SHELTER’S NEW LEADERSHIP AND RENEWED COMMITMENT TO ANIMAL CARE

Established in 1871, the Dutchess County SPCA (DCSPCA) is making a big impact in the Hudson Valley with a new leadership team in place, an entirely humane approach and a mission to foster a community where all animals are treated with respect and compassion. Located at 636 Violet Ave. in Hyde Park, the nonprofit organization, has reinvented itself, achieved a 95% live-release rate (an 18% increase) and introduced programs to augment its reach in the region.  

In late 2018, DCSPCA appointed Lynne Meloccaro as executive director to address the troublesome issues it was grappling with. As the former executive director of The American Symphony Orchestra and Bard College”™s The Orchestra Now, Meloccaro, a lifelong animal lover, brings decades of professional experience in nonprofit management to the DCSPCA. For the past two years, she has quietly and diligently worked to improve the standard of care for the animals and to institute managerial best practices. She hired a new team of experienced shelter professionals to help realize the organization”™s mission to aid animals in need and support the community of pet owners.  This effort has resulted in a host of positive, mission-minded steps. 

“Placing animals in safe and stable homes is the pinnacle of all of our other programs to rescue and save animals from unhappy circumstances,” said Meloccaro. “Especially during this pandemic, we have come to realize that helping the community to help its own animals fulfills our mission even more, because often, with some support, people don”™t have to surrender or abandon their pets. “The new vision for DCSPCA is not just as a warehouse for unwanted animals, but a community resource center to assist Dutchess County in caring for its animal population.”