Helping Pets and People in our Community

During the holiday season, we’re surrounded by lights. Cheerful decorations, connections
with friends and family (including pets!), and the joyful feeling in the air all help to illuminate
our days. At Oregon Humane Society, we’re grateful to you for being a light for the
animals who find their way to our care.

A few months ago, in my role as Humane Special Agent at OHS, I learned about a dog
named Maisie who was living in darkness. Her overgrown, matted fur covered her eyes,
and she rarely saw the light of day—even for potty breaks.

Thanks to you, OHS can take action for animals like Maisie in desperate need
of assistance.

Most of the calls that my team responds to are for families who just need a little extra
support—a bag of dog food to get them through until pay day, flea medicine and basic pet
supplies, or educational guidance on improving the well-being of their animals.

But sometimes, we find overwhelmed owners whose care for their animals has
rapidly diminished.

This was unfortunately true for Maisie. When a worried community member caught a rare
glimpse of her and noticed her unkempt condition, they alerted our team and we rushed to
investigate. OHS is the only humane society in Oregon with a Humane Law Enforcement
team and humane special agents with statewide authority to follow up on reports of
animal neglect or abuse. Without donor support, animals like Maisie would remain
in the shadows.

When I checked on Maisie and met her elderly owner, it was clear that this was a case of
a person who loved their animal but no longer had the physical or financial ability to provide
for her.

Maisie’s matted fur was not only extremely painful, but continuing to leave it untreated
could cause skin infections, restrict blood flow, and lead to open wounds or tears in the skin.
Wanting a better future for Maisie, her owner surrendered the tiny dog to OHS.

Because of you, our team was immediately able to help Maisie—diligently shaving away
her tough matted shell, assessing her medical needs, providing her with nourishing food, and
giving her a comfortable place to recover.

Today, Maisie has been adopted and has new soft fur growing in. Seeing Maisie transform from
the dog I first met to the bright-eyed, happy pup she is today is why I do this work. Because of
you, Maisie can see the world again and has a bright future ahead.

Animals like Maisie are counting on you to be their light! Without your generosity, we cannot
continue to rescue animals, provide them with robust medical and daily care, and find them
new homes.

From one passionate animal person to another, will you make a holiday gift today?

For the animals,
Mike Rowe
Humane Law Enforcement

Links:

• About Oregon Humane Society
• Oregon Humane Society Resources
• Community Veterinary Hospital

My name is DJ Palmer, and I am the Operations Director at Oregon Humane Society Salem campus. Thanks to your support, the team in Salem is able to provide spay and neuter surgeries for more than 1,000 community cats annually to help reduce stray overpopulation.

Still, we see stray cats now more than ever—in our neighborhoods, visiting our porches, and in our garden beds—and many of us worry.

This was true for Penelope, a local community member in Salem caring for an outgoing and affectionate stray cat whom she called Boris. Grumpy-faced Boris instantly connected with Penelope and her husband, charming them with his playful and sometimes sassy personality.

Was Boris getting the care he needed? Did he have an owner? How could she help him?

These worries nagged her, but Penelope knew best practice was to leave Boris in place and try to locate his owners, if he had any. In the meantime, she provided him with food and pleasant company when he visited.

However, during one visit Penelope noticed something was going wrong with Boris—his eyes were swollen with a leaky yellow discharge. After posting Boris in lost and found groups with no one stepping forward to claim him, she made the decision to bring him to OHS Salem campus for help.

Thanks to you, we’re able to give animals like Boris the same top-tier care that we would want for our own pets. For Boris, that meant corrective surgery for his eyes, dental care, and behavior modification to help him adjust to life as an indoor cat. After months of recovery and training, he was adopted into a loving home where he freely gives out scratchy kisses and loves to snuggle under the blankets. Because of you, this once-stray cat is healthy, no longer fending for himself outdoors, and is here to stay in a loving home.

Boris is just one of many. The work to support and stabilize the stray cat population is ongoing. Throughout Oregon, there are many counties that do not include cats in their stray animal ordinances. This has led to confusion about how long stray cats need to be held by an animal-serving agency like OHS before being placed for adoption.

Seeing the need to address this confusion and create a clear path for services, OHS began advocating for change at the state level. After years of hard work and collaboration with many groups, agencies, and donors like you, House Bill 3604 passed in May 2025—a huge win for cats! Thanks to your generosity and advocacy, stray cats across the entire state of Oregon have renewed hope for the future.

When HB3604 officially becomes law in September, stray cats will only need to be held at a shelter for 3-5 days before they are able to be placed for adoption—a vast improvement from the formerly varying guidelines, some of which required that cats be held for months before being adopted. But this also means more cats like Boris will be coming to our shelters in need of comprehensive care.

We want more cats to get their own happy stories like Boris, but we cannot do it without your support. Will you make a generous gift today to help us prepare as more stray cats come to our shelters?

For the animals,
DJ Palmer
Director of Operations - OHS Salem campus

Links:

• About Oregon Humane Society
• Oregon Humane Society Resources
• Salem Veterinary Clinic