Seattle Blog Praises Barnette

Seattle Humane Society CEO Brenda Barnette to Save Lives in the City of Angels

Animal welfare advocate departs to lead Los Angeles Animal Services, bringing life to city mandate to transform shelter system.

The Seattle Humane Society board of directors today announced that Brenda Barnette will depart to become general manager for Los Angeles Animal Services, extending the mission of bringing people and pets together to thousands of families and furry friends in Southern California.

"The Seattle Humane Society, its remarkable staff and amazing volunteers are heroes who have saved countless lives and brought joy to so many people and families across the Pacific Northwest," said Barnette. "The organization is a model for animal welfare centers across the country, and I am excited to apply what I learned in Seattle to help carry out the Los Angeles city mandate to transform its shelter system into one that can pledge that no healthy animals will be euthanized for lack of space."

Brenda leaves the Seattle Humane Society with a remarkable record of success. Under her leadership, in 2009 the Seattle Humane Society had the best year in its 113-year history with the placement of 6,091 animals and a Live Save Rate of 91.4 percent. Much of this success was due to a robust Foster Care Program that allowed more than 4,300 animals to benefit from home care while they waited for homes of their own.

The Los Angeles City shelters serve more than 50,000 dogs and cats annually, and 36 percent of those animals were euthanized last year. The Seattle Humane Society has joined the effort to save animals in Los Angeles by transferring some of them to the Seattle Humane Society when life-saving space is available. Safe in Seattle, the animals from Los Angeles have been given as long as it takes for Seattle Humane to find them a home of their own, regardless of age, beauty or infirmity.

"The Seattle Humane Society is committed to making animal companionship a reality for everyone and now the mission is spreading south to Los Angeles," said Seattle Humane Society Board Chair Chuck Stempler. "Brenda's work in Seattle has been marked equally by her compassion and her outstanding achievements, and our staff, volunteers and supporters throughout the Puget Sound Region will continue to build on this record of success."