Lucky's Future with Heartland Humane Society

Saturday, upon arriving in the office to sit and speak with the manager about shelter dogs and more ways in which I can help, I see a board member get up out of his chair and walk out of the room. As he reaches the doorway I hear,

"Garrett, he's here."

The member reports to the Vice President of Heartland Humane Society. I excitedly start my conversation with the manager, and after a few minutes, the board member reappears, grabbing the manager out of the room. Shortly after, the pair re-enter, clearing everyone but me out. They approach and reluctantly say,

"You can no longer walk dogs at Heartland Humane Society."

Of course, I'm upset. My body is shaking.

The board member mentioned something about 'Sponsorships' as the reasoning, but what specifically was the issue with offering Sponsorships through Lucky's, I was not told. When I say 'Sponsor,' I mean to pay Lucky's to walk / create social media content for a selected dog. My thought was that this would ensure that I would be able to continue doing the work that I'm doing at shelters... because I want to continue doing it.

When developing this program, it did not occur to me that offering an optional sponsorship would have to be confirmed with the Board, and I feel regretful for this oversight. However, I do not know how or why this would matter. From everything I've read about non-profits, there is no stipulation that a private business being paid by an individual unrelated to Heartland Humane Society could threaten their non-profit status.

As far as I know, the only instance in where something like this could be a problem is if I had implied that this was a fundraiser or that I was collecting donations on their behalf. I have not done this. I've never used the word 'donation' when advertising Sponsorships, nor have I implied that this was a charitable benefit for Heartland Humane Society, or any other shelter.

All in all, I'm pretty devastated. I was told that the Board will "discuss my role at the shelter" at their upcoming meeting on the 24th. Considering the vending machine debacle, and my regrettable decision to make that situation extremely public on Facebook (no one really reads the blog so I feel this is appropriate to write), and this new issue added on top of the previous one, I do not have high hopes for a positive outcome.

...There is some hope.

The manager is supportive of me and is doing everything she can and truly did not want to disallow me from continuing my work. I don't believe the board member who accompanied her wanted this either.

I'm attempting to message any board members I can find contact information for and requesting clarification on the situation.

I've already sat down personally with Jane Lechner, the President, and introduced myself and what I've been doing for the shelters.

With that hope in mind, I am sadly considering my work there to more-than-likely be done. The right, respectful thing would have been to tell me what exactly the issue was so I could address and fix it. I've dumped so much time and effort into trying to get these dogs adopted, but I cannot waste more energy there. Maybe one day the current Board will cycle out, and I can get back to work.

Going forward this week, I'm going to attempt at establishing clear and formal partnerships with the remaining two shelters I work with and their respective Boards. I want clear expectations that ensure a lasting, positive relationship from the get-go, no surprises.

Here's to the next adoption.

-Bret Shepard