Milwaukee, WI

Last night I had occasion to visit the Wisconsin Humane Society on Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee and I was so impressed that I had to crow about it on this blog.

The primary purpose of my visit was to see whether there were any bulldogs available for adoption. The secondary purpose was to look at all the cute cats and lovely dogs and make goofy baby-talk noises at them. “You’re a cute widdle guy aren’t you? Yes you are! Oh yes you are!” No luck on the bulldog, but I did get to ooh and aww at a kitty or two, so it was a good night.

I didn’t expect to be all that impressed with the Humane Society, though. I’ve seen other Humane Society facilities, and while they certainly weren’t bad, they were just mediocre. The Wisconsin Humane Society, however, really goes above and beyond expectations.

The Wisconsin Humane Society has an extremely up to date and very useable website. I looked at the available animals on the website before my visit, and lo and behold, the website was updated enough that many of those very same animals were there during my visit. (It seems like a small thing, but we’ve all seen horribly outdated websites, so when something is actually as it should be on the web, I’m allowed to be pleasantly surprised). The website shows good pictures and descriptions of the animals and is actually quite entertaining to read.

The Humane Society facility is large, clean, and very comfortable. The cats have their own section away from the dogs, and the animals’ areas are sparse but nice. Each animal’s room has a little description of the animal along with their personality type which makes it easy to find a pet that is a good fit. For example, my favorite dog personality is “Goofball - I’m a fun-loving, happy all the time, glass is half full kind of dog looking for someone who loves to laugh and play. You must have a great sense of humor and a bunch of tennis balls.” Animals that were being considered for adoption were clearly marked, as were those who were going to be going to their new homes in the near future.

We were free to wander among the animal rooms and there was enough staff present even at 8p.m. that when we had questions they were answered promptly.

For some reason there was a large number of labradors at the Humane Society when we visited, so if you are looking for a lab, please check out the Humane Society. Particularly this little gem here named Jessie - she came right to the window, wagging and sweet-eyed when we approached. She’s an adorable little doll and will make someone very happy when they find her and take her home.

With any luck, in a month or two I can share my “We adopted a bulldog from the Humane Society” story here.