Hinsdale Humane Society Celebrates 50 Years
From The Doings Newspaper
Thursday August 7, 2003
Humane Society is celebrating 50 years
The world at large has changed a lot since 1953, and so has our own little world at the foot of Elm Street in Hinsdale.
The Hinsdale Humane Society will celebrate its 50th birthday Aug. 21. We started in a ramshackle shed that served as the local pound with poor ventilation, no heat and the only light provided by a single bulb that hung from the rafters. The only water supply came from a garden hose and animals were housed in wooden cages, with several in each cage.
A group of dedicated and concerned women appealed to the village to let them clean up the old shelter and was granted permission to do so. They also stressed the importance of education as the solution to animal control problems. Thus began the Hinsdale Humane Society.
In 1958, ground was broken for a new shelter. Over the years since, the shelter has acquired modest additions and undergone 4 extensive renovations, evolving into the modern, clean, bright shelter it is today.
Begun by volunteer efforts, with early board members doing all of the cleaning, caring for and adoption of animals, the society now has a full-time staff of knowledgeable animal care-takers to provide consistent care for the animals and to provide the public with help in selecting the best animal match for them.
As our reputation grew, we began to adopt animals to families from as far away as the outer reaches of the suburban Chicago area. Now the Internet is allowing us to reach even farther to find homes for our animals. People have seen our animals on our own Web site, www.hinsdalehumanesociety.org or on the www.petfinder.com and emailed us for more details. They have driven from as far away as Milwaukee, Champaign and most recently from Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, to adopt our pets. In one case, an animal that had been with us for more than two months found just the right family (and a look-alike dog friend) in Cincinnati. We couldn’t be happier with the help we are receiving from advances in technology in finding homes for our animals.
So we have much to celebrate and to be thankful for in this, our 50th year. We have a new logo, a new video high-lighting our services and now we’re planning a birthday party for our adopters, adoptees and supporters. We’re planning a big birthday party and open house on the shelter grounds from 4 pm to 6 pm Sunday Aug. 24th. We hope you’ll join us for this festive occasion. And if you’ve adopted a companion from us, please bring him along. We’ll have a blessing of the animals at 5 pm, one of our volunteers will make commemorative photo buttons to take home and shelter tours will be conducted by staff members. Birthday cake will be served and there will be treats for attending alumni, too. Please join us for this festive homecoming.
