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Julie Dreyfuss, executive director of the La Plata County Humane Society, said she is stepping down after two long years of hard work.
She is tired and ready to step back, she said.
Tricia Simpson, president of the board of directors, is serving as the interim executive director.
Dreyfuss said her last day with the Humane Society is Wednesday, although she is already slowly transitioning out.
“It’s just a very intense place to work and it was just kind of time to move on,” she said. I’m getting of the age where retirement is appropriate,” she said.
She said the Humane Society made good changes and operational headway during her tenure, but she needs to focus more on taking care of herself, and now is a good time to pass the torch to someone with more energy.
“A job like that really takes its toll on your health. I’m enjoying hiking with my dog and cuddling with my kitten and just taking a break. It’s been a pretty intense two years. I haven’t had much time for vacation,” she said.
She spent her time at the Humane Society driving home the importance of self-care to her employees too, she said.
Dreyfuss said her biggest accomplishment at the Humane Society was the creation of a culture where “staff felt comfortable being as compassionate with each other as they were with the animals in our care.”
“People who are attracted to animal welfare deeply understand the needs of cats and dogs and vulnerable pets and struggle a little bit with taking care of themselves and each other,” she said.
She has worked in the nonprofit sector for the past three decades, she said, and compassionate leadership means encouraging staff to take time off when they need it. That’s the way to facilitate long-lasting care in an intense work environment such as at the Humane Society.
“God bless the people who work there, because that is a labor of love that takes its toll,” she said.
Simpson said the Humane Society will continue with its mission. It’s working closely with the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office in transitioning animal protection operations to them.
The Humane Society chose to dissolve its animal protection services after the two local governments decided not to renew animal protection contracts in the fall.
The city paid $290,000 annually under its contract. Dreyfuss previously said that in 2024 the county reduced its annual fee by about $77,000.
She said last week the payments funded staff wages, and the nonprofit didn’t make any money from the contracts, so losing them won’t impact its budget with the dissolution of animal protection services.
Simpson said she is making sure the Humane Society maintains “excellent lines of communication” with animal protection staff at the city and county, and she is in the process of establishing procedures when pets need to be impounded at the shelter.
“I see no speed bumps at all,” she said.
Dreyfuss said running an animal shelter is a year-round operation ‒ dogs and cats can’t feed themselves, after all.
“It’s really hard to find people who can sustain that level of intensity and compassion 365 days a year,” she said.
Funding is another constant challenge, she said. The Humane Society wants to pay its employees livable wages, and the cost of living has been hard to keep up with.
Essentially all of the Humane Society’s costs are related to employee wages ‒ paying people to feed pets, walk dogs, clean kennels, oversee adoptions, perform surgeries, conduct behavior therapy, and administer medicine and vaccinations. The list goes on and on, she said.
People need to be paid whether the shelter has 50 dogs or 500 dogs, she said. Keeping people paid keeps the shelter functioning and in excellent shape.
Municipal shelters are harder to staff properly. In Colorado, municipal shelters typically euthanize animals after holding them for five days ‒ nobody wants that job, she said.
The Humane Society’s foster program has been a great success, getting animals out of the shelter and into caring homes while they are still waiting for permanent adoption, she said. About 200 pets are currently part of the program.
“You can foster for a weekend, you can foster for a month. It all just depends on the needs of the cat or the dog,” she said. “Kittens and puppies need fostering for a little bit longer because they’re not at weight to go on the floor yet.”
She praised LPCHS Foster Coordinator Amanda Bolton for her “amazing” work with the foster program.
The program helps the shelter maintain room for an influx of animals during an emergency such as a fire or a flood, she said. That’s what taxpayer funds contributed by the city and the county ‒ to the tune of about half a million dollars per year ‒ pay for. The Humane Society also raises about $1 million annually.
“At some point, you know, something’s going to give. And that’s the part that I’m most worried about,” she said. “We just need to to keep figuring out how to fund the shelter so that we can continue to protect the vulnerable pets in our community.”
Dreyfuss said the best way the community can contribute to the Humane Society is to shop at its thrift store, to foster and to adopt pets. Thrift store revenues fund shelter costs.
“If you can’t adopt, shop,” she said.
The Humane Society lowered its thrift store prices in response to community feedback, and it’s trying to get the word out, she said.
An outfit is available for $9. Individual clothing items cost $3. The thrift store is trying to grow its furniture selection, she said. The thrift store doesn’t offer on-sale items anymore because its inventory has been repriced with affordability in mind, so special sales aren’t necessary.
She said the thrift store offers pricing options at six tiers ‒ $1, $3, $5, $8, $12 and $16.
“It’s been a weird economic year for everybody. I think everyone is kind of scratching their head, but we’re still here for the community and all the proceeds go to feed the cats and dogs at the shelter,” she said.
Dreyfuss said Humane Society board members were surprised when she announced her leave.
Simpson said Dreyfuss is leaving the Humane Society in “very good order,” was “excellent” in establishing new policies and procedures, and she’s grateful for everything she did for the Humane Society.
“I had just gotten a very good performance review, and so, I don’t know ‒ it’s mixed,” she said. “It’s hard to leave something, but I had taken my first vacation ‒ real vacation ‒ since I started working there, and went to Florida for a week and just kind of contemplated. I came back realizing I’m pretty tired.”
She said the Humane Society’s staff are “totally incredible, totally dedicated, and they deserve every donation and every win with the adoptions that the community has been providing.”
What’s next? Dreyfuss said she plans to launch her own global fundraising nonprofit ‒ Sea Change ‒ by the end of 2026. Her aim is to help grassroots nonprofits raise money for eco-friendly causes.
“We will be sailing to places to find grassroots organizations that don’t have a website and don’t have a development director and don’t have the money to find funding, but are doing impactful work,” she said. “... That would be a lovely way to literally sail into my retirement. I can’t imagine not doing any service, it’s just built into my genes. So this will be a slower way to serve the world.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
