Hi There!

Meet Cherne and Bales. My two senior cats,(now 19 and 17 respectively) pictured on this page, are rescue pets. The black one, Cherne, when she arrived at the shelter, had ear mites so bad from being on the streets for 6 months, we were not sure we were going to be able to save her ears.  And Bales (the Tabby) had his tail partially severed and was left on the steps of the shelter without food or water in the Winter months as a 4 month old kitten.  Fast forward to today, that as senior cats, they are living out their lives with hardly a care and giving me unconditional love each and every day.  My theory? Adopted pets seem to know that you saved them so they love you just a little bit more.  

As an animal lover, I have spent my lifetime helping to better the lives of animals in the communities in which we live.  From the time I was a little girl bringing home every stray animal that happened across my path, (my parents put up with stray dogs, stray cats, guppies and even a hamster or two!) I have worked to educate people about animal welfare whether that be volunteering at my local animal shelter, or joining the Boards of these worthwhile organizations. I currently sit on the Board of the Lawrence Humane Society in Lawrence, KS.

It's here where I need your help.  The Lawrence Humane Society is building a new, state of the art shelter to better house the over 3500 animals that we serve each year. Our current facility is aging and while we do our best, cannot provide the kind of care to save even more animlas.   I joined this Board when I moved here for work, as I could see the great job that they did after visiting the other shelters in the area.  I don't know if you are aware, but Missouri is one of the largest puppy mill areas in the US.  It saddens me to see these little faces in the shelter looking for their forever homes and not understanding how they got here in the first place, or how their owners could leave them to this fate. 

Can I count on you for a donation?  Even a little bit goes a long way and we are so close to our fundraising goal.  

Thanks in advance for your help!

Carol Koepke

Every pet deserves a happy, healthy life. For more than 3,800 lost and homeless animals in our community each year, that chance begins at the Lawrence Humane Society.

The Lawrence Humane Society is a critically-needed local resource for Douglas County and Lawrence, but is being held back by limitations of an aging, inadequate, and failing facility that is long overdue for replacement. By building a new, state-of-the-art shelter facility, the benefits to both pets and people are clear: more lives will be saved; the number of homeless and abandoned animals will be reduced; and most importantly, families will be strengthened -- by having the space to find the right home for every pet, and by helping keep pets and people together for the long-haul.

We need the community's help to make this project a reality.

Whether you can chip in $5 or $5,000, every dollar will make a difference to the thousands of animals that will receive care, life-saving medical treatment, and love in our new facility. Donate now or become a fundraiser to help us reach our $7.5 million fundraising goal by the end of 2017.

Want to make a bigger impact? Set up a personal fundraising page of your own and get involved ... for them! Click here for personal page setup instructions!

Learn more about the FOR THEM Capital Campaign by clicking here.