The HSUS Appoints Steven M. Jacobsen To Companion Animals Advisory Council

WEST KENNEBUNK-- (March 2007)- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is pleased to announce Steven M. Jacobsen, Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Society of West Kennebunk, as a newly appointed member of the Companion Animals Advisory Council (CAAC). The CAAC was created in 1996 to bring together leaders in professional animal care and control from across North America, to share ideas and help The HSUS develop plans and programs to assist animal shelters nationwide in improving services to their communities.

Mr. Jacobsen has served as Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Society for the past twelve years. The Animal Welfare Society is celebrating its fortieth (40th) anniversary in 2007. The Society serves Southern Maine through animal sheltering and as a municipal shelter for stray animals for seventeen communities, a humane education provider, and as an animal resource center with volunteer opportunities, a foster program for pets belonging to victims of domestic violence, low cost spay/neuter assistance, a pet behavior helpline and canine obedience training classes. The AWS has an operating budget of $1.2 million per year, has 26 employees, several hundred volunteers and serves in excess of 4000 animals each year. Mr. Jacobsen also serves as President of The Maine Federation of Humane Societies and as Treasurer of The New England Federation of Humane Societies. He is a Past-President of the Kennebunk Rotary Club and also serves on other local committees and Boards.

Animal care and control professionals are invited to join the Companion Animal Advisory Council only if they are highly recommended by their peers for their insight, innovation, and desire to generate community involvement in animal sheltering issues. Membership in this group puts them at the forefront of the animal sheltering community and represents the highest level of respect from their peers.

Among the many responsibilities and duties they assume during their 2 year term, Mr. Jacobsen will attend two CAAC meetings held yearly–-one at The HSUS headquarters in Washington, D.C. and the other at The HSUS’s annual Animal Care Expo, the world’s largest animal care educational conference. He will share opinions and expertise with HSUS staff, and provide content to Animal Sheltering magazine, the website (www.AnimalSheltering.org) and other publications and outreach projects.

Members also offer their recommendations on many companion animal topics including feral cats, shelter adoption policies and the transfer of animals from state to state, etc. As part of the Companion Animals Advisory Council (CAAC), members may assist the Companion Animals section of The HSUS as consultants and help to spotlight on-going issues affecting the animal sheltering community.

The HSUS salutes Steven M. Jacobsen for his acceptance of this position to dedicate and devote his time to making sheltering better for the people who run the country’s more than 3500 animal shelters, as well as for the animals under their care.