Preston County, West Virginia, Humane Society celebrates successes of 2024, sets goals for new year

The Preston County Humane Society is run solely by a small group of volunteers and funded through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture grant and The Peterman Foundation.

Treasurer Vickie Hammond said 2024 was a strong year, but the organization is still catching up from challenges brought on by the pandemic.

“During that time, some veterinarians weren’t open at all, some didn’t provide certain services, some required an appointment and just added a lot of precautionary measures,” she said, adding that many people were unable to take animals in for care.

The veterinarian shortage, combined with the rapid reproduction of animals, caused a growing need for spay/neuter vouchers and colony management in the county, she said.

Additionally, the organization faced challenges last year with a lack of vet clinics accepting feline spay clients and restrictions on funding usage, which must be directed toward West Virginia-based veterinarians.

“For 2025, we are just trying to move forward and hope that we don’t run into the same challenges,” she said, adding that they don’t want to cut back on the services they provide.

The humane society increased its spay/neuter services from roughly 370 assists in 2023 to more than 400 in 2024.

“We are happy to keep adding to that, and we just hope that we can get to the veterinarians who help us support the folks with the grants we receive,” Hammond said.

Cat colony management also remains a priority for the year, officials said.

Secretary and Spay/Neuter Committee member Deb Corley said the humane society is currently working with 27 active cat colonies in Preston County, just recently adding two new colonies over the winter, in Bruceton Mills and Cain’s Creek.

While the humane society does not conduct trap-and-neuter operations for colonies, it supports approved colony managers by covering necessary costs, Hammond said.

Corley and Spay/Neuter Director Alix Evans verify colonies and educate caretakers, she added.

The humane society provides colony managers with education on trapping and caring for colonies and assists with spay/neuter costs, Corley said.

Left unchecked, colonies can rapidly grow and impact the environment. Just one female cat can have up to three litters per year — having anywhere from 4 to 12 kittens per litter — making population control critical, officials said.

Still trying to make up for that lost time, the hope for the humane society is to find more volunteers to serve as colony managers in 2025, Hammond said.

While 27 colonies sound like a lot, there could be hundreds in Preston County, with some in isolated areas that have yet to be discovered, officials said.

As for continued efforts for spay/neuter, in early 2025 the organization has already issued 60 spay/neuter vouchers, Corley said.

“We’ve been doing the voucher program since 2019 and hope to continue exceeding our goals, helping as many pet owners as possible,” she said.

The program initially aimed to provide one voucher per day but has consistently exceeded that goal, she said.

Education remains a key focus in 2025, as veterinary costs continue to rise, making services unaffordable for many pet owners, Corley said.

The organization is also excited about its expanded sick and injured fund, which has allowed it to help more animals, she added.

Overall, more volunteers are needed to assist with visual inspections of colonies, answering calls for vouchers and colony assistance, and reviewing veterinary bills, officials said.

The Preston County Humane Society holds monthly meetings on the second Thursday of each month at The Preston County Inn. Dinner is optional at 5 p.m., and the meeting begins at 6 p.m.

For those interested in spay/neuter vouchers, call 304-435-1808 and leave a message.