National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week: Animal Humane Society 101

It's National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week! Janelle Dixon, the CEO of the Animal Humane Society, stopped by FOX 9 to talk about AHS' mission and the services it provides for people and pets beyond simply adoption.

(FOX 9) - This week is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week and FOX 9 is celebrating by hosting an 11:45 a.m. segment with the Animal Humane Society each weekday.

Thursday, Janelle Dixon, the CEO of the Animal Humane Society stopped by to talk about the mission of AHS and its shelters.

Dixon said the humane society offers more than simply adoption services, it also provides programs for people and animals through all of the stages of an animal’s life, from adoption through end of life services.

AHS has programs for children such as Rescue Readers, where children come into the shelter and read to a dog, cat or rabbit. The organization also offers medical services for pets of people in underserved communities, such as affordable spaying and neutering. They also have humane investigators also works to rescue animals from dangerous or unhealthy situations.

On the adoption side of things, Dixon said the humane society’s top priority is to work with their local animal rescue partners in Minnesota, but they also help bring animals up from other parts of the U.S., particularly the southeast.

“We’re really fortunate in the Twin Cities that people love adoption, so we don’t have as many animals, particularly dogs, coming into the shelter locally to provide new homes for,” Dixon said. “So, we are able to use our capacity and resources to help other dogs and cats from other communities.”

Be sure to follow along all of FOX 9's Shelter Appreciation Week at 11:45 a.m. on FOX 9 News at 11 a.m. Also, be sure to check FOX9.com for all the segments.

Here is the schedule for the week: