Harbor Humane Society was founded in 1956 as Ottawa Shores Humane Society. Harbor Humane Societyâ??s mission is to provide a safe harbor for animals entrusted to our care as we strive to secure their future through outreach and educational programs. Every year we take in over 3,500 animals with nearly 60 percent of those being strays.Harbor Humane Society is committed to transparency and accountability. Harbor Humane Society is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who holds the municipal contract for Ottawa County. Contributions to Harbor Humane Society are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.One of the ways we stay accountable is by calculating our live release rate. Harbor Humane Society has a 100% placement rate of adoptable animals.What is a live release rate?A live release rate is the rate of animals that leave the shelter via adoption, return to owner, return to field, or transfer out.We calculate by the following formula:Live Release Rate = (# of animals adopted + # of animals returned to owner + # of animals returned to field + # of animals transferred out) / Total # of animals intaken.* When calculated monthly, the number can be a bit off as it does not include animals already in our care. So for instance, we may show a very low live release rate one month but it is because the majority of those animals were still in our care at the end of the month.