By Gloria Caswell and Donna Hamilton
Stats for the Luce County Animal Shelter shows that 2025 was another successful of providing housing and care for the lost, stray, and unwanted cats and dogs in the county.
In 2025, the shelter took in three mother cats and 13 of their kittens, in addition to 16 rescued kittens. Eleven more adult cats arrived at the shelter during the year. In addition to the new arrivals, the shelter has 20 half-grown cats and adult cats who are ready for adoption. Forty cats were adopted to new owners last year.
Also in 2025, 30 dogs arrived at the shelter during the year, either as lost animals, strays, or surrendered by owners or their owners’ families. Of those, 11 dogs were returned to their grateful owners, and 16 dogs were adopted by new owners. Others remain at the shelter, awaiting their forever homes. Finally, 18 dogs participated in obedience training as part of the partnership with the Newberry Correctional Facility Dog Rescue Adoption program.
The shelter is at, or exceeding, capacity most of the time. Some cats, like sweet Cookie, have tested positive for Feline Leukemia (FeLV) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), which is contagious and in many shelters would make him “unadoptable”. Since cats, like the young Cookie, are actually adoptable and can live a normal life with a few restrictions, staff and volunteers will play with him and care for him until he can be adopted into a home where he will be the only cat. He is friendly and playful and would look great on your couch.
FIV-infected cats can live with other cats without spreading the disease.
These animals, so deserving of our care, are fortunate to have a temporary home at the shelter, which is funded by a half-mill millage from Luce County voters. Those funds cover the operational costs of housing, feeding, and caring for the animals, as well as routine health care and spay or neuter surgeries.
The funding also supports the salary of four part-time staff at the shelter. In addition to funding from the Luce County millage, the shelter depends on donations and grants to cover the costs of necessities like perimeter fencing, cat cages, and a washer and dryer (to launder all the animal bedding).
The staff is assisted by a cadre of volunteer helpers. The shelter would be unable to accomplish all the work tasks without the 17 regular volunteers who contribute 2-3 hours at a time, and 24 intermittent volunteers who help when they are available.
These volunteers spend more than 950 hours per month at the shelter, helping with animal care, socializing and exercising the pets and cleaning their kennels, transporting animals to and from vet appointments, purchasing supplies, and washing animal bedding.
More volunteers are needed to help the part-time shelter staff who need to deal with documenting animal intakes and contacting lost owners.
Staff check arriving animals for signs of illness or injury, fleas or ticks, evidence of identifying micro-chips, then make vet appointments for surgeries (spaying or neutering) and medical care, vaccinations and medication, and implanting micro-chips. The staff also posts information about lost or recovered animals, reviews adoption applications, checks references, makes “meet and greet” appointments, helps with building repairs, and more.
The application to volunteer, information about adoptable animals, and the application to adopt a pet, is on the shelter’s website (lucecoanimalshelter.com). You can also call the shelter at 906-293-6622 and leaving a message, if necessary.
