Interview! Brad Shear, CEO of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

"We are not here to be exterminators."

When it comes to animal sheltering, Brad Shear has run the gamut of shelter needs and sizes. He started his career in the local shelter of a small city in Colorado, and since then has moved around the country to several different cities to share his knowledge and experience. For the past ten years he has been the CEO of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in New York state. His current shelter has a variety of unique programs, such as the option for those moving to domestic violence shelters to temporarily house their pet at Mohawk Humane, and the STAR program, a partnership between the shelter and the sheriff's office that sends dogs and cats to local jails to be trained and socialized by the inmates. Brad shares his journey from traditional sheltering values to the superiority and ethics of TNR, and hopes that, in the near future, shelters will begin to develop sheltering plans unique to cats rather than simply using the same strategies implemented with dogs. To get in touch with Brad, please visit mohawkhumane.org or call (518) 434-8128.