Wisconsin
At ‘crisis level’ capacity, Wisconsin Humane Society drops dog adoption fees temporarily
Wisconsin Humane Society staff releases a snowy owl into the wild
A snowy owl found covered in oil in December in Milwaukee was successfully rehabilitated by wildlife staff at the Wisconsin Humane Society and released to the wild.
Wisconsin Humane Society
Saying it’s at a “crisis level,” the Wisconsin Humane Society has temporarily lowered its adoption fees for dogs.
The fees, which typically range from $199 to $299, have been reduced to $75 through June 11. The fee for “benchwarmer” dogs, which have been at the Humane Society at least seven days, has been reduced to $25.
In a June 4 social media post, the Humane Society said, “The Wisconsin Humane Society is at crisis level, and we are in desperate need of dog adopters and canine foster parents. We have nearly 400 dogs in care across our organization and are drastically reducing adoption fees in hopes of finding as many great matches as possible.”
The shelter is at crisis capacity because of a policy that started June 1.
“We moved to a walk-in surrender model,” said Angela Speed, the Wisconsin Humane Society’s vice president of marketing & communications. “We used to require appointments, but we recognize that appointments for people needing to surrender their pets were booking months out.”
The policy also was implemented to support families in light of systemic issues that make pet ownership difficult, Speed said, including the lack of affordable housing that allows large dogs, rising costs of pet ownership and a national shortage of veterinarians.
As a result of the new policy, it’s caring for just under 400 dogs — about 100 more than in June 2024.
The Humane Society’s Milwaukee campus has started moving dogs to its other five Wisconsin locations but is quickly running out of space.
In addition to lowering the adoption fees, the Humane Society is encouraging people to foster dogs.
“We really use our foster network, when our shelters are full, to create more space for incoming animals in the shelter,” Speed said.
Dogs are fostered for a few reasons, she said. Some dogs need a shelter break for a day, while others need to be fostered for several weeks due to medical conditions or behavior observation.
Fostering is something that doesn’t require a lot of space, and Speed said there’s no such thing as a perfect foster home. There are people who foster while living in smaller apartments or with other animals in their house.
“There’s a type of animal for just about every situation, and of course, you get first dibs if you fall in love,” she said.
The promotion is meant to address the shelter’s current capacity, but Speed said there’s an option that will never be on the table.
“The Wisconsin animals in our adoption program have as long as it takes to find a new home,” Speed said. “We never euthanize for space or time, and that’s a promise we’ve kept for 26 years.”
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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