalf: from beds, food, treats, puppy pads, and newspaper, to monetary contributions. Their donations helped us support our foster families that generously open their doors to care for our special needs and underage furry residents.
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HSEP Spotlight
Anita Miles - Foster Parent Extraordinaire
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To the public, Anita Miles is the Executive Director of GYN PATH Services Inc., but our animals and staff know her as one of our favorite heroes.
Anita is genuinely one fantastic foster volunteer. Since 2013 she has helped us save over 250 puppies. When she is not at home bottle feeding foster puppies, she dedicates her time to advancing women’s healthcare.
GYN PATH has served the El Paso community for over 40 years. It has grown to be the largest Pathology lab specializing in Cervical Cancer Screening, Pathology, and Molecular Microbiology, including nucleic acid amplification technology, or NAATs.
“To some people, it might seem odd why a healthcare practice would support an animal shelter,” says Anita, “but when you think about it, they kind of go together. We believe no woman should die of cervical cancer, and no animal should suffer. Both Cervical Cancer and unwanted litters are preventable with the right education and support.”
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The rainy season started, and raindrops began to fall on our heads, not only outside our kennels but inside as well. It was apparent that our roofs needed more than a little bit of "TLC". |
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The 32nd Annual K-9 Classic Hybrid Event had over 100 dogs (and a cat or two) that brought their humans out to walk around Ascarate Lake – or on the trail of their choice to raise money to replace the dog kennels and Meow House roofs.
Thanks to the generosity of so many in our community, we raised enough funds to begin construction on the medium kennel roof.
Thank you, El Paso, for putting your best foot forward!
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As temperatures began to soar, we worked with the TX Department of Transportation to help educate our community about the dangers of leaving pets and children in cars. We also welcomed a new Director of Programs as we celebrated the retirement of our Director of Operations. And, we had a great time at summer camp. |
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HSEP Partners with TXDOT
to Keep Critters and Kids Safe
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During the summer, HSEP partnered with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) to remind our community that temperatures in El Paso can climb very fast, and leaving our kids or furry companions in the car during the summer heat can prove fatal. Always remember to #LookBeforeYouLock! |
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Critters ‘N’ Kids Summer Camp 2021 |
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After going virtual in 2020, it was terrific to have the campers back in-person at the Society to interact with our animal residents. This year, the kids learned about native pet-friendly plants and how to be animal advocates for cats and dogs and turkeys and goats! |
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HSEP’s New Director of Programs |
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HSEP was excited to introduce our new Director of Programs, Edgar Armendariz. Edgar has been at the Humane Society for over seven years. In that time, he has learned the ins and outs of what it takes to run a non-profit animal shelter; he has also grown to be a leader and role model for the staff. Edgar began at the Society in 2013 as a Kennel Tech, responsible for intakes, adoption counseling, and medical care for Shelter animals. His natural ability to work with staff and visitors led to his promotion to Kennel Manager in 2014. As Kennel Manager, Edgar supervised a third of all HSEP staff and began to expand HSEP programs, particularly those related to medical services.
Two years later, Edgar was promoted to Animal Welfare Manager. He supervised all animal shelter employees in this capacity, including our adoption counselors, kennel care associates, and medical staff. He was also tasked with liaison with community organizations and ensuring that the facilities were maintained and appropriately upgraded.
Over the past five years, critical HSEP programs were established and expanded under Edgar’s leadership:
· An animal enrichment program for Shelter animals was established;
· HSEP began taking in sick and medically fragile animals;
· Medical staff increased from one part-time vet tech to 5 full and part-time providers.
Edgar’s hard work, experience, and continuous commitment to help animals made Edgar the perfect candidate for this new position.
When asked what kept him coming back every day, he responded, “The animals and staff. There is nothing better than finding the perfect family for any one of the animals in our care.”
As Director of Programs, Edgar is bringing the staff together to help navigate unprecedented times. He is stepping up to his role as leader and ensuring that the staff and the animals are in good hands. His devotion to his team and the animals is unwavering, and for that, we thank you, Edgar.
We look forward to working with Edgar for many years!
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We wished Julie Rutledge, Director of Operations, a bon voyage in July. Julie dedicated many years to the Humane Society of El Paso as a volunteer, member of the board, consultant, and Director of Operations. Her passion for helping the animals in our community and leadership is inspiring!
We wish her and her family nothing but the best in this new chapter in their lives.
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Due to the rainy summer months, construction on the medium dog kennel roof got off late. But, thanks to the persistence of Jessie Rojas and his crew from Roofer's Solutions, our medium shelter dogs were able to move back to their kennel in August. |
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28th Annual
“Be A Star, Save A Life” Telethon
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A heartfelt thanks to everyone that tuned in and supported our 28th Annual “Be A Star, Save A Life” telethon on August 7th.
