Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 | 2 a.m.
The Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shelter in central Las Vegas has plenty of animals looking for a good home, from bunnies huddled under makeshift beds to cats lazing around atop feline towers.
The shelter annually cares for 2,500 animals. And, as executive director Lori Heeren put it, its resources are being stretched thin and making it “really difficult” to maintain services.
Food costs, payroll increases, a decrease in donors and fewer people adopting large dogs — which requires them to stay longer at the no-kill shelter — have created a “perfect storm” of financial issues, Heeren explained.
“It’s more expensive to run everything these days,” Heeren said. “It’s a perfect storm for a lot of shelters our size out there, and that’s why if anybody does have the means to either adopt or donate — especially this time of year when a lot of people want to do end-of-year giving — we’re just really grateful for that.”
The shelter, which has five cat rooms, a rabbit room, a guinea pig room and almost 50 dog kennels, needs about $3 million annually to stay afloat, Heeren said. It receives some grant money from Clark County and relies on the generosity of donors for the rest.
And Heeren says she’s become well versed in stretching the money to enhance the shelter, including moving it in late 2021 from an outdated facility on Dewey Drive, near Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road, to the new location just shy of 2 miles away on Procyon Street, west of Allegiant Stadium.
The previous shelter was in “such a state of disrepair that it was not safe,” said Heeren, who in 2019 left a 30-year career in sales to lead the Nevada SPCA.
The old shelter had outdoors kennels that caused some of the animals to overheat, collapsed drains and rusted fencing, she said.
The new facility has kennels with air conditioning nearby. Nevada SPCA also expanded staff to include on-site veterinarians. Workers also immersed themselves in learning about best practices for animal sheltering, she said.
“We’re an animal shelter, but I really tell people that we are a human services organization, and I underscore that because a lot of people will discount us, especially if they’re not an animal person,” Heeren said. “But we have so many stories about how these animals have literally saved people’s lives, especially during the pandemic.”
When residents were stuck at home during the pandemic, having a pet provided companionship to bridge the void of social interaction, she said. But, post-pandemic, many pets have been returned, Heeren said.
As an example: About 620 kittens alone entered Nevada SPCA’s doors last year, almost twice as many from the previous year, according to statistics provided by the shelter. In 2022, 2,557 animals were adopted from the facility.
The shelter typically receives owner surrenders but also takes in animals found on the street and overflow from the Animal Foundation, an animal shelter off Eastern Avenue and U.S. 95. Some of the shelter’s animals — like Holden, an Australian shepherd mix puppy — have come from out-of-state shelters, like Kingman, Ariz.
Pet store sales curbed
Clark County last year banned the sale of dogs, cats, rabbits and potbellied pigs at pet stores in an effort to help curb the amount of animals ending up at local shelters.
The commissioners’ chamber was filled with people in support of the ordinance, many of whom echoed a similar sentiment during public comment: Clark County has a “crisis situation” due to the number of stray animals on the street.
Commissioner Michael Naft — whose district includes the Nevada SPCA — proposed the ordinance. Heeren addressed the commission in support.
“Today we heard from shelters, rescues, business owners, animal welfare advocates, policymakers, students, subject-matter experts and the group’s largest business interest group (the Vegas Chamber of Commerce) all in support of this agenda item ... because — like I see it — this is both the humane thing to do and the fiscally responsible thing to do,” Naft said at the meeting.
The ordinance went into effect at the end of last year, but pet stores were given an additional year to sell their remaining animals. Heeren said she thought the ordinance was “great,” but she has yet to see a decrease of animals bought from pet stores or illegal breeders being surrendered.
Luckily, cat adoptions have “taken off” across the country as more people look for pets that are inexpensive and easy to manage in smaller living quarters like apartments, Heeren said.
Heeren, who grew up on a dairy farm in South Dakota, knows just how important animals can be to a person’s life. She has her own crew of pets at home — three personal cats and six fosters — and has been surrounded by animals since she was a little girl.
Running the Nevada SPCA isn’t the easiest job, Heeren said, but helping pets and future owners “find happiness” has become part of her life’s work.
People interested in adopting a pet can visit the Nevada SPCA at 5375 S. Procyon St. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Prospective donors can visit this website.
