Mission and History - Briggs Animal Adoption Center

The National Humane Education SocietyMission and History …………………………1Message from the Board of Directors ……… 2Humane Education & Advocacy……………. 3Peace Plantation Animal Sanctuary ………… 5The Briggs Animal Adoption Center ………. 6Spay Today …………………………………. 8Alliance Partnerships ……………………….. 9Operation Catnip …………………………… 9Potomac Highlands Animal Rescue ………. 10Fern Wildlife Refuge ……………………… 10Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue …………………11Planned Giving……………………………....12Financial Information ……………………….13Board of DirectorsJames D. TaylorPresidentAnna C. BriggsFounder & Vice PresidentCynthia L. TaylorVice PresidentChristina B. FernandezSecretaryVirginia B. DunganTreasurer

1Mission and HistoryWhenever we, as a society, allow an animal to die from starvation or abuse, or whenever a euthanizingagent enters the bloodstream of a healthy animal, we wound humanity.Anna C. Briggs, FounderIn 1948, in response to our Nation’s constant killing of stray andabandoned companion animals, Mrs. Anna C. Briggs founded TheNational Humane Education Society (NHES) as a private, nonprofitanimal welfare organization with a central mission “to foster asentiment of kindness to animals in children and adults . . . .” Thismission stemmed from the foundation of Mrs. Briggs’ philosophicalbelief system that “Animals have intrinsic value in and of themselvesand are deserving of our protection.”Kindness in Action – Anna C Briggs1957 Washington, D.C.Then, in 1963, Alice Morgan Wright, NHES board member and benefactress, wrote 12 GuidingPrinciples to serve as a simple blueprint for the creation of a more humane world:1. To oppose cruelty in all its forms.2. To strive for an end to bullfighting, rodeo and all cruelsports whenever performed and wherever represented as artor as entertainment.3. To strive to abolish cruel trapping.4. To discourage hunting, especially as a sport.5. To oppose all poisoning of wildlife.6. To protect and conserve wildlife for its own sake and not asa resource for Man’s exploitation.7. To aid or initiate programs for slaughter reform. Alice M. Wright, Benefactress8. To teach humane handling and care of work animals and food animals.9. To advance programs in the humane sterilization of cats and dogs in order to reduce theiroverpopulation.10. To provide for the rescue, housing and feeding of lost, stray or abandoned animals untilsuitable homes are found.11. To urge that when it is necessary to put any tame animal to death, unless some bettermethod of euthanasia is available, it be so arranged that the animal be held in the arms ofsome human friend while it is being given a painless preliminary anesthetic, to be strokedand comforted with reassuring words until it loses consciousness, after which the lethalagent should be quickly administered.12. To recognize in animals their capacity for friendship and their need for friends. Tobefriend all Earth’s creatures of the land, the sea and the air—to defend them againstravages by mankind, and to inspire in human beings compassion for all.Sixty years after its founding, without financial assistance from local, state, or federalgovernments, NHES continues to grow and to decrease animal suffering through its humaneeducation, advocacy and animal care programs. Today, with nearly 400,000 supporters, NHES isstill guided by Mrs. Briggs’ philosophical belief system and is committed to the implementation ofAlice Morgan Wright’s 12 Guiding Principles as a blueprint for the creation of a more humaneworld.

2Message from theBoard of Directors of The National Humane Education SocietyThroughout fiscal year 2008, we continued dedicating our energies to “achieving an optimumreduction in animal suffering.” The reality is that myriad forms of suffering are experienced byhundreds of thousands of animals every day in our country—and around the world. The best thatany of us can hope for is that in some small way, our humane work will make a positivedifference and decrease animal suffering. With your support, during the past year, our efforts—the efforts of the National Humane Education Society—did, in fact, positively impact the lives ofthousands of animals through our humane education & advocacy and direct animal careprograms.Overall, during fiscal year 2008, we were able to provide more funding for humane education &advocacy activities and direct animal care programs, which when combined served more peopleand animals than ever before in NHES’s nearly 60-yearhistory.Anna C Briggs with “PK” 2008As you read the descriptions of NHES’s ProgramServices on the following pages: (I) HumaneEducation & Advocacy Program, (II) Peace PlantationAnimal Sanctuary, (III) Briggs Animal AdoptionCenter, (IV) Spay Today, and (V) Alliance PartnershipProgram, we hope that you will share our sense ofaccomplishment for their achievements during the pastyear. And please remember this: you—NHESdonors—are the people who make our charitable workon behalf of animals possible. Each of you is helpingto reduce animal suffering and create a more humaneworld. You are making a difference!As in years past, we—the Board of Directors of The National Humane Education Society—remain steadfastly committed to the creation of a more humane world for animals throughsubstantive expansion of NHES humane education and advocacy activities and hands-on animalcare programs. To these ends, with your help, we will continue our humane work far into thefuture.We thank you.

