The Capital Humane Society in Lincoln serves provides a variety of services primarily for domestic animals. They shelter unwanted pets, act as an advocate for animal welfare and educate the public about responsible pet care.
The Capital Humane Society began in 1902 as the Lancaster County Humane Society. The first shelter was located on West 'O' Street. At that time the Society's mission focused on the prevention of cruelty to children and horses. Around 1907 the services expanded to include a variety of animals.
Later the Society acquired three acres of land on Park Boulevard. There have been three different buildings on that site which holds the current shelter erected in 1966. The Administration offices are still at this location.
The Pieloch Pet Adoption Center opened it's doors at 70th & Old Cheney in 2013. The center handles adoptions and education. Bob talked about the work that went into designing the Pieloch center which included extensively studying other centers around the United States.
Bob shared some addition history about Human Societies including the fact that the first society started in New York at the ASPCA. he said that the articles written with the inception of the organization included items to:
- Stop
- Introduce
- Induce
He read some of the articles:
- Stop Cruelty to Children
- Stop Cruelty to Animals
- Introduce better roads
- Introduce drinking fountains for humans (they had them for horses - but not humans)
- Induce boys not to pull birds nests out of trees
- Induce people to feed animals regularly
The early organization was involved in providing Christmas dinners to poor families and horses.
The Society provides many services for the community and the animals.
- Adoption Services
- They have surgical suites
- They can provide dental care
- Basic obedience training is available (though they do not compete with the private sector for advanced obedience training)
- Low-cost Spay/Neuter Programs
He talked about the value of volunteers to the programs. One important program is the foster home. There are times when they have animals not ready to adopt - perhaps there is a litter of kittens that needs to grow before spaying/neutering. They ask for a foster home to raise them to the proper age and weight before they are ready for adoption.
There is much more information at https://www.capitalhumanesociety.org/home.html.