SEMO Pets outlines benefits, needs to Cape City Council

Charlotte Craig, president of Southeast Missouri Pets Board of Directors, gave a presentation Monday, Dec. 19, during the last Cape Girardeau City Council meeting of the year, sharing progress at the organization and providing the case for its importance as the time to renew its contract with the city moves closer.

SEMO Pets — formerly the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri — is nearing the end of its current agreement with the city, which expires Saturday, Dec. 31. The organization is among the not-for-profits who provide contracted services for the city and in return receive some funding. SEMO Pets also has contracts with other municipalities in region such as Jackson, and Cape Girardeau County.

As per the most recent agreement, the city paid SEMO Pets $70,868 in 2022. In November at a Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting, Craig said the shelter would be seeking a 10% increase in funding from the governments it provides contracted services for.

"I think that we are probably one of the best community assets you've got," Craig said Monday, a statement echoed by council members Robbie Guard, Shannon Truxel and Dan Presson during the meeting.

Craig has been with the organization's board since 2011. She's seen much growth during that time, she said.

When she joined the board, the shelter was saving around 48% of their dogs and 28% of their cats, those have increased to 90% this year. Craig said "in the old days" the shelter was essentially a "slaughterhouse" but it's not that anymore. Twenty or 30 animals a week used to be euthanized. Now, 50 a year are euthanized, and only because some can't be adopted because of diseases or aggressive behavior.

As of Monday, SEMO Pets took in around 2,650 animals. Cape Girardeau animal control officers brought in 344 animals and Cape Girardeau residents accounted for another 750 taken to the shelter.

"We are a turn-key operation," Craig said. Your animal control officer picks up the stray. We do the rest."

During her somewhat lengthy presentation — Craig joked she could talk about the organization forever — the SEMO Pets president showed photos of the organization's new $4.2 million facility, which opened earlier this year. It was built by Penzel Construction Co. Inc. Craig said Penzel saved the organization $1 million in building costs and SEMO Pets has raised more than $3 million for construction costs. The community has been very supportive through the process, she said.

The building is around 10 times as large as the previous home for SEMO Pets. Craig said it was built for "50 years from now, not for today" because of the likelihood of future expansion in the coming decades. The new building had to accommodate numerous standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, standards the old facility wasn't held to because it was grandfathered in.

The current SEMO Pets has glass kennels for dogs, which provide a quieter atmosphere, multiple visit rooms, state of the art air filtration systems, separate cat apartments, a contracted veterinarian and a puppy room, among other things.

"Everybody (the animals) in the new facility are ready to go home," Craig said. "They are spayed. They are neutered. They are micropchipped. They have their rabies (shots)."

Craig said the shelter is "not your mom's shelter." It has become a destination for many people to adopt pets.

The not-for-profit relies on government contracts and community donations to operate, the board president said.

SEMO Pets changed its name because the former name caused issues with some donations. The Humane Society of the United States does not support local Humane Society facilities; it's more focused on policy initiatives. Regardless, Craig said people would sometimes donate to the national organization hoping the funds would be earmarked for the shelter in Cape Girardeau, which was not the case.

"We get our money by selling one chocolate chip cookie at a time. And I say that kind of teasing, but I actually mean it," Craig said. "We survive on donations."

The shelter's only income is from government contracts, she added.

Around the beginning of 2023, council members will make the decision regarding SEMO Pets's contract with the municipality.