3Program ServicesI. The Humane Education & Advocacy Program, which constitutes NHES’s largest programexpense, serves to educate children and adults about proper animal stewardship through (1)creating and providing humane education presentations, (2) providing informational services tosupporters and the general public, (3) networking with other humane organizations, (4) creatingand distributing humane education materials, both nationally and internationally, (5) creating andmaintaining relevant information on the NHES website and via email newsletters, and (6)advocating for animals by encouraging a multitude of private companies, law enforcement,regulatory agencies, and lawmakers, nationally and internationally, to adopt policies and lawsthat encompass the humane treatment of animals.In 1954, Alice Morgan Wright, NHES board member and benefactress, wrote of NHES, “In1948 we incorporated, a small group of us, to carry on what we think is one of the urgent needsof our time, Humane Education.” Today, the urgent need for humane education is still with us,and the NHES Humane Education & Advocacy Program is doing its part to meet this need—toprovide humane education and create a more humane world. During fiscal year 2008, theHumane Education & Advocacy Program’s achievements included:• Presenting humane education programs, utilizingmyriad formats, to thousands of children, teachers,parents, humane educators and civic group leadersnationwide.• Providing over 550 humane societies, serviceagencies and grassroots animal rescue organizationsfrom across the country—and around the globe—with humane education materials and resources thatcovered a vast array of humane stewardship topics.A small sampling of the recipient organizations andlocations include:Animal Welfarists, BrazilHealthy Pets, GuatemalaUS Military Base, GermanyCosta Mesa Police Department, CaliforniaHawaii Dog Foundation Rescue, HawaiiSNIP Alliance, IllinoisLawrence County Humane Society, KentuckySt. Mary’s High School, MarylandPinkerton Animal Hospital, North DakotaGovernor’s Institute for EducationConference, PennsylvaniaCompanion Animals For Life, TexasWest Jordan Animal Control, UtahCheyenne Animal Shelter, Wyoming

4• Distributing humane education materials (brochures, posters, booklets, etc.) andadditional downloadable materials in PDF format from NHES’s website to millions ofindividuals in all 50 states and internationally.• Contacting 520 federal, state, and county public officialsthroughout the US, as well as many international leaders andprivate corporations, and advocating for animals viaencouraging them to support the humane treatment of animalswhen considering specific policies and legislations.• Disseminating educational information and updates throughemail newsletters to thousands of humane-minded peoplethroughout the U.S. and Canada.• Distributing hundreds of animalwelfare films through the Focus onAnimals educational library.About 80 educational film titlesand duplicates are available forfree on loan or low-cost purchase.Focus on Animals Film Library• Sponsoring national essay contests open to 3-12 grade students.• Conducting the Fifth Annual Cool to Care summer camps where children learned basicanimal care, made animal-related arts and crafts, enjoyed socialization time withcompanion animals, and simply enjoyed being kind to animals.

6Quiet, rural environment.Cage-free living.Indoor, open and airy colony rooms with access to large fenced-in, grassy yards or, atminimum, screened-in porches or patios that allow the cats to enjoy the benefit of freshair and sunshine.Daily care from compassionate and experienced animal care attendants.On-site veterinary clinic with staff veterinarian and certified veterinary technician.Employees living on-site to provide emergency care and transportation when needed.Plenty of toys, climbing areas andperches.Premium diets, includingveterinarian prescribed special diets.Fire and Smoke Detection Systemsthat are tied into central reportingstations, which immediately notifyand dispatch fire/rescue personnelwhen necessary.• Continuing to play an integral role asone of a select few sanctuaries participating in an ongoing field study with CornellUniversity College of Veterinary Medicine and Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program.This field study helps identify the frequency of disease problems in shelter environmentsand enhance understanding of optimal preventive treatment measures for animals inshelter/sanctuary environments. (We believe that this field study will ultimately have apositive influence on the provision of veterinary medical care for shelter/sanctuaryanimals far into the future.)(To learn more about Peace Plantation, please visit our website at www.ppasny.org.)III. The Briggs Animal Adoption Center (BAAC), located 64 miles west of Washington, D.C.,near Charles Town, West Virginia, is one of the finest animal care facilities in the country. Itbecame operational inOctober 2000 and providesComprehensive AdoptionServices for cats and dogs,which consist of animalrescue; veterinary medicalcare—including mandatoryspay/neuter beforeadoption;socialization/rehabilitation;canine obedience training;and delivery of all dogs totheir new homes.The Briggs Animal Adoption Center

