Two Paws Up for Midge Grinstead
Anna Bassham | April 27, 2006 11:54 AM | Link
Light-hearted laughter and dog barks greet visitors entering the doors of the Lawrence Humane Society. Bright green chairs along a wall covered with trinkets and dog and cat supplies welcome anyone who enters.
The air is full of the smell of puppy food and the sounds of animals anxiously waiting for visitors.
One sound cuts through the noise: Midge Grinstead’s laugh.
Playfully leaning on the counter, her eyes sparkling with gratitude and hope, the Humane Society’s executive director has a reason to laugh: Another brick was sold.
The bricks are a current fundraiser to build a memory wall outside the shelter. Each brick has sentimental value for the purchaser, and each can have a name of a loved one (human or animal) on it.
The construction of a new kitten room and puppy row will cost the shelter $80,000. Half of the profit will go to the renovations to the shelter. The other half will go to the wall’s construction.
Grinstead, now 48, is dedicated to her job as Lawrence Humane Society executive director and also as an animal rights activist. Her passion for animals began at an early age, when her father bought a farm, complete with livestock, cats and a dog.
Grinstead worked for seven years at the state Department of Health and Environment in disease prevention and control. Nine years ago, her career headed in a new direction.
She had volunteered at the Lawrence Humane Society and was on its advisory committee. When she heard there was an opening for executive director, she jumped at the opportunity.
“I knew I could do a better job,” Grinstead said. There were just lots of things I thought I could change.”
By making the shelter inviting to the public and increasing awareness through fundraising events, Grinstead has involved the community in the shelter’s activities like few other shelters.
“When I first got here, they hated us!” said Grinstead of the Lawrence public. “If I’m known for anything, it’s making the A HREF="http://www.lawrencehumane.org">Lawrence Humane Society a household name.”
The public hated them because the shelter had previously been run as if outsiders were the enemy and the shelter staff was the only one saving animals.
Now, with her open-doors policy, people can walk in and take a look at the animals freely. Visitors are not treated as enemies to animals, as they were before. The public and the shelter’s staff now work together to save animals’ lives.
Sue Novak, head of the Humane Society Board of Directors, said that Grinstead’s passion for and devotion to animals rubs off on others, even when they least expect it.
“Midge has taken on young people who absolutely resent having to do community service, yet by the end of their time working with her, they want to come back as volunteers,” she said.
Kristin Moody, Wichita, Kan. Sophomore, volunteers at the shelter whenever she can. She loves working with the animals.
"It feels good to know that I'm helping out homeless animals," Moody said. "I just hope that people realize that there is a pet here for anyone."
The Lawrence Humane Society works with many surrounding shelters during crises and emergency situations.
During the Hurricane Katrina cleanup, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) asked Grinstead for help. She sent 1,500 kennels to Gonzales, Lou., where the displaced animals were being housed.
The shelter also receives help from other organizations. When the microburst tore through Lawrence a month ago, the HSUS, the American Humane Association, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals all offered their help.
“She has connections with HSUS, and they are more than willing to assist us during crises because they know she is managing things so professionally,” Novak said.
Grinstead and her staff also take care of all animal cruelty and neglect cases in Douglas County. Grinstead said there are between 750 and 800 animal cruelty reported cases a year.
“We are considered the ‘go-to’ shelter in the state, and that’s entirely due to our staff’s hard work under Midge’s incredible leadership,” Novak said.
There are nine staff members and 300 volunteers, although Grinstead said with a smirk that, strangely enough, there are days when not a single volunteer shows up to help.
Grinstead operates the only full-service animal shelter in Kansas. The shelter holds stray, unwanted and orphaned animals. The shelter also strives to eliminate animal cruelty and neglect, reduce births of unwanted pets, and educate the community about humane animal treatment.
“[Other shelters] get a lot of credit for not a lot of work,” Grinstead said. “They only want the best of what’s out there, and anything else has to go.”
At the Lawrence Humane Society, animals are euthanized only if they are incurably ill or if they bite in a malicious manner.
The rate of euthanization at the Lawrence Humane Society is lower than any other shelter in Kansas. It is in the top 10 percent of all shelters in the country for low euthanasia rates.
Other shelters, such as the Topeka Humane Society and the Kansas Humane Society in Wichita, Kan. euthanize 80 percent of the animals they receive. Lawrence only euthanizes 20 to 25 percent.
Grinstead said 89 percent of the dogs and 79 percent of the cats were returned to the owner, adopted or transferred to rescue groups in 2005.
The shelter receives anywhere from two to almost two hundred animals a day. Around the Fourth of July last year, 1,001 animals called the Lawrence Humane Society home.
Grinstead said the summer months bring a large increase in animals in the shelter.
“January through March, we will normally adopt 100 to 200 dogs and 100 cats per month. May through September, you could double that.”
Animals are vaccinated on intake and health checked for fleas, ticks, and other parasites and diseases. When another shelter sends an animal, the Humane Society requires a state license and any information on the animal.
In addition to her work at the Lawrence Humane Society, Grinstead is active in nationwide animal legislation and lawmaking.
With the help of Mary Pruitt, Grinstead started HumaneKansas.org, a Web site that educates lawmakers about animal welfare issues. Humane Kansas proposes and opposes legislation. It also raises money to fund proposed legislation.
Grinstead and Pruitt formed Humane Kansas Legislative Network, and hired the Hurley and Associates lobbying firm to write Senate Bill 408.
It was opposed by two pieces of legislation: Scruffy’s Law and Magnum’s Law. Scruffy’s Law would make every animal cruelty act a felony, even mistakes such as forgetting to give a dog water. Magnum’s Law would make every animal cruelty act a misdemeanor the first time, and a felony the second time.
Neither Scruffy’s Law nor Magnum’s Law passed. Instead, Senate Bill 408 passed, after Senator David Hayley (who had previously supported Scruffy’s Law) and the HSUS endorsed it.
Senate Bill 408 makes intentional cruelty a felony, insists on mandatory jail time, and requires the convicted person have a psychological evaluation and counseling. Also, those convicted must pay a $500 to $5,000 fine, depending on the severity of the act. The convicted person also is not allowed to be around animals for the next five years.
Grinstead said that designing the law and getting support was difficult. But despite the obstacles, she feels that it is the perfect protection against animal cruelty and neglect.
“I am frustrated that others took credit for the work that Mary and I did, but overall I am just happy it passed,” Grinstead said. “It is a huge relief.”
The Lawrence Humane Society is always buzzing with noise and activity. Grinstead appreciates this, knowing that it means the shelter is alive and well.
She’s experienced everything from a kind gift from an appreciative volunteer, to a gun in the face and a demand for the return of a pet.
“Two days are never the same,” Grinstead said. “I stay very busy, and it’s stressful, but the animals are so worth it.”
LINKS:
Lawrence Humane Society
Kansas Humane Society
Humane Society of the United States
Kansas Humane Society
Humane Society of the United States