Since 1917, the Thurston County Humane Society has been helping pets in our area with responsible pet ownership programs and working with other local welfare organizations. What you may not know is that throughout their 100-plus year history, they never had an Executive Director, until now. Carlos Alaniz is the first Thurston County Humane Society Executive Director. With an extensive background as the former Director at Providence Sound Hospice, Carlos brings over 29 years of invaluable experience in the nonprofit sector, specializing in community service provision.
ThurstonTalk: Why was there no executive director before? What made them decide to create the position?
Carlos Alaniz: The Thurston County Humane Society Board realized late in 2023 that it was time to grow and expand our community outreach and services beyond what a group of volunteers (the current Thurston County Humane Society Board) were able to effectively and efficiently do.
ThurstonTalk: How long were you the director at the Providence Sound Hospice?
Carlos Alaniz: I was with Providence Hospice for 18 years overall. I started as an Occupational Therapist at Providence Hospice of Seattle and became a Clinical Manager a few years after that. During the start of the COVID pandemic, the Hospice Director position at Providence Sound HomeCare and Hospice became open. I was hired and started my role in May of 2020, or what I like to call, May of Covid. I served in the director role for four years to the month.
ThurstonTalk: What made you decide to apply for the Humane Society Position?
Carlos Alaniz:I had worked a total of 29 years in healthcare and had gone through many changes in regulations and reimbursement. I knew I was ready to do something different but wanted to continue my passion of caring for others. I love animals and figured it would be an easy leap from caring for “humans” to caring “humanely.” I also wanted to stay in the nonprofit world. I had, up to that point, worked for 3 employers: the US Army for 4 years, SeaMar Community Health Centers for 10 years and Providence for 18. My goal is to do the work of the Thurston County Humane Society for the rest of my career until I retire.
ThurstonTalk: When did you start as Executive Director?
Carlos Alaniz: I am celebrating my third month anniversary. My first day in my role was May 6 of this year.
ThurstonTalk: What excites you about this new position?
Carlos Alaniz: There are so many exciting things about this new position, but I would have to say that learning about the needs of our community and expanding our current programs and creating new ones is what is most compelling to me. Also, being the very first director and really the first employee of the Thurston County Humane Society, it is exciting to be part of this new era of our organization, creating an expanded vision of our work.
ThurstonTalk: Any new plans or goals that you want to share?
Carlos Alaniz: There is great work being done by the Thurston County Humane Society and many of the other animal welfare organizations in our area. My plan, which is already in motion, is to meet with all the other organizations, learn what they do, and discover what areas of need are not being met in our community. I hope to develop partnerships between us all to meet those needs. I hope to also bring my healthcare and hospice background to the animal world. Creating affordable end-of-life care for pets and developing accessible options for grief and bereavement support for their humans is on top of my list. At the same time, my other focus will be fundraising so we can make all this happen. Currently, all our funding comes from personal donations from people in our community. I will work on expanding the donor base and creating other funding opportunities.
ThurstonTalk: Do you have pets of your own?
Carlos Alaniz: Yes, we just adopted a 2.5-year-old Chihuahua mix who we named Bidi. He is the sweetest little guy with the biggest ears, and heart to match. Happy to say that he is getting along very well with our 6-year-old cat, JLo. We are a happy family of four.
ThurstonTalk: How long have you lived in the Thurston County area?
Carlos Alaniz: I have lived in Washington State since I came to Fort Lewis as a soldier in 1987. I lived in King County for 31 years. My husband, Miles, and I moved to the beautiful Oyster Bay area in July of COVID/2020.
ThurstonTalk: What do you do in your spare time?
Carlos Alaniz: I stay connected to my Mexican heritage by dancing Mexican Folk dance with a Seattle-based dance troupe. We perform around the Puget Sound often. I also like to run. Miles and I met running 14 years ago and we ran many races together after that. COVID made a stop to that, but we have been trying to rekindle that passion. We ran the Lakefair half marathon last year.
To learn more about the great work the Thurston County Humane Society is doing, visit the Thurston County Humane Society website. And look for Carlos at future events!
