Algoma City Council approves one-year contract with Wisconsin Humane Society

ALGOMA – During its Feb. 3 meeting, the Algoma City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a contract with the Wisconsin Humane Society for the “sheltering, care, treatment, and humane disposal of abandoned, stray, unwanted, mistreated, aggressive, quarantined, or otherwise impounded animals located within the city of Algoma.”

“There is not a shelter in Kewaunee County, so they would either go up north to Door County or into Brown County,” Algoma City Administrator Matt Murphy explained.

The contract will run Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 1, 2025, with the first year funded by “A Cause for PAWS” — an organization that has been working to bring this to fruition.

“Any animal, cats or dogs that are picked up in the city of Algoma, the humane society is contractually obligated to take them in as a stray from the city of Algoma. There weren’t any municipalities in Kewaunee County that have contracts with the Humane Society. So if someone finds a stray animal in Kewaunee County somewhere, and they try to bring it to the Humane Society, none of them are contractually obligated to take them in. So a lot of times, when they’re full, they may turn them away just because they still have to have space for ones that they are contractually-obligated to take yet. So by securing this contract between Algoma and the Wisconsin Humane Society, now the animals that are found in Algoma, the Wisconsin Humane Society is obligated to take them in,” said Rachel Parsley Charles, one of the five women who run the nonprofit, A Cause for PAWS.

“We also knew, in doing that, one roadblock may be funding, because Algoma now has to pay Wisconsin Humane Society to take in the stray animals. So our concern and what we viewed could possibly be a roadblock with the city of Algoma or any of the other municipalities that we work with, is saying, ‘Hey, we’d love to, but we don’t have this money in our budget to do that; so, we aren’t going to enter a new contract.’ So we saw that as a potential roadblock, and in order to help facilitate that, we did fundraising.”

Murphy said that while the city would be responsible for delivering the animals to the shelter, A Cause for PAWS was also willing to assist with transporting the animals.

And, their assistance in helping homeless animals does not stop there.

“We’re looking on to our next municipality. So we’re looking to work with the city of Kewaunee next and see what we can do because each municipality needs a contract. So we’re starting with our three biggest Algoma, Kewaunee and Luxemburg is kind of our plan right now, and see where it goes,” Parsley Charles added.

The organization will host a fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 16 at JW’s Place, N5685 County Rd E, Casco, 11 am – 3 pm.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/kewauneepaws.