7The BAAC has and maintains a daily humane holding capacity of an approximate 205 animals(80 dogs and 125 cats). Since becoming operational in October 2000, the BAAC, in conjunctionwith the former NHES Comprehensive Adoption Services Program, has placed thousands ofcompanion dogs and cats in loving lifelong homes. During fiscal year 2008, the BAAC’sactivities and accomplishments included:• Welcoming a record-breaking number of visitors—8,055 to be exact—and striving toeducate each of them about the responsibilities of adopting a companion dog or cat, andthe absolute need to spay and neuter one’s companion animals, as well as the role thateach of us can play in creating a more humane world.• Achieving a 46-percent increase in dog adoptions and a 44-percent increase in catadoptions from Fiscal Year 2007.• Continuing to maintain very low returnrates for adopted dogs and cats: a 5-percent return rate for dogs (meaning, only5 out of every 100 adopted dogs werereturned) and a 4-percent return rate forcats (meaning, only 4 out of every 100adopted cats were returned).• Continuing to serve as a donor site for theEastern Veterinary Blood Bank (EVBB),which offers the humane alternative of “humanely” collecting blood from donors who arebeloved pets, as opposed to the normative practices of large veterinary blood banks thatcollect blood from a confined colony of canine donors—dogs who reside in a housingfacility and donate blood every month. (To learn more about the EVBB and theirlifesaving work, please visit them on their website at www.evbb.com.)• Welcoming Vietnam and Iraq War Veterans from the VA Hospital, who joined ourvolunteer program to help socialize and rehabilitate the cats and dogs in our care.• Assisting the NHES Humane Education & Advocacy Program by providing animalhandlingdemonstrations in conjunction with educational presentations to a wide varietyof children’s groups.• Continuing to be recognized for our contribution tothe “public good” by providing lifetime veterinarymedical care and food to Loudoun County FireMarshal’s Officer Jimmy, a female Canine AccelerantDetection Dog, who with her partner, InvestigatorBud Herndon, are one of only 82 Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive detection teams inthe United States.

8• Supporting animal victims of abuse by attendingMichael Vick’s hearing in Richmond, Virginia, and lesspublicized abuse cases such as a 2-day hearing inanother Virginia courthouse in the hopes that some typeof justice would be done for a small dog, named Lala,who had been set on fire and later euthanized due to theseverity of her injuries. Regretfully, in our eyes—therewas no justice for Lala’s suffering.• Providing Jefferson County Fire & Rescue Departmentwith 36 animal oxygen mask kits (one for every vehicle in the department’s fleet). Eachkit contains 3 masks—one for cats, one for small dogs, and one for large dogs. (Thesemasks are designed to work with the department’s existing oxygen tanks.)• Expanding off-site adoption events to include locations in the tri-state area of Virginia,West Virginia, and Maryland.• Continuing to maintain an active Dog Therapy Program for nursing home residents inVirginia and Maryland.• Distributing food and blankets to grass-roots animal rescue groups in neighboringcounties.(To learn more about the BAAC, please visit our website at www.baacs.org).IV. Spay Today, also located near Charles Town, West Virginia, became a program of NHESin 2001 and serves as a tangible example of NHES’s endorsement of spaying and neutering aspart of the humane solution to ending the overpopulation and ensuing euthanasia of healthycompanion animals.Since its creation in 1994 with one part-timeemployee and 2 participating veterinarians,Spay Today has expanded its staff to includeone full- and two part-time employees andnow works collaboratively with an everincreasingnumber of participating veterinaryhospitals to provide low-cost spay and neuterprocedures for companion animal owners whootherwise could not afford the normative feesfor these services. In its 14 year history, SpayToday has spayed/neutered 19,963 companionanimals—dogs, cats, and rabbits.Spay Today StaffDuring fiscal year 2008, Spay Today’s activities/accomplishments included:• Achieving another Landmark Year with 4,010 spay/neuter procedures!

