On Friday, April 8 the staff of St. Tammany Humane Society was greeted by the original founder of the now 63-year-old shelter. Ms. Holly Reynolds stopped by with her Schnauzer, Allie, to get annual vaccinations and see the shelter for the first time in decades. "It's not every day you get to meet the creator of the organization you work for," said St. Tammany Humane Society CEO, Scott Bernier. "I can only hope the organization she saw this week exceeded the expectations she had for the future 63 years ago."
Ms. Holly Reynolds, now 96 years old, established the humane society located on Harrison Avenue in Covington in 1953. The shelter was the first animal shelter in our parish and was responsible for both law enforcement and housing of animals in our community. Today, the original building remains (now the surgery suite) and so do the values of Ms. Reynolds. The St. Tammany Humane Society provides a safe shelter for the abandoned, neglected and unwanted animals in our parish.
Although the vision is still the same, the shelter has changed tremendously. For many decades now the once governmental shelter is now an independent, standalone organization. It also remains one of the largest no-kill shelters in Louisiana. The St. Tammany Humane Society houses a full-service veterinary clinic and surgery center open to the public. The clinic is a large revenue center for the animal shelter. On any given day, the organization has 150-200 animals under its care. The adoption program adopts on average 80 animals to new homes each month. Senior Surgery Veterinarian, Dr. Lisa Johnston, commented, “Of the 15 years I have worked for this organization, this was my first time ever meeting Ms. Reynolds. It was truly amazing.”
The day was full of appreciation, honor and of course cakes and flowers!
To see the full photo album of the day, CLICK HERE!