Thank you to our sponsors- GYN PATH Services, Inc., WestStar Bank, Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare, and Flores Tawney & Acosta P.C. We would like to also thank Fred Loya Insurance for providing us with an excellent setup for our phone bank! A BIG thank you to the KVIA ABC-7 team, whose hard work makes the Telethon possible.
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Mark your calendars for August 6th, 2022 for the
29th Annual "Be A Star, Save A Life" Telethon
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On September 11th, the El Paso Rhinos Hockey Team joined us for our first “Running to Remember” event. The team came in and spent Saturday morning running, walking, and playing with our dogs. #alwaysremember |
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While the Rhinos were running to remember, staff, volunteers, and community members rolled up their sleeves to donate blood on the other side of the parking lot. The HSEP team wanted to give back to our community, just as the community always gives back to us, by helping with the blood shortage in our area. |
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In September, we had an extraordinary young lady visit us at HSEP. Sofia is a very bright 9-year old who had the idea to raise money for her local shelter. She set up a lemonade stand on a hot day and offered them up for $0.99. Through perseverance, diligence, and operating her stand on a hot day, she raised $88 that would go directly to the animals here at HSEP.
We were very excited to meet Sofia; she was invited to meet our Executive Director, tour the facility, and learn how her donation would help our animals. When asked where she thought her gift would benefit our residents more, she quickly decided that we should dedicate most of it to the veterinary costs while saving a little for treats, of course.
Thanks to Sofia's hard work to help our animals, she inspired her mother's employer, and they helped her raise another $500 through their "Give Back" Initiative.
Sofia is an up-and-coming Animal Advocate!
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We welcomed a brand new event at the Society, and we had to pivot and punt as we planned our annual Howl at the Moon event. In between all the end-of-year activities, we continued our staff efforts to support our community. |
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This Halloween, we welcomed a new event to the Society. Some of our core volunteers, who we affectionately call "the clan", organized our very first PAW-loween Carnival. Everyone had so much fun playing games and winning prizes, voting during our animal shelter pet costume contest, and entering the gift basket raffles - not to mention the amazing time we had seeing all your fabulous costumes! |
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HSEP'S 15TH ANNUAL
HOWL AT THE MOON
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Planning for our "Howl at the Moon" Gala and Silent Auction started in September. Plans were set to welcome supporters back to an in-person event. Unfortunately, due to the rising COVID-19 cases, we had to cancel our in-person event. While we were incredibly disappointed that we could not spend the evening of December 16th with you in person, everyone's health is our top priority.
Even though our in-person event was canceled, we decided to go virtual for our Silent Auction. Thanks to so many local businesses and amazing supporters we had 56 items for our auction from paintings, spa experiences, stay-cations, and self-care items. We also raffled off a one-of-a-kind small dog house during a LIVE puppy playgroup on our social media platforms.
Our Virtual Silent Auction was so much fun, technology made it feel like we didn't miss out on all the excitement!
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Hal Marcus "Gracias A Dios"
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La Plaza Pioneer Park
One Night Stay for Two
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Zin Valle Vineyards
Case of "Man's Best Friend"
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El Paso Chihuahuas
Family Four Pack
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Our community well-being is one of our top priorities, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Vitalant in 2022.
On December 18th, we partnered with Vitalant and FirstLight Federal Credit Union for our second Blood Drive of the year. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped us collect 16 units!
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'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Shelter, all the dogs and cats were waiting for dinner, and the bunnies were too. Double Dog Dare Bakery thought everyone should be in on holiday feasts and festivities (furry family members included!). This Christmas, as they were collecting pre-orders from pet owners to buy their pet's Christmas dinner, they gave the public the option to sponsor a meal for one of our shelter animals. Only one day after pre-order opened, all our shelter animals had a meal sponsored! Thanks to Double Dog Dare Bakery for organizing this amazing experience for our furry residents, and a huge thanks to the many kind-hearted animal lovers who sponsored a meal. Our animals spent the holidays with full bellies and happy hearts. |
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In 2021, at the Humane Society of El Paso, We... |
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- Provided shelter and medical care to 1,806 dogs and cats;
- Helped find 1,698 Fur-ever Homes;
- Provided foster care for 1,335 underage puppies and kittens, as well dogs and cats with special needs; and,
- Provided over 3,000 surgeries for community cats through our Mary Speer Program.
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We Could Not Have
Done It With Out You!
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4991 Fred Wilson Ave.
El Paso, TX 79906
(915) 532-6971
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