By Niki Congero, executive director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society & S.P.C.A. -- All of us at the Lake Tahoe Humane Society are very proud to have been servicing this community since 1967 and we really hope to be around another 50 years. Many people don’t understand what we do and often get us confused with El Dorado County Animal Services, which is our local animal shelter/animal control. We would like to take this opportunity to clarify what services we offer for the community versus El Dorado County Animal Services.
El Dorado County Animal Service is a county agency that provides animal control services and animal sheltering for the city of South Lake Tahoe. The city of South Lake Tahoe pays the county to provide these required services. What does that mean for you? This is the agency you call when you have a complaint about someone’s pet, you witness animal cruelty (all reports made to any animal control officer are confidential), need to surrender you pet (fee required), want to adopt a pet (fee required), if you find a lost pet, or have lost a pet. Please note they are open Monday-Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed noon-1 p.m. for lunch. They can be reached at 530-573-7925 and are located in Meyers. Leave them a message if they do not answer phone.
The Lake Tahoe Humane Society is a private 501(c)3 nonprofit that solely relies on private donations. We get no financial help from the city of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, the state of California, the federal government, the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the United States (if you donate to those commercials with all the sad pets please understand we get none of that finical assistance they claim to give out).
What we do is cover the bases that animal services does not. We don’t have enough space in this article to explain all we do, but we wanted to give you a general idea so you know who to call if you need any of the following service:
Low income spay and neuter vouchers; pet food bank which offers pet food for those in need including providing pet food meals for the Warm Room and Bread and Broth (pet food is always available during regular business hours); disaster relief — our team is ready to shelter your pets in the event of a disaster like fire or most recently flooding; lost and found pet service — contact us when you’ve lost or found a pet and we will actively help get your furry family member back home; charitable emergency veterinary subsidy, which provides funds for pets having a life threatening medical emergency; fostering for special circumstances — we will arrange fostering for your pet at one of our foster family homes if you are having a medical emergency or need to escape a domestic violence situation; in home pet care — if you are facing a short-term hospital stay and have no one to care for your pet we will provide in home pet care; animal visitation at Barton Hospitals Skilled Nursing facility — our specially trained companion animals visit the patience multiple times a week truly brightening their day and our educational programs offer humane education, art and science to all grade levels. These are just some of our programs. For complete information on all our services, visit our website http://www.LakeTahoeHumaneSociety.org or call us during business hours 9 a .m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 530-542-2857.
We have a lot of fun, pet friendly events planned for this very special 50th anniversary year, so stay tuned for information and make sure your check our website’s event page for all updates. Follow us on Facebook for daily updates.
