“In July of 2023, I was working for a national rescue organization and was assigned to work hand-in-hand with the Nebraska Humane Society for 12 months. At the time, I had no idea just how much this place and the people would come to mean to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve worked at shelters across the U.S. and Canada, from small rural rescues to large municipal shelters. But this one\u2026 this one was different. From the very beginning, there was something in the air. A warmth in how the staff and volunteers welcomed me. A quiet, unwavering sense of purpose in how everyone showed up for the animals and for each other every single day. I didn\u2019t just feel like a guest passing through. I felt like I had found a place where I could plant roots. A place that felt like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most compassionate, creative, and committed people I\u2019ve ever met. We\u2019ve laughed. We\u2019ve cried. We\u2019ve pulled off the impossible more times than I can count. We\u2019ve challenged ourselves to grow, embraced big changes, and found strength in the hard conversations. We\u2019ve raised the bar\u2014not just for ourselves, but for the animals and community we serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When our shelter faced a medical outbreak, it could\u2019ve broken us. But instead, it brought us even closer together. We became one team, stronger and more united than ever. Staff and volunteers alike jumped in to help\u2014showing up early, staying late, loading transport vans in the dark, meeting with community partners, and brainstorming late into the night. No one hesitated. Everyone just showed up. For each other. For the animals. For the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since July 2023, we\u2019ve launched innovative programs, strengthened return-to-home efforts, and expanded how we support our community. Our foster and volunteer programs are thriving. Our behavior and medical teams work what often feel like miracles. Every department, every person, has played a role in building the momentum we\u2019re seeing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most personal reminders of what we\u2019re capable of is curled up beside me right now: a sweet, scrappy little pug I fostered and couldn\u2019t let go of. When he came to us, he\u2019d likely been hit by a car. He had multiple fractures, a shattered leg that had to be amputated, and a jaw that had to be wired shut. Thanks to the incredible care of our veterinary team, he recovered fully and today, he\u2019s thriving as part of my family. Every time I look at him, I see the heart of NHS in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what truly makes this place extraordinary isn\u2019t just the work we do, it\u2019s the people who make it possible. The staff who come in early and stay late, even after a full day of physically and emotionally demanding work. The ones who offer a kind word or a gentle hug to a community member who just needs to be seen. The coworkers who listen, really listen, even when our ideas are a little wild, because they believe in pushing boundaries and doing whatever it takes to save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This work is hard. It\u2019s emotional. It\u2019s often heavy. But we carry each other through it. We celebrate the wins, big and small, and we remind one another that every single life matters. That every saved animal is a victory. That together, we are stronger. This is more than a job. It\u2019s a calling. And these aren\u2019t just colleagues and volunteers\u2014 they\u2019re friends, teammates, and chosen family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nebraska Humane Society is a beacon of hope for pets, for families, and for anyone who believes in the power of second chances. I\u2019m proud to be part of its story, and even prouder to help write the next chapter. Here\u2019s to 150 years of hope. Here\u2019s to every life we\u2019ve saved and all the ones still waiting for us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Jakie, NHS VP of Shelter Operations and Strategy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(148\/150)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
148\/150 | Aug. 4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":69041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-150-stories"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68905"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69159,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68905\/revisions\/69159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}