Idaho Humane Society becomes Hub for dogs across the country

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The Idaho Humane Society is opening their doors to dogs, not just here in the Treasure Valley, but across the state and even other states.

They do this by becoming a Hub.

"An animal that might be perfectly healthy, it's a puppy, super sweet, but has a broken bone, it might get euthanized because they don't have the medical care to fix that animal,” said Kristine Schellhaas with the Idaho Humane Society.

Being a hub means IHS can take dogs from shelters from across the state and even other states.

"Oftentimes those are communities that might get hit by hurricanes or natural disasters,” Schellhaas said. “Animals will get out, they will breed, and then they're overrun with a lot of animals."

IHS employees say that hub status also allows them to help out rural Idaho shelters.

"They're overwhelmed with the number of dogs that come in,” Schellhaas said. “So, to be able to help take that burden off of them is really fulfilling."

IHS says the dogs are held at their older location, near the airport, until their ready for adoption.

But, some dogs don’t always stay that long.

"For example, Mountain Humane Society in Sun Valley, we held the dogs overnight for them, and then they came down the next morning to pick up and transfer back,” Schellhaas said.

IHS employees say becoming a hub just made sense.

"Because the Treasure Valley is such a fast paced growing community, we're able to take transfers in from our rural shelter partners and help get those animals adopted out,” Schellhaas said.

Also, the Hub program only includes the transfer of dogs.