MARIN HUMANE SOCIETY
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A leader and her team with a cause close to their hearts
By Lily Leone Marin Academy
icture a team of intrepid volunteers driving from Marin to New Mexico, across highways, and through deserts to bring a lost dog home. Imagine the journey it must have taken for one dog to travel so far and the joy felt of reconnecting it to its family — “tears all around” for all at Marin Humane who helped make it happen. At Marin Humane, the joy of animal-human connection drives a dedicated staff of remarkable people like Lisa Bloch, Director of Marketing & Communications, helping animals and people alike.
For Bloch, this work is in her blood. From an early age, the importance of giving back to the community was instilled by her mother, who served as the executive director of the LA food bank. Bloch “was always aware of the importance of helping others and even the possibility of making a career out of it.” She can’t imagine working anywhere else. Able to channel a lifelong passion for community service and love of animals, Marin Humane is a natural fit. After all, Bloch adopted all her pets. She notes, “I always had this fondness, but I didn’t think I could make a career out of it.” In the process of doing communications and marketing for other nonprofits and moving to Marin, Bloch saw the job available at Marine Humane, and the rest is history. For Bloch her work is “the best of both worlds. And it’s much easier to do a job when you believe in what you’re doing. For me, when I believe in something, I do a better job marketing and communicating about something close to my heart.” Every day Bloch is moved by seeing the connection between people and animals— how they enrich our lives. From animal-assisted therapy,
providing dogs during finals or after a crisis, helping struggling pet parents, to disaster relief, the shelters provide essential resources that benefit both humans and animals and provide a voice for the voiceless. Gathering support is the backbone of what Bloch does and the foundation of a successfully running humane society. In recent years, social media has been key to generating buzz publicly and reaching out to those who might not otherwise be aware of the Marin Humane’s mission. Working at Marin Humane requires flexibility constantly readjusting, but the work is rewarding. Bloch notes of her workplace, “There are so many amazing, wonderful, happy things that go on. I think we’re lucky because we have a lot of animal lovers. And we have a lot of people who respect animals and treat them well. We see that with students and kids. It’s amazing to me.” Marin Humane takes in dogs, cats, birds, turtles, snakes, and other reptiles, ducks, geese, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, and more, making for a bright and welcoming community for all creatures. Lisa sees many powerful stories, animals going to amazing families, finding forever homes. She notes, “It’s a place of hope, a place of sort of new beginnings.” Bloch’s marketing work perfectly captures the immense value and infinite opportunities Marin Humane provides in their new tagline, “Lives made happy,” emphasizing their work helping animals and people connect. Now more than ever is the best time to understand the pet adoption process. With surging adoption rates occurring during COVID-19 lockdowns in spring of 2020, continuing forward, the shelters. So many people wanted to adopt, and there weren’t enough animals, a historic first in Marin Humane’s history. During the lockdown, they could not get animals transferred in, which required collaboration between regions, transport vans carrying pets across the state and country, a phenomenal demonstration of teamwork between different shelters in a time of great struggle. High interest in behavior and training classes persist, with still more people wanting to adopt. When most people think about pet ownership, they think first of pet stores but informed consumers need to challenge that preconception and always check the
Humane Society first. Bloch gives an inside point of view to the adoption process. Most people adopt from their website, but another option is petfinder.com, which shows animals available in shelters throughout your region. Those looking to adopt then work with an adoption coordinator, which provides more information about what type of household in which the pet would best thrive. After adoption, Marin Humane offers a session on what to expect and check-in after, in addition to one free behavior consultation and training. A key thing to remember throughout the adoption process is to have an open mind about the type of pet you imagine for yourself. If we get so caught up in how an animal looks, we may overlook other animals who might be a perfect fit. Bloch told us, “I’ve always had big dogs my whole life. And after I lost my last big dog, I happened to meet a little dog. I thought, I’m not a little dog person, but he’s a sweetheart and has been wonderful. I’m so glad that I didn’t turn him away just because he didn’t fit the criteria.” When it comes to pet adoption, having an open mind is essential. While the process requires patience, Bloch added, “If you wait, you know that that perfect animal will come along.” Even if you’re not adopting an animal, there are always ways to get involved with Marin Humane. Bloch and other remarkable employees of this nonprofit are proud to make a difference for people and animals. At any level, there are opportunities for people from all walks of life to engage with Marin Humane and its pets, including fundraising drives, clubs that focus on advocacy, and special events. Bloch notes, it is “amazing; little kids doing a lemonade stand to older kids working on projects.” Young people can also work with Marin Humane in legislation around domestic and farm animals, an area that many shelters don’t serve. Marin Humane also supports less well-funded shelters. Check out the Marin Humane website or their social media and consider making even small donations to help keep this amazing network running to provide essential resources to pets, pet owners, and wildlife alike. In the constant ebb and flow of the natural world, Bloch describes, “Things are always brewing about animals and people and how we coexist. You can rely on us to be a resource.” Visit: www.marinhumane.org FASTFORWARD
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