9• Partnering with The Shenandoah Valley Spay & Neuter Clinic (SVSNC), also a nonprofitorganization, to further decrease animaleuthanasia by implementing a pick-up anddelivery service for companion animals that arescheduled for spay/neuter procedures at SVSNCand are coming from the tri-state area ofVirginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.• Directly serving residents of 6 states (Delaware,Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia) who utilized Spay Today’slow-cost services.• Assisting 27 humane societies across the country and providing them with low-costspay/neuter and information services.• Assisted individuals from as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas by referringthem to low-cost spay/neuter programs in their areas.(To learn more about Spay Today, please visit the NHES website at www.nhes.org, go to“Programs,” and click on “Spay Today.”)V. Alliance Partnership Program works collaboratively with and provides major funding toother reputable humane organizations, whose work embodies the successful implementation ofone of NHES’s 13 Guiding Principles. The following is a sampling of three such organizationswith whom NHES partnered in fiscal year 2008:1. Operation Catnip (OC) of Gainesville,Florida, exemplifies NHES’s 10 th GuidingPrinciple, “To advance programs for the humanesterilization of cats and dogs in order to reducetheir overpopulation.”In NHES’s eyes, Operation Catnip has not only“advanced programs for the humane sterilizationof [feral] cats” but rather, Operation Catnip hasbecome one of the leading standard-settingorganizations for the humane sterilization of feralcats whose lives, when unsterilized andunmanaged, are characterized by endlesssuffering, starvation and death.Dr. Julie LevyIn addition, we would also like to reiterate our past assessment of Operation Catnip, because it isas appropriate today as it was then: “Operation Catnip is worthy of distinction not simplybecause of the increasing number of feral cats that it has spayed and neutered each year, but alsobecause of Operation Catnip’s emphasis on education, the public and private sector support thatit has gained and, most encouraging—Operation Catnip’s volunteer base that includes veterinarystudents. NHES believes that these veterinary students will take their first-hand experiences withOperation Catnip and the feral population that it serves with them into their professional

10veterinary careers where they will further decrease the killing of healthy animals through, as yet,unknown humane spay/neuter endeavors in the future.”NHES would like to thank Dr. Julie Levy, the full board of directors of Operation Catnip, itsvolunteer veterinarians, volunteer veterinary students, and community volunteers for their lifesavingwork on behalf of feral cats, and for allowing NHES to play a supporting role in thismodel program.During fiscal year 2008, Operation Catnip, like Spay Today, also had another Landmark Year byspaying and neutering 4,072 feral cats and returning them to managed colony sites.(To learn more about Operation Catnip, please visit them at www.operationcatnip.org.)2. Potomac Highlands Animal Rescue (PHAR) of Mathias, West Virginia, exemplifiesNHES’s 11 th Guiding Principle: “To provide for the rescue, housing and feeding of lost, stray orabandoned animals until suitable homes are found.”PHAR is worthy of distinction because of its volunteers—a handful of humane-mindedindividuals—who, in 1993, banded together to combat animal neglect, uncontrolled breeding,and lack of routine veterinary care that was prevalent in the Potomac Highlands of WestVirginia. Even today, it is not unusual to see dogs chained to a tree or stake with little or noshelter, food, or water—only 50 to 100 feet from their “guardian’s” house.PHAR volunteers drive literally thousands of miles each month to feed, rescue, and transportanimals from the Potomac Highlands to animal care facilities, like the Briggs Animal AdoptionCenter, in the more populated areas of Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, wherethese deserving animals are afforded an increased opportunity to find new adoptive homes.Since 1993, PHAR has successfully rescued over 9,500 animals. During fiscal year 2008, PHARrescued 1,462 animals, including cats, dogs, horses, farm animals, exotic animals and wildlife.3. Fern Wildlife Refuge (FWR) of Winchester, Virginia, exemplifies NHES’s 6 th GuidingPrinciple: “To protect and conserve wildlife for its own sake and not as a resource for Man’sexploitation.”FWR continues to be worthy of distinction because since its creation in 1992, on a shoe-stringbudget, and with a very small, all volunteer staff, FWR has rehabilitated and released well over11,600 birds, small mammals, and reptiles, and responded to an ever-increasing number ofpublic service calls, literally thousands since 1992. Please see the chart below for a review ofFWR’s activities and accomplishments during FY 2008:

