Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Last Hope Animal Rescue's Gain

I want to personally congratulate Last Hope Animal Rescue (formerly based outside of Shellsburg now in Cedar Rapids) on their new Adoption Center Director, Julie Havran. Julie has a B.S. Degree in Human Services and M.S. Degree in Adult Education from Drake University. After working in human services, human resources, and education, she pursued her lifelong passion for animal welfare. She became involved (and is a board member) with Friends of the Shelter, Inc. (FOTSI) after it was formed in 2004. With (great volunteers!) and Julie's background, when approached by the city of Vinton, FOTSI agreed (with Julie as Shelter Director), to contract to manage the Vinton/Benton County Animal Pound bringing it to stricter Shelter standards in 2009 going from a survival rate of less than 40% to a high of 98%, with a most recent three-year average of 97%. I can attest that the quality of care for the shelter animals and sanitary conditions improved dramatically even with limited space and the challenges of an aging building not set up for the volume of intakes (to survive). In 2011 Julie presented to the county supervisors a proposal for a lease agreement to make FOTSI eligible for grants to enlarge and improve the facility which was needed to continue in the direction of better animal welfare as well as a safe environment for the public. Per a subsequent meeting attended by co/city/state inspector/animal warden and others, it was made clear that the plans for the surrounding area made that improbable. Julie was instrumental in renegotiating a business contract that we requested with the city of Vinton in 2012 as we continued to look for ways beyond the building to better meet the needs of the many and varied animal issues in the community. Julie's vast experience and passion brought successful practices for the betterment of animal welfare in Benton Co. Unheard of then but common practice for all shelters/rescues now, among other things, adoption application process, owner responsibility, funding accountability for towns that used the services, etc. She was tenacious in finding placement or a cure for the "unadoptable" and she will bring that to Last Hope which has been their practice since its founding. Kudos to you all!! Donita Casey