MILWAUKEE — Finding friendly homes for dogs, cats, and other lovable pets is a fun job, but running the multimillion-dollar Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) is also a big job.
TMJ4's @TheTable guest Alison Kleibor knows all about that. She has gone from adoption counselor to now President and CEO of the nonprofit animal shelter founded in 1879.
Kleibor sees a lot of changes in the person-pet adoption environment.
"Right now, there are a ton of economic challenges in our community and around the country. We are seeing folks who are making the impossible but loving decision to bring their animals into shelters because they can't care for them any longer."
But Kleibor says WHS is set up to help pet owners and their pets, "through low cost, spay neuter options, low-cost vaccine clinics, we have a pet food pantry, just really behavior support trying to find any way to bring resources to them that might keep that family together."
Kleibor was named CEO of the animal welfare organization last October after more than 15 years with WHS, which serves 40,000 animals annually. Part of her work is to build partnerships with other community organizations.
"Strengthening those relationships, because we're all helping animals," Kleibor said @TheTable Thursday night. 'But also looking at human service organizations, because helping people help the animals, from affordable housing to domestic violence sheltering, there's lots of opportunities to intersect that keep families including those pets together."
You can watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment every weeknight at 10 p.m.
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