11Month Avian Mammal ReptilePublicService Calls2007July 123 23 2 55August 39 61 45September 18 28 50October 6 3 7November 7 12December 3 122008January 4 2 10February 12 5 12March 6 2 22April 14 39 38May 67 33 63June 100 20 75Total 399 214 4 401Please note that the number of wildlife served continues to be consistent from year to year. Acomparison between FY 2007 and FY 2008 below shows that, although there were slightly fewermammals in FY 2008, birds received and public service contacts made were at an all time high.Year Avian Mammal ReptilePublicService Calls2007 389 225 9 3162008 399 214 4 401Public education was a top priority for FWR during FY 2008. When the need for constant careand treatment slowed down (November 2007 through March 2008), Gretl Learned, FWRPresident, gave lectures on the importance of co-existing with wildlife in our neighborhoods,farms and communities. Public service calls regarding this and other issues were received fromnational as well as Canadian callers. This type of contact is a much hoped for sign that thepublic is actively seeking ways to change their actions towards wildlife.(To learn more about FWR, please visit them at www.fernwildliferefuge.org.)4. Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue (MAHR) of Chesapeake City, Maryland, exemplifies NHES’s1 st Guiding Principle: “To stive for an end to bullfighting, rodeo and all cruel sports[horseracing] wherever performed and wherever represented as art or as entertainment.”Each month, MAHR volunteers travel to the horse auction in New Holland, Pennsylvania, andbid against the “Kill Buyers” to save as many ex-racehorses as they can from being sent toslaughter. Since its creation in 2002, MAHR has saved more than 600 horses from beingslaughtered and placed them loving homes where they are living out their lives as companionriding horses

12Ginny Suarez, MAHR President and Bev Strauss, MAHR DirectorDuring fiscal year 2008, MAHR rescued 89 slaughter-bound horses, placed 56 in their foreverhomes, and transferred 33 to other reputable horse rescue groups.(To learn more about MAHR, please visit them at www.midatlantichorserescue.org.)Planned GivingDuring fiscal year 2008, 43 individuals left planned gifts—financial legacies of love—andhelped NHES expand its humane education and hands-on animal care programs. Without theseindividuals’ planned support of NHES, fewer people would have heard our humane message andfewer animals would have been saved and placed in loving, lifelong homes.Gifts Beyond a Lifetime: Making a gift, such as a bequest, to NHES is one of the most powerfulways you can help NHES foster a sentiment of kindness to animals in children and adults, andthereby create a more humane world for animals. Gifts of life insurance, real estate, annuities,trusts, and retirement funds can ensure that your desire to create a more humane world willcontinue beyond your lifetime.There are many benefits of planned charitable giving for both the donor and the animals thatNHES serves. For the donor, these benefits can include:• Reducing income tax• Avoiding capital gains tax• Passing assets to your family at a reduced tax cost• Providing additional income for life for the donor or a loved one• Making a significant gift to a cause that is very important to the donorIf you would take comfort in knowing that your compassion for animals will continue far into thefuture, please contact Michael Mahrer, Director of Development, at (304) 725-0506 to requestadditional information or to discuss planned giving opportunities.

13Financial InformationExpenses--2008Program Services--200834%3%78%10%34%10%12%5%14%Humane educationBAACPeace PlantationProgram servicesManagement & generalFundraising/membership acquisitionMember ServicesSpay TodayAlliance Partnership Programs (Rescue andRelief)Revenues By Source--200863%23%13%1%ContributionsEstates and BequestsFoundations and TrustsOther

14Financial InformationThe National Humane Education Society and Affiliates Consolidated Statements of Activities(Accrual)Years Ended June 30, 2008 and 2007Unrestricted Net Assets 2008 2007Revenues and Gains:Contributions $2,653,849 $ 2,742,436Estates and bequests 971,074 1,172,616Foundations and trusts 21,041 30,211Mailing list rental income 105,462 53,949Interest and dividends 37,785 28,776(Gain) on Sale of Assets 1,000 -Merchandise sales (net of cost of goods) 1,268 4,487Net realized and unrealized gains (loss) onLong-term investments (51,003) 66,897Other 16,203 25,149Special Events (net) 78,783 8,226Service fees 332,515 260,775Net assets released from restrictions 8,728 3,346Total unrestricted revenues and gains 4,176,705 4,396,868Expenses and Losses:Program services 3,509,302 3,382,928Management and general 547,872 656,920Fundraising/membership acquisition 449,648 471,832Total expenses 4,506,822 4,511,680Change in unrestricted net assets beforeextraordinary item (330,117) (114,812)Temporarily Restricted Net AssetsChange in value of split interest agreement (23,637) 73,256Temporarily restricted contribution 1000 -Net assets released from restriction (8,728) (3,346)Change in temporarily restricted net assets (31,365) 69,910Change in net assets (361,482) (44,902)Net Assets at Beginning of Year 3,026,746 3,071,648Net Assets at End of Year $2,665,264 $3,026,746