We are looking for help in animal care- read more and apply on Indeed. Only apply via Indeed. 

• No phone calls or in-person applications accepted. No inquiries from third-party organizations will be accepted. You will be contacted for a video meeting interview if we feel you might be a good fit.

See our job post on Indeed, you must apply on Indeed.

Kitten Mile Replacer (KMR) : This is what we feed tiny kittens with no momma, KMR is literally a lifesaver!

Hand Feeding Syringes: What we use to feed KMR

Kitty Litter: No explanation needed, we go through a lot of litter!

Kitten Food: Chicken and Pumpkin

Kitten Food: Chicken and Salmon

Kitten Food: Chicken and Gravy

We do not have any kittens yet, if you’d like to adopt please get your name on our kitten wait list: Fill out our adopter form which you can find here: https://centralvermonthumane.org/adoption-process/ and email it to  [email protected]  Everything is done by appointment.

DONATE MONTHLY TO SAVE MORE LIVES!

For a limited time, as a thank you gift, the first eight people who sign up to be a NEW Faithful Friend at $25 or more a month will receive a gorgeous bag, donated via a grant whose goal is to increase donations! (Offer valid only for NEW Faithful Friends)

Every day, needy animals rely on Central Vermont Humane Society – for food, shelter and medical care – and to find new loving homes. A core group of very loyal friends to the animals at CVHS make the commitment to be a monthly donor, providing an important, reliable stream of income that CVHS can rely on to save animals – every day.

Pets like Lily, a tiny kitten who started having bloody diarrhea and losing weight. Kittens as young as Lily are extremely fragile- when they are sick, they need to see a vet without delay. We immediately had Lily looked at by our vet, who discovered she was anemic. She felt much better after receiving medication,  When Lily was old enough, we adopted her into a loving home.

That is the power of our Faithful Friends- Reliable support that makes it possible for us to help pets like Lily without delay.

Please join this group of important supporters and help provide the steadiness and reliability that is so important to save animals. 

Benefits of being a Faithful Friend:

• You will receive one thank you letter at the end of the year that details all your gifts for that year including amounts, date of gift, and whether it was a check, cash or an online donation.
• Four times a year, we will send you a set of heartwarming stories of pets you have helped.
• We will send you a CVHS euro sticker to put on your car, laptop, coffee mug, anywhere to let people know you support the animals!
• It is convenient and easy to set up an automatic monthly donation using your credit card – either online via our website or by calling our office. Or set up direct payment from your bank account and avoid credit card fees so that 100% of your gift goes to CVHS.
• Spreading out your giving throughout the year is budget-friendly and many people find this enables them to give more than when they make a single gift once a year.
• It is flexible, you can make changes at any time. If your monthly gift is by credit card, just contact our office to update your gift amount or credit card information (including new expiration dates or card numbers).
• Greater impact through steady support – Know that you are providing continuous and steady support to help animals every day, as soon as they need it.

We’re happy to answer questions and help you get started. Contact Terri at [email protected].

“Monthly giving is easier for us and provides money that CVHS can depend on to keep saving animals.”  – Mike and Lisa, Faithful Friend Monthly Donors

**If you prefer to mail a check each month, please write Faithful Friend in the memo line so we know you are a regular monthly donor. Then you will be included in receiving all quarterly newsletters about the animals you are helping. Mail to Central Vermont Humane Society, 1589 VT Rte 14S, East Montpelier, VT 05651. Thank you!

We see the love people have for their pets every day.  Pets fill our lives with joy, laughter, and unconditional love.  And when we lose them, the loss can be unbearable.  NEW- you can make a gift in honor of a beloved pet’s memory and we will send a Pet Memorial E-card to the person of your choice to let them know you are thinking of them.

Make a gift in memory of a beloved pet and send an E-card

We have also created a way for you to memorialize your pet with a page on our website that includes photos and stories, honoring the memory of our furry friends. See our Pet Memorial page here. So much love for our furry friends!

Please send in your stories of your cherished pets, and we will honor their memory on our memorial page. Submit your story here: https://centralvermonthumane.org/submit-your-petmemorial/

One of our favorite quotes is from Agnes Sligh Turnbull: “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”  This applies to all pets — our time with them is much too short.

Need an amazing gift for someone?  Sponsor a homeless pet!  A meaningful and heartwarming gift that will save animals at CVHS.  Sponsoring a pet is easy- go to our our adoption pages (which are updated in real time), choose a pet you would like to sponsor, and click on “Sponsor Me” under their description. To give as a gift, you will receive an email confirmation that includes a note you can send to your gift recipient telling them you sponsored a pet in their name.  Gift or not, sponsoring a pet is a great way to help animals who are in CVHS care while we help them find loving homes.

The animals at CVHS thank you so much!

Choose a pet on one of our Adoption pages below, or donate now

Adoptable Dogs page

Adoptable Cats page

Adoptable Critters page

We are currently getting our volunteer program back up and running. Please send us an email to [email protected] so we can send you our volunteer application and agreement to fill out. From there we will work with you to see if we have a volunteer opportunity that would benefit you and CVHS. Due to limited staffing at this time, we cannot accommodate any mandated community service hours or school required volunteer hours due to the oversight needed for those volunteers.

If you are interested in fostering, and have a quiet space in your home that could house baby kittens or an adult animal in need of medical care, learn more about our foster program by clicking here.

We need one or two people to volunteer to drive our pets to and from our veterinarian in Bradford. On Wednesday mornings, pets need to go to the vet, and on Thursday morning they need to come back to CVHS. This is typically needed as early as 8-8:30am, so we’re looking for an early riser. There is an option of using our CVHS van or your personal vehicle, but we do not reimburse for gas/mileage if you opt to drive your own car. If there are more animals than can fit in your personal vehicle you will need to drive our van. Drivers need to be accustomed to driving in Vermont weather conditions. Volunteers are required to have a clean driver’s license and proof of insurance. Please contact volunteer@centralvermonthumane.org if you are interested!

Back on April 11, 2017, we took into our care nine newborn and motherless puppies who were abandoned in a box.  We thought people might like to re-read the whole amazing story from when they came to us in a box, to our struggle to ensure they survived, to their adoption day, and finally, a few post-adoption Happy Tails! We hope you enjoy re-reading this, and of course all the adorable photos!

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THE WHOLE PUPPY STORY

April 11, 2017 – YIKES

At 4:00PM, we got an emergency call – like so many calls we get – an animal needed help. In this case, NINE tiny puppies were left in a box outside, no momma dog to be found. The local animal shelter (in another part of the state) did not have the resources to care for them, so they called us. An hour later the puppies arrived, only days old. Our staff, already dealing with a full shelter, jumped into overdrive (and overtime) – ready with syringes and tiny bottles to feed the little ones. It took three staff two hours to feed all nine. The pups then went home with two staff so they could be fed during the night. Despite the odds, all nine pups survived that first night.

Faced with the fact that without their mom these puppies might not survive, we worked hard to find their mom to no avail.  We happened to have a mom dog at the shelter, she had just weaned her own nine puppies, so we tried to see if she would nurse the motherless pups.  Understandably, this mom dog was done with nursing, she successfully reared her nine and wanted no part of possibly nursing these newborns.  Now we had to decide, do we try and keep these nine alive with hand feeding, a task that will take enormous time and resources from our organization that is already stretched to the limit?  The sad truth is that animal shelters, including CVHS, are faced with such difficult decisions every day.  So many animals need help, the amount of time and resources these nine would take could easily save many more healthy, adoptable pets in Vermont and beyond.  But, we believe that the animals here at the shelter take priority, it is our duty to do the right thing for any animal that comes to us. So we decided that we had to try our best to save these pups, and we hoped our community would rally with us to save them.

Read the story from NBC 5

April 21, 2017 – A Sad Day

The puppies were growing but they were still so small, so vulnerable.  This first weekend we had them, the second smallest girl was struggling.  She went home with a staff member who fed her small meals every two hours, all day and night, and this tiny pup seemed to have turned the corner.  Sadly, despite giving her subcutaneous fluids and other supportive care, she died.  Even though everyone here knows on a rational level that all of these pups are extremely vulnerable, and it would be a true miracle if they all survived, we were all heartbroken here at CVHS.  We take comfort here knowing that in her short time with us, she knew tender care and love, was warm and safe, right up until the very end.  Join us in honoring and remembering the little one we affectionately called Little Madonna (she was so dramatic!).  The photo shown is little Madonna sleeping after she got her bottle.  we will miss her so!

April 25, 2017 – Puppy Poop!  Please Poop!

The first pup has opened her eyes, and it was not the biggest pup, it was the one we affectionately call Runtie (her actual name is Allie).  The smallest pup has opened her eyes first!  What a great day!  They are all getting individual personalities and changing every day.  We are currently struggling with them all being constipated.  It is vitally important that tiny puppies like these poop and pee on a regular basis.  Normally their mom would make sure this happens, but without mom, guess who does it?  Yup, our staff and trained volunteers.  You never know what will happen in your life, how many people think that someday they will be stimulating a puppy to poop?

May 2, 2017 – Puppy eyes and other cuteness

The eight puppies are all going strong.  All of them have opened their eyes and they have been crawling around like little maniacs.  A few of them have started scratching their ears with their hind paws, it feels like they are “real” dogs now!  They are also eating like little piggies, we have been going through a ton of puppy milk replacer.  We have started introducing them to solid food, kibble soaked until very, very soft.  The three biggest ones have shown a lot of interest in this food, while the smaller ones are much more interested in the bottle.  We are still worried about these pups, they are still so small, if they start eating solid food it will be a huge milestone for them, and for us!

