La Crosse Community Foundation gives $11,000 to Coulee Region Humane Society

A local gift to the Coulee Region Humane Society will help the nonprofit get its paws on valuable resources.

Heather Drievold, executive director of the Coulee Region Humane Society, said they applied for the grant with hopes of being able to spay and neuter more animals at the shelter.

“We were just so excited about this new adventure for us,” Drievold said. “We are really grateful to be able to buy the equipment that we need to be able to do the spays and neuters.”

Currently, volunteers and staff visit about eight local vet clinics at least every other week, spending time and resources for the procedures. Some clinics offer a discount for the humane society, but not all. A veterinarian did perform the surgeries in-house about once a week.

“Last year, they did almost 250, but we sent out almost 450 animals to the local vet clinics, so we are looking to get that number down and increase the internal number,” Drievold said.

Currently, the Coulee Region Humane Society has about 70 animals in foster homes, mostly cats and kittens, but there are other animals including rabbits and dogs.

“Many of those are recovering from whatever they needed, or just building up strength so they can be adopted out,” Drievold said.

Internally, they have close to 50 animals. Because of COVID-19, the humane society is still doing curb-side appointments and business over the phone.

Because of the high kitten population, donations of Royal Cannin Kitten food and KMR Kitten Formula are needed. Monetary donations are also welcome to cover the costs of animal care and excessive vet concerns.