Our Story
Greenhill Humane Society has been caring for animals in Lane County since 1944. We operate the only animal shelter within the Eugene/Springfield area. Our programs include animal adoptions; reuniting lost animals with their families; disaster response; crisis care boarding in situations of domestic violence, medical emergencies, and other crisis situations; spay/neuter for free roaming, un-owned community cats; a pet pantry; on-site volunteer opportunities; foster care and humane education.
Last year, we had 5356 total shelter and clinic intakes. We made 2581 adoptions into loving homes and had 966 pet reunions for animals. In addition, we provided 1187 cat spay/neuter surgeries to assist cat caregivers in reducing feral cat over-population.
Greenhill is a private non-profit and relies on donations for a majority of its budget. The generosity of our local community enables us to provide a high level of care to lost, abandoned, and neglected animals while at the same time helping pet owners in need.
Mission Statement
Greenhill Humane Society provides care and shelter for animals, support and resources for people, and education to promote the humane treatment of animals.
Vision Statement
Greenhill Humane Society envisions a world in which all animals are treated with compassion and respect.
Employment
Greenhill Humane Society is an equal opportunity employer. We consider candidates of all races, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Greenhill values diversity in our workforce. To see a list of our current employee opportunities, click here.
Board Membership
Greenhill Humane Society has an all volunteer board. You can find the GHS Board Conflict of Interest Policy here.
Funding & Donation Information
Greenhill Humane Society is a private, 501c(3) non-profit animal shelter. We rely on charitable donations and fees for services to run our shelters. Links to our recent 990s and Audits are below:
FY10/11 990 FY10/11 990T FY10/11 Audit
FY11/12 990 FY11/12 990T FY11/12 Audit
FY12/13 990 FY12/13 990T FY12/13 Audit
FY13/14 990 FY13/14 990T FY13/14 Audit
FY14/15 990 FY14/15 990T FY14/15 Audit
FY15/16 990 FY15/16 990T FY15/16 Audit
FY16/17 990 FY16/17 990T FY16/17 Audit
FY17/18 990 FY17/18 990T FY17/18 Audit
FY18/19 990 FY18/19 990T FY18/19 Audit
FY19/20 990 FY19/20 990T FY19/20 Audit
Priority is given to safeguarding donor confidentiality. Greenhill Humane Society does not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise make available personal donor information, nor send mailings on behalf of other organizations.
Greenhill Philosophies & Position Statements
Greenhill Humane Society is committed to achieving the highest level of care for the homeless pets in our shelters. We follow the guidelines established by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. Every staff member is Fear Free Certified meaning we use strategies and techniques designed to reduce the negative emotional states that are commonly experienced by shelter and rescue animals- including fear, anxiety, stress, and frustration- and increase their enrichment opportunities.
We have a commitment to reserve euthanasia only for situations involving animals that cannot be safely handled – either because of aggression or contagious disease, or in situations where the animal is suffering and a reasonable level of treatment would not be effective.
Each and every day, the animals at Greenhill Humane Society are cared for, exercised, played with, and loved upon by our dedicated staff and volunteers.
Links to our animal adoption statistics are below. We present the data in its “naked” form, unfettered by subjective terms like “unadoptable” or “untreatable.”
FY 2008-2009 FY 2009-2010 FY 2010-2011 FY 2011-2012
FY 2012-2013 FY 2013/2014 FY 2014/2015 FY2015/2016
Our shelter follows the guidelines of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) and supports early-age spay-neuter (6-16 weeks old) prior to adoption. This practice is back by numerous studies showing its safety, effectiveness, and health benefits, including faster recovery times and reduced risk of certain cancers and reproductive diseases.
Neutering prior to sexual maturity is strongly recommended to prevent the birth of unintended litters, to improve the odds that adopted animals will be retained in their new homes, to ensure legal compliance, and to reduce shelter intake and euthanasia. While spay-neuter decisions for privately-owned pets should involve veterinary advice and individual considerations, we align with the ASV’s recommendation that early-age spay-neuter for shelter animals is a safe and vital tool for improving animal welfare. Click here to read the ASV Guidelines.
Greenhill Humane Society follows the recommendations of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) regarding the training we provide for the animals in our care, the training instruction we provide our staff and volunteers, and the trainers we recommend to the public. AVSAB recommends trainers that follow the scientifically-based principles of positive reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, desensitization, and counter conditioning. AVSAB does not endorse dominance hierarchy theory or the use of punishment to modify behavior as this involves the use of adversives, force, coercion, and physical corrections. In addition to the risk of physical harm to the animal, punishment can also have unintended consequences such as strengthening the undesired behavior, causing aggression, and creating extreme fear in the animal. Our focus is on lowering the stress associated with the shelter environment, providing enrichment activities, making learning new skills easy and fun, reinforcing desirable behaviors, and preventing the rehearsal of undesirable behavior.
Greenhill is a non-profit organization and relies on generous donations from people like you, who care about the animals in our community. If you believe in Greenhill’s policies and mission, please consider supporting us.
Debarking & Non-Therapeutic or Cosmetic Surgery Position Statement
Greenhill Humane Society opposes non-therapeutic or cosmetic surgery on animals including devocalization (debarking), declawing, ear cropping, and tail docking of dogs and cats.
Declawing Position Statement
Greenhill Humane Society opposes declawing cats except for rare cases when it is medically necessary. The declawing procedure should only be considered after all behavior and environmental alternatives have been fully explored and are proven ineffective. See our Resource Library for Alternatives to Declawing information.
Greenhill Humane Society strongly supports the development and validation of alternative methods to the use of animals in biomedical research. Animals should be used only when there are no alternatives and the research is likely to produce new and substantive information that will benefit human and animal health. Whenever possible, an effort should be made to find adoptive homes for animals used in biomedical research.
A Life Saving Organization
Greenhill Humane Society is a Life Saving organization, where animals are safe and well cared for; where all life is affirmed and respected. Our shelter never puts a time limit on how long an animal can be in the shelter and we provide quality treatment for animals requiring extra care. We do not make decisions based on time, space or animal breed. Some pets find homes in a matter of days, while others are with us for months. They all receive the same abundance of love and devotion from our staff and volunteers.
Greenhill Humane Society focuses on saving lives and building a community that has compassion and respect for all companion animals. Since 2008, we have successfully saved 92% or more of the animals that came into our care. Those that we had to let go were too sick, too dangerous, or beyond our ability to treat. For the fiscal year July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023, our overall life-saving percentage was 92%. The life-saving percentage is calculated as live-outcomes divided by total-outcomes not including owner-intended-euthanasia.
Euthanasia decisions are taken very seriously, and only made after all other options have been exhausted. Euthanasia is carried out by Certified Euthanasia Technicians according to Oregon law, using the most modern and humane method available.
Our Animal Care Team discusses policies relating to animal care and some of the more difficult ethical issues that we face in the shelter. It is composed of expert staff including the Executive Director, Operations Director, Animal Care Department Managers, Veterinarians, Certified Veterinary Technicians, and Certified Dog Trainers.
For critical cases, veterinary, behavioral, and animal care management staff discuss an animal’s medical and behavioral needs. All information about the individual case is considered, including: potential treatment options, possible rescue options, on-going care within the shelter or foster situation, quality of life, and safety concerns. In the circumstances when the decision to euthanize is made, at least 3 managers must sign paperwork before the procedure is performed.
If you have questions, please call Cary Lieberman at 541-689-1503 x113 or Sasha Elliott at 541.689.1503 x112
Greenhill has the following programs in place to save the lives of our community’s most vulnerable pets:
- Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) Program
TNR is a method of humanely trapping feral cats, sterilizing them to prevent unwanted litters, and returning them to their colonies to live out their lives. Since 2006, Greenhill has provided spay/neuter surgeries for free-roaming un-owned community cats in Lane County. - High-Volume, High Quality Spay/Neuter
In our on-site surgical suite, Greenhill animals are spayed/neutered before being placed into homes. In addition, we work with several other non-profit rescue groups to perform their spay/neuter surgeries at reduced rates. - Second Chance Program
Greenhill’s shelter works in partnership with other shelters and rescue groups in an effort to find permanent placement for homeless pets. - Foster Care
Our extensive Foster Care Program includes over 115 families who care for animals who are too young, sick, injured or under-socialized to be adopted. Over 550 animals go into foster care each year. - Comprehensive Adoption Programs (including off-site adoptions)
Shelter hours of operation allow the public to access adoptable animals in person 7 days a week, and online 24 hours a day. We partner with local pet product stores and businesses to host offsite adoption events around the community throughout the year. You can see upcoming events on our calendar. - Pet Retention Programs
Whenever possible, our goal is to help keep pets with their people. We offer a free Pet Food Bank to support low-income families. Our Domestic Violence Assistance Program provides free, confidential temporary shelter for pets in dangerous or violent situations. Since 2020 more than 25 tons of pet food has been distributed each year to families in need through our free Pet Food Bank. - Medical and Behavior Prevention/Rehabilitation Programs
Greenhill’s staff includes veterinarians, behavior specialists and a well-trained animal care staff who evaluate and provide care for each animal. Additionally, we are extremely fortunate to have the support of many local veterinarians and trainers. These specialists help us with difficult cases, and allow us to place more pets in homes each year. - Public Relations/Community Involvement
Adoptable pets are featured locally on TV, Radio and Newspapers. We work with local television networks and radio stations to promote adoptable animals on “Pet of the Week” segments. Pets are also featured in the Register Guard, Eugene Weekly, Springfield Times, Creswell Chronicle, Fern Ridge Review, Senior News, Cottage Grove Sentinel, Oregon Family and AveuneK9.com. Our social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest) continues to grow. - Volunteers
A monthly average of over 250 volunteers contribute over 20,000 hours each year. Thanks to the volunteers assisting our staff, shelter animals are well cared for, exercised, played with and loved each and every day. - Reuniting Families
In 2023 we reunited 944 pets with their families. - A Compassionate, Experienced Director
Cary Lieberman has helped animals in our community for over 20 years and is an animal advocate and progressive leader. He has been Greenhill’s Executive Director since October 2007. Prior to that he served 3 years as a member of the Board of Directors and spent a year as the shelter’s Development Director. In addition to his time at Greenhill, Cary has volunteered with S.P.O.T., the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, and served on the Lane County Animal Services Advisory committee. He brings extensive experience in animal welfare, marketing, public relations and non-profit development. In 2009, Cary received his designation as a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator. Under his leadership, Greenhill’s live release rate has improved from below 75% to over 90%. In 2014, he completed certification in No-Kill Animal Shelter Management. - Education
We believe education is an important tool for ending pet overpopulation. Through tours and presentations, we teach responsible pet care and promote the importance of spaying and neutering. - The David J. Butler Memorial Fund:Each year, our shelters take in hundreds of animals that require medical attention. If needed care can be provided on-site, the animals are routinely treated and brought to good health before being adopted into a loving family. If the animal requires extensive treatment, Greenhill works with local veterinarians and regional clinics in order to provide the necessary care. The David J. Butler Memorial Fund was established to give more animals lifesaving medical treatments in order for them to lead healthy lives with loving families.