May 6, 2017 – Cuteness Overload

It has been nearly four weeks now, and these pups are getting bigger every day.  Worrying about these pups has been constant for all of us, staff as well as volunteers.  We are all working so hard to try to be certain they are all fed enough and ensure all pee/poop every four hours, all day and night.  The fact that they are getting so big is so gratifying!  Their individual personalities are just starting to come out.  The smallest one (Allie) has learned to growl at her siblings and is a little feisty, and the biggest one (Cash, shown to the left) seems to be a gentle giant.   Their personalities will be changing every day as they get older.  The biggest girl, Jessie, has already learned how to get out of the whelping box.  They are all sweeties in our book!

We have a few videos of these cuties on our YouTube Channel.

 May 11, 2017  A Looooong Road

It is hard to believe that almost five weeks ago, these motherless puppies showed up at our door, needing our help. It has been a looooong road. One puppy, Londonberry, is currently in “intensive care” for pneumonia. A coughing puppy is so sad to hear, and with medication this little one is coughing less and eating better- please keep her in your thoughts. The other seven are on their way to being weaned, a huge milestone. Despite growing everyday, these pups are still at risk and so are still in isolation. It will be some weeks yet before they are ready for adoption! They know what dinner time is, as this video shows. It has taken a village to raise these pups so far- thank you to staff, our skilled volunteers and everyone who donated, you all are making it possible for us to save these precious pups!

May 18, 2017  Finally in Foster!

After weeks of 24/7 bottle feeding, our motherless puppies no longer need the bottle and now are in a loving foster home, where they will get age-appropriate socialization and other enrichment activities to help them continue to grow happy and healthy.  We are grateful for all the support we have received and again we must thank our dedicated staff and skilled volunteers who made it possible to save eight of nine puppies.  Some estimates say that 20%-40% of motherless pups do not survive.  It is such a testament to the care these pups received that we were able to beat the odds!

May 24, 2017- Puppy Jessie is doing well

Puppy Jessie had emergency surgery on May 21 for a prolapsed rectum.  Through the expert treatment and loving care at BEVS in Burlington, she came out of surgery and so far is doing well.  She is staying in a medically skilled foster home along with little Londonberry, who is recovering from pneumonia.  How cute are these two (shown to the right, Londonberry has brown markings), taking a nap together?

Jessie isn’t out of the woods, please send healing thoughts to this little fighter!  Thank you everyone for your support, the cost of the surgery was almost covered by your generous donations.  The community has been so caring, thank you all so much!

June 10, 2017 – Adoption day

Today is a wonderful day, if a bit bittersweet for staff and volunteers here at CVHS.  Today our motherless puppies went up for adoption.  We know they went to loving homes and we are so happy for both the pups and their new families!  We will miss these pups!  We are all so grateful that we were given the chance to save these little ones, and we are so grateful to our community who helped make it possible with donations and support.  It took a village to raise these pups, and our community is amazing!  Thank you everyone!

Before and after photos!

 
 
 
 
 
July 22, 2017- Growing so fast!
A few adoption updates for the motherless pups- makes our day when we get updates!

From Allie’s people (otherwise known as Runty):

From Jessie’s people (Jessie is the pup who had to have surgery):

From Izzy’s people (Izzy otherwise known as White Nose):

he is growing so fast (last weight was 30 lbs, which is 14 lbs more than his adoption weight!!!! Currently his “ear span” measures in at 14″! His appear very hard to negotiate right now as they have certainly doubled in length.  He’s a very curious and sweet little guy, and that face!!

 

We are so grateful for all of the love and care that he got before becoming a part of our family. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication.
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November 16, 2017

Cash, now named Archer, is getting so big!  Here is a reminder photo of how tiny he was when he first came in, another on his adoption day, and now look at him at almost 7 months old.  Archer is one lucky pup- starting out life abandoned in box and now happy, healthy and loved.  We are so grateful to have had the chance to save these pups!

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IMPORTANT NOTE

When these pups came to us, we knew we were faced with weeks of these pups being at risk, needing round the clock feeding and care. It would have been so wonderful if whoever abandoned these pups had called their local animal shelter instead of abandoning them alone. It might have been possible to work together to keep these pups with their mom until they are weaned, or at the very least provide vital information like how old the pups are, when they last ate, and get the pups safe and warm ASAP. That is what would have been best for these pups. We believe pet problems are people problems. Whoever abandoned these pups did so because they felt they had no choice; we know life can be so difficult, and people are struggling with so much. We implore people to call their local animal shelter before abandoning an animal, your local animal shelter is there for you, as well as your pets! It is illegal to abandon an animal. Call your local animal shelter for help!

Make a gift to support the work we do for animals like these puppies, and all the other animals in our care. Thank you!