A MESSAGE FROM ANNA

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

We are looking forward to an eventful 2023 at the Hawaiian Humane Society! Those of you who have been following the progress toward our second campus in ‘Ewa Beach know that this project has been many years in the making.

More than a decade ago, Hawaiian Humane commissioned a study by urban planners HHF Planners that concluded that a second facility in West O‘ahu would attract nearly half of the people and animals who are currently helped at the Mō‘ili‘ili campus. Shortly thereafter, staff and board leadership began assessing the feasibility of building and operating a second permanent location.

The vision gained substance in 2015, when real estate developer D.R. Horton donated a five-acre parcel in its master-planned Ho‘opili development to establish an animal shelter.

Even with the generous donation of property, the price tag to build a state-of-the-art facility to care for animals in need was significant. Undaunted, our board, staff and staunch supporters raised $30 million for this project, mostly from individual donors and foundations.

All of that research, planning, fundraising and construction will bear fruit this year when our second campus opens in the spring.

As we embrace the future of animal welfare in 2023, we will also acknowledge the past.

The Hawaiian Humane Society celebrates its 140th anniversary in July.

The Hawaiian Humane Society’s role has evolved along with our community, from a focus on protecting working animals from cruelty and caring for abused children and animals, to fostering deeper connections with companion animals as members of the family. Along the way, we established laws preventing and punishing animal cruelty, work that continues today.

Since my arrival at Hawaiian Humane in 2019, our board, staff, volunteers and community have continued to embrace change in order to better support the needs of our animals and the people who care for them.

We have adopted the tenets of a Socially Conscious Animal Shelter.

We have redoubled our commitment to humanely reducing the population of Free-Roaming cats through no-fee spay/neuter, vaccination and microchipping.

We have added an outreach team to serve pet owners in need and keep families together.

We have expanded our transfer program, working with rescues and shelters to get more animals into homes.

We have grown our foster program to include Couch Crashers, highlighted in this issue, and to train the public in the care of newborn kittens.

Hawaiian Humane has continued to innovate over the last 140 years, but its commitment to promoting the human-animal bond and the humane treatment of all animals has never wavered.

It is a new year and we will create new memories, but the mission remains the same. Mahalo for your steadfast support of that mission and your love for our animals.