Asheville Humane Society, Animal Compassion Network join forces

Press release

Animal Compassion Network (ACN) and Asheville Humane Society (AHS) today announced they are integrating their teams and talents to strengthen and expand their capability to save and serve more of Buncombe County’s neediest animals. “Small committees from each of our volunteer board of directors have been meeting for several months to look at ways we can work together most efficiently, effectively and creatively to the benefit of the most vulnerable animals in Buncombe County,” said Katherine Shenar, President/CEO of Asheville Humane Society.

“Some years ago, our culture of being a ‘safe for life’ agency and AHS’s commitment to being a shelter open to every homeless animal could not have meshed,” said Eileen Bouressa, Executive Director of Animal Compassion Network, “but for over two years AHS has rehomed every healthy, behaviorally sound animal who has come into the Buncombe County Animal Shelter, a remarkable achievement for an open admission shelter. The goals of ACN and AHS to help save animals have always been the same. By merging our operations we can work synergistically and with less redundancy for the greater good of all animals in our community.”

“The next challenge in Buncombe County is to rehabilitate and rehome more of those animals that come through our doors as ‘unadoptable.’ These animals can now be saved with special care, time in a foster home, rehabilitative programs, training, or transport to an area with more available homes,” said Shenar. “Asheville Humane Society is already saving over 1,300 of those special needs animals each year; with a creative and dedicated partner like ACN, we can now provide more services to our community while saving more lives.”

The combined organizations will be housed under one roof at Asheville Humane Society’s Nancy Hiscoe Clark Adoption and Education Center. Asheville Humane Society runs the Adoption Center with donated funds and operates, under contract, the adjacent Buncombe County Animal Shelter.

Asheville Humane Society is the largest and oldest lifesaving organization for homeless animals in Western North Carolina, and saved 4,519 animals last year. Animal Compassion Network, founded in 1997, is the first “safe for life” animal welfare organization in this area, and saved 1,000 animals last year.

Asheville Humane Society is the largest lifesaving nonprofit animal welfare organization in Western North Carolina and has been saving lives of homeless animals in Buncombe County since 1984. We are dedicated to promoting the compassionate treatment of animals in our community through education, sheltering and adoption.

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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