Today we’d like to introduce you to Cincinnati Animal Care Directors Carolyn Evans, Meaghan Colville, and Amanda Gilbert
Can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Cincinnati Animal CARE was formed specifically to bid on the contract for Hamilton County animal services and dog warden operations. We responded to an announcement in 2019 by our predecessor and animal services provider of 60 years that they would be ending their contract with the county. The search for a replacement found no one willing to bid on the contract and after nearly a year, our small team operating Clermont County animal services raised our hands to offer help after doing the same thing with great success with a rookie group in a neighboring county. Just 8 weeks after forming the new entity Cincinnati Animal CARE, we we were running operations and turned an outdated operation, in a community desperate for change, into a progressive no-kill county animal shelter overnight.
The story of Cincinnati Animal CARE is one of grit, courage and perseverance as we hit the ground running on August 1st, 2020, just two days after receiving our official humane society status eligibility to run a municipal shelter in Hamilton County. What we didn’t know we learned quickly, and so launched our efforts to deliver nationally-recognized animal services to the animals and people of our community. Nearly 5 years later, we’ve just secured a 10 year contract to continue in our endeavor to challenge the status quo and change the landscape of animal sheltering in our region with our “sheltering a different way” approach.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a young, rapidly growing start-up organization, we’ve faced many obstacles in shaping our current lifesaving path. In addition to the typical challenges faced by any start-up lacking in infrastructure, funding, staff resources and brand awareness, we faced the added headwinds of running two county shelters simultaneously in 2020, and launching an open-intake municipal shelter during a global pandemic, when all the rules of animal sheltering were turned upside down. Just into our 4th year, we encountered an unprecedented bout of the deadly Canine Distemper Virus when an infected dog came into the shelter as a stray. We are one of just a few northern shelters to definitively identify the disease and successfully treat a major portion of our population after a 40% infection rate. We quickly became experts on the disease and demonstrated the will, ingenuity and skills of our medical and animal care teams by hospitalizing the dogs in-house and saving 85% of those infected. This kind of grit, scrappiness and determination is a hallmark of our ambitious team.
When we were awarded the Hamilton County animal services contract, it was with the recognition that our team had the commitment, skills, experience and vision to transform the county animal shelter, but with the understanding that we were beginning from ground zero with a newly-formed organization, fledgling board of directors, legacy staff from our predecessor, and no funding other than the county contract. The county was encouraged by the work we had done in Clermont, and made the firm commitment to a no-kill mission, asking for “transformative change” with the belief that Hamilton County was eager to raise the bar in animal services. Negotiations with county officials included our “line in the sand” that we would not kill animals for space or convenience, and on our first day of operations, the Hamilton County animal shelter became a true no-kill entity overnight.
Whilst navigating these challenges and demands, Cincinnati Animal CARE has maintained Live Release Rates between 91% and 98% for both dogs and cats in every year of our operations, despite experiencing a 69% increase in our dog population since our first year.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Cincinnati Animal CARE was formed solely to bid on the Hamilton County animal services and dog warden contract. Our purpose has been to help our community envision what is possible in animal services in our region, while balancing the lifesaving of animals with the safety and needs of the community. Importantly, engaging the community to be a part of the solution through leadership, collaboration and transparency, was critical to our success. None of what we’ve achieved would have been possible without the solid commitment from Hamilton County government and its citizens, who show up as adopters, volunteers, fosters, donors and advocates for the work we do.
Our lifesaving programming is robust. With 100+ employees and many hundreds of volunteers and fosters, we operate 16 departments in a multi-faceted ecosystem of operations. From providing exceptional enrichment and medical care for animals within our shelter system and offering resources that support pet owners before the need to surrender their pet, to dynamic programming that is designed to get animals out of the shelter as quickly as possible, and field service operations aimed at keeping both animals and people safe, we are running a complex, interdisciplinary business enterprise every day. Our success relies on deep knowledge in the areas of animal handling and care, behavior & training methodologies, medical herd health and critical emergency care, counseling and case management, law enforcement, dispatch, marketing, finance, fundraising, logistics and general business acumen, combined with a commitment to industry best practices and a learning mentality committed to continuous improvement.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People would be surprised to know how dynamic lifesaving animal sheltering is. There is a lot of general misunderstanding about the role of animal shelters in our community and the complexity around running a successful one. There is confusion around the definition of “no-kill”, which is not the same as “no-euthanasia”, as euthanasia is used when animals are too sick or too dangerous to be adopted*. There is significant misconception regarding the laws we are authorized to enforce and the legal limits of our ability to intervene in circumstances that may appear black on white on the surface. With a multitude of competing priorities, all departments need to be moving in the same direction toward shared goals to optimize our impact and amplify our mission. Our industry is rapidly evolving, with the rumblings of no-kill philosophies finding their collective voice in the early 1990’s, turning an outdated “dog catcher” and “dog pound” approach based on a 150-year old antiquated “catch-and-kill model” on its head. Cincinnati Animal CARE strives to stay at the forefront of industry developments that help us fortify our mission.
*https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalShelterStories/comments/1ddo6mg/no_kill_2025/?rdt=34196
Today, no-kill sheltering in a municipal setting is a constant stream of roadblocks, emergencies and crises, responding to unknown and unexpected challenges on a daily basis. Dealing with population issues while also aiming to treat each animal and person as an individual with compassion and dignity. Our work is both heart warming and heart breaking, and we see the best and the worst of humanity. We must balance competing priorities with strategic intention and make life and death decisions every day. It is emotionally and physically draining, yet our “wins” fuel the fire to keep us fighting on behalf of animals another day.
Some context on the history of no-kill movement that might add color to your story: https://www.maddiesfund.org/the-history-of-the-no-kill-movement.htm
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cincinnatianimalcare.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cincyanimalcare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CincyAnimalCARE
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cincinnati-animal-care-humane-society/
- Twitter: https://x.com/cincyanimalcare
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CincyAnimalCARE/videos
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cincyanimalcare
