I am grateful that I finally got to work with Dr. Apryl Steele, and for something so important: her legacy video. For a decade, Apryl served as the President and CEO of Humane Colorado. Each year, Humane Colorado provides shelter, veterinary care, and critical services to around 43,000 homeless pets and horses. It also focuses on life-saving services at subsidized costs so that families and animals can stay together.
The cost.. and the idea that pets are only for people who have money… are what drove Apryl to go into veterinary care.
“I grew up with a kitty named Thumbs, and Thumbs was my very best friend,” said Apryl Steele. “Living in a household with a single mom who worked a lot, Thumbs was what kept me going. When I was about nine, Thumbs got leukemia virus and had to be put to sleep. It was financial for the reason she had to be euthanized and I, as a 9-year-old, didn’t really understand what that meant, and I missed her so dearly, and I made the decision right then that I was gonna do what I can to make sure other kids didn’t have to go through that. I decided to be a veterinarian in that moment.”
When I’m getting to know somebody, I always love a conversation that circles back to what life was like when they were younger, as insight into what they are doing now, their purpose, their strengths, what they value, etc. Before any of the cameras were brought to Humane Colorado’s headquarters and shelter in Denver, we sat in Apryl’s office and had the most amazing conversation. I was very motivated to create the most memorable video for a woman who has done so much for animals and for the people who love them.
Aside from a massive and beautiful renovation of the Leslie A. Malone Center which serves as the main shelter for the organization, Apryl has overseen the opening of Humane Colorado’s veterinary hospital on the CSU SPUR campus which offers subsidized care to pet-owners who live nearby. “The SPUR campus facility was Apryl’s vision,” said Dr. Sue VandeWoude, Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. “It’s been such a great opportunity to connect with the public and to inspire young students and the community to understand what a veterinarian does, and it’s an educational resource for our veterinary college.”
Apryl was also the one who worked to bring Humