I love public speaking. I am, in real life, a very gregarious person who is always the life of a party, and never at a loss for words. However, my bravado was taken down several (hundred) notches at a recent meeting at Brookfield City Hall.
I was invited to speak to the Licensing Committee in regard to some shelter statistics on complaints we had received in regard to the number of pets people had living in their home. The first item on the agenda was in regard to "animals at large". I was taking copious notes on the story of an unhappy citizen when she uttered the words "So, I called the Humane Society". What followed was very audible snickering, rumbling, laughing and the person behind me said "What a joke". I could feel my face turn red with shame. I had no idea what people thought of Humane Societies. Or maybe I just thought that people loved Elmbrook but thought other Humane Societies were not as great as we are.
Surely I am biased, as I spend about 60 hours a week here, and I know all the good we do for the community, and the animals here. But, it was very hard to hear, and I started praying that they would forget to call me up to the podium. Unfortunately, they did not forget me, and the walk up to the podium seemed to take about 20 minutes. Once up there, all of my saliva dried up and I had a cracking voice while trying to mutter out the statistics I came to present. I prayed for one of those large vaudeville hooks to creep in and yank me out a side door. I stumbled through a few questions, then returned to my seat.
After some more discussion, I was again asked to come up to the podium. Fortunately, my genetics had kicked in and I got my Irish up, and was able to return to the podium and speak more eloquently about the subject at hand, give more information, and hopefully my input will lead to a fair resolution of the question of animal limit laws in the City of Brookfield. I have to add, that I work and live in the City of Brookfield, and would never leave the city limits if not for the draw of Mayfair Mall and the occasional Brewer game.
But, the meeting did leave me rattled after taking in the public perception of what a Humane Society is. In fact, we even had an adopter refer to us as "dog jail" the other day. Now, if we are going to compare Elmbrook Humane Society to a prison, it would surely be one of those nice white collar prisons up in Connecticut, not one of those horrible ones on MSNBC's "Lock Up".
The animals here are confined for a portion of each day, no doubt. However, you will not find a cleaner, odor free establishment in Wisconsin - and that includes places without animals. Plus, the dogs, cats and rabbits here get more outside time than any prisoner in any jail in this country! We have dog walkers, and even dog runners who take the dogs out for plenty of play time. The cat socializers spend countless hours playing with the cats in a playroom. Even the rabbit volunteers make sure the rabbits get plenty of floor time and set up ramps for them to climb and explore play areas.
When I was a kid, the local humane society was a sea of chain link fences, barking dogs with dirty cages, and lethargic looking cats. Those days are over. Elmbrook is a happy place, with happy animals, happy employees, and happy endings each and every day. Even if you are not looking to adopt a new family member, I strongly encourage you to come to Elmbrook Humane Society and see for yourself what a great place we really are. I am very proud to work here, and I know you will be proud to know how much the people in your community care about the animals here as they helped us build this place and their support allows us to continue this work.
