Letter: LT Humane Society going in new direction

To the community,

The board of directors of the Lake Tahoe Humane Society would like to once again thank our incredible community for your continued encouragement. As a compassionate, concerned, and animal loving community, you have locked arms with us on the courageous journey to start all over again. We’re not going to sugar coat it, it’s been a challenging journey, and the hours are long – but it’s all worth it, because of you, and where we are headed.

We acknowledge that our community needs time to build back confidence with a brand new board of directors, and precisely why we have added this requirement to the Humane Society bylaws for all board members now and in the future. We are very serious about how this organization and finances are managed, and have put very stringent practices in place with risk management, compliance, and reporting. We did this to demonstrate to our donors and supporters that we are trustworthy stewards, and are now well positioned to make decisions that you can trust in. Which brings us to a very important new development.

On June 6, the Humane Society building located at 884 Emerald Bay Road was put on the market for sale.

After assessing our financial situation from many angles, we determined that selling the building was the best option to: (1) stabilize the organization; (2) immediately compensate, in full, the local veterinarians and the other businesses that we owe; (3) and to restore some of the most valued programs to the community.

“The sale of the property will allow the organization to get back to basics – serving the community,” said President Michael Dalton.

To help us with the sale, the board has selected Scott Fair, NAI Tahoe Sierra from an incredible pool of local Realtors to represent us. Fair is a South Lake Tahoe native and his experience coupled with his enthusiasm to help us sell the building and get back on our feet was the driving force behind our decision. He has a high track record with commercial sales along the Highway 89 corridor and throughout the Tahoe basin, is an avid animal lover and outdoors enthusiast.

With the help of our beloved volunteers, partners, and supporters, we have cleaned house, raised some money with our garage sale, and now it’s time to pack up just the essentials and head to a new home. We will remain at the 884 Emerald Bay Road location until the new owner takes possession. We may be decentralized for a bit, but home for us is where our hearts are – we welcome your help as we knit together our new purpose.

As a compassionate, concerned, and animal loving community, you continue to inspire us to forge forth with the courageous journey it takes to start all over again. Together, we have picked up an organization that was in ruins, almost out of business, and with large issues to resolve.

We have reached out, you have shown up, and shown up big. We continue to be honored and delighted with the outpouring of support from each of you. Helping us clean up, donating and connecting us to resources, giving us space, lending us your expertise, sending us ideas, and shedding tears with us as we carry forth.

We want to build a new organization with you that we can all be proud of and believe in again – This incredible community has been our “true north” as we make decisions, ask for guidance, and build a common vision — for this we are truly grateful.

We thank you for your continued support.

As always, with incredible gratitude,

Chantale Hansen, vice president operations Lake Tahoe Humane Society