Our Mission
Beartooth Humane Alliance assists the people and animals of Carbon County, Montana, by helping companion animals in need, promoting responsible animal care through education, providing solutions to dog and cat overpopulation, and serving as an animal welfare resource.
The Past
People said for years that something should be done about dog and cat problems in Carbon County. Then, in 2003, a group of volunteers held the county’s first-ever spay-neuter clinic, dubbed Operation Nip and Tuck. With the help of generous donors and more than 100 volunteers, 332 dogs and cats (mostly barn and feral cats) were sterilized at no cost to those who brought them in. Since then, we’ve held a clinic ever year. As of the 2012 clinic, we fixed 3,626 dogs and cats. Imagine the numbers of homeless and suffering animals in our county if we hadn’t provided this service! At the clinics, people told us about animal problems: dog bites, dogs at large, feral cat colonies overrunning alleys, dogs and cats abused and abandoned. In 2006, we incorporated the Beartooth Humane Alliance as a non-profit organization to tackle these problems and started a range of programs to help animals – and to help people who want to help animals.
The Present
Every day, we hear stories of animals that are homeless, running loose, chained outdoors in the cold. There’s so much to do! To respond to these situations, Beartooth Humane Alliance provides these services:
- Foster homes for adoptable animals that have no homes or must be given up by their owners. Our dedicated foster homes provide quality temporary care until we can place these animals in caring, permanent homes.
- In addition to our annual spay/neuter clinic, we provide vouchers for low-cost pet spay-neuter, available to residents with low or limited incomes, which are honored by the three veterinary clinics in Carbon County.
- When a companion animal is lost or found, a call to us is one of the first calls made. This collection of data has helped to reunite hundreds of pets with their family.
- We provide Humane Education programs in Carbon County schools to youth groups help youngsters take proper care of pets and avoid problems like dog bites. We also regularly provide adult information about good pet care, pet behavior issues, and more.
- We advise people about what to do when they see animal mistreatment. We encourage and support local law enforcement when they receive calls about abused or neglected animals.
- The distribution of pet food to the three county food banks helps to ensure our local pets don't go hungry.
- Our Hay Bank helps financially struggling families with hay to feed their horses before starvation or abandonment becomes the only option.
The Future
BHA is the only animal welfare organization in Carbon County. Since inception, we have always been responsive and nimble in our programming to address the needs of area animals and the people who care for area animals. This is our mission and one the community has come to rely on. One prime example is local officials and animal advocates agree Carbon County needs animal control services. Beartooth Humane Alliance has adopted the long-term goal of assisting local authorities in providing solutions for the many animal control issues in our communities including pets found homeless until they can be reunited with their owners or in cases of neglect. Although BHA does not have the authority to act in a law enforcement or animal control capacity we will continue to shelter unclaimed, adoptable animals through BHA's foster care program until a new home may be found.
While we continually plan for long-term needs, we can do a great deal now to help suffering animals, give homeless animals a chance at permanent loving homes, and prevent the births of unwanted litters. We have and will continue to accomplish much for the betterment of the animals with the continued support of our community.
