{"id":14155,"date":"2025-12-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/feeling-burnout-la-plata-county-humane-society-director-takes-her-leave\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:44:17","slug":"feeling-burnout-la-plata-county-humane-society-director-takes-her-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/feeling-burnout-la-plata-county-humane-society-director-takes-her-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling burnout, La Plata County Humane Society director takes her leave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Julie
Julie Dreyfuss has been named as the new executive director of the La Plata County Humane Society. (Courtesy of La Plata County Humane Society)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Julie Dreyfuss, executive director of the La Plata County Humane Society, said she is stepping down after two long years of hard work.<\/p>\n

She is tired and ready to step back, she said.<\/p>\n

Tricia Simpson, president of the board of directors, is serving as the interim executive director.<\/p>\n

Dreyfuss said her last day with the Humane Society is Wednesday, although she is already slowly transitioning out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a very intense place to work and it was just kind of time to move on,\u201d she said. I\u2019m getting of the age where retirement is appropriate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Rokko,
Rokko, 11 months, poses for a picture with Santa Claus in November 2024 during the La Plata County Humane Societys \u201cPet Photos with Santa\u201d fundraiser at Creature Comforts. Rokko belongs to Kendra Mahkewa. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cA job like that really takes its toll on your health. I\u2019m enjoying hiking with my dog and cuddling with my kitten and just taking a break. It\u2019s been a pretty intense two years. I haven\u2019t had much time for vacation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She spent her time at the Humane Society driving home the importance of self-care to her employees too, she said.<\/p>\n

Dreyfuss said her biggest accomplishment at the Humane Society was the creation of a culture where \u201cstaff felt comfortable being as compassionate with each other as they were with the animals in our care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s the way to facilitate long-lasting care in an intense work environment such as at the Humane Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless the people who work there, because that is a labor of love that takes its toll,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Tricia
Tricia Simpson, president of the La Plata County Humane Society Board of Directors, is serving as interim executive director as Julie Dreyfuss, current executive director, transitions out of the organization and into retirement. Dreyfuss\u2019 last official day is Wednesday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Simpson said the Humane Society will continue with its mission. It\u2019s working closely with the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office in transitioning animal protection operations to them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She said last week the payments funded staff wages, and the nonprofit didn\u2019t make any money from the contracts, so losing them won\u2019t impact its budget with the dissolution of animal protection services.<\/p>\n

Simpson said she is making sure the Humane Society maintains \u201cexcellent lines of communication\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see no speed bumps at all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A 365-day effort<\/div>\n

Dreyfuss said running an animal shelter is a year-round operation \u2012 dogs and cats can\u2019t feed themselves, after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to find people who can sustain that level of intensity and compassion 365 days a year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Essentially all of the Humane Society\u2019s costs are related to employee wages \u2012 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Municipal shelters are harder to staff properly. In Colorado, municipal shelters typically euthanize animals after holding them for five days \u2012 nobody wants that job, she said.<\/p>\n

The Humane Society\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can foster for a weekend, you can foster for a month. It all just depends on the needs of the cat or the dog,\u201d she said. \u201cKittens and puppies need fostering for a little bit longer because they\u2019re not at weight to go on the floor yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"La
La Plata County Humane Society tenants Simon, right, and Garfunkel enjoy one of the beds made by the Quilters Guild on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Colleen Dunning\/La Plata County Humane Society)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She praised LPCHS Foster Coordinator Amanda Bolton for her \u201camazing\u201d work with the foster program.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s what taxpayer funds contributed by the city and the county \u2012 to the tune of about half a million dollars per year \u2012 pay for. The Humane Society also raises about $1 million annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point, you know, something\u2019s going to give. And that\u2019s the part that I\u2019m most worried about,\u201d she said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t adopt, shop,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Kadi
Kadi Mourningstar of Hawaii walks the aisles inside La Plata County Humane Society Thrift Store for the first time last year. She said she loves thrifting, and it was pleasant to peruse the thrift store in Durango. The store made an effort to reduce prices and make the store\u2019s space more navigable. (Christian Burney\/Durango Herald file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Humane Society lowered its thrift store prices in response to community feedback<\/a>, and it\u2019s trying to get the word out, she said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t offer on-sale items anymore because its inventory has been repriced with affordability in mind, so special sales aren\u2019t necessary.<\/p>\n

She said the thrift store offers pricing options at six tiers \u2012 $1, $3, $5, $8, $12 and $16.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a weird economic year for everybody. I think everyone is kind of scratching their head, but we\u2019re still here for the community and all the proceeds go to feed the cats and dogs at the shelter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sailing into retirement<\/div>\n

Dreyfuss said Humane Society board members were surprised when she announced her leave.<\/p>\n

Simpson said Dreyfuss is leaving the Humane Society in \u201cvery good order,\u201d was \u201cexcellent\u201d in establishing new policies and procedures, and she\u2019s grateful for everything she did for the Humane Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just gotten a very good performance review, and so, I don\u2019t know \u2012 it\u2019s mixed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to leave something, but I had taken my first vacation \u2012 real vacation \u2012 since I started working there, and went to Florida for a week and just kind of contemplated. I came back realizing I\u2019m pretty tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the Humane Society\u2019s staff are \u201ctotally incredible, totally dedicated, and they deserve every donation and every win with the adoptions that the community has been providing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? Dreyfuss said she plans to launch her own global fundraising nonprofit \u2012 Sea Change \u2012 by the end of 2026. Her aim is to help grassroots nonprofits raise money for eco-friendly causes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be sailing to places to find grassroots organizations that don\u2019t have a website and don\u2019t have a development director and don\u2019t have the money to find funding, but are doing impactful work,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 That would be a lovely way to literally sail into my retirement. I can\u2019t imagine not doing any service, it\u2019s just built into my genes. So this will be a slower way to serve the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Cathy
Cathy Roberts, a La Plata County Humane Society volunteer, holds Sarin, a cat that was missing from its owner in Kansas for three years and was found near Kline west of Durango in 2023. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dreyfuss: \u2018God bless the people who work there\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[382,950,28,475,1269,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-14155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animal","tag-durango","tag-headlines","tag-la-plata-county-colorado","tag-nonprofits","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14155"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20911,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14155\/revisions\/20911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14155"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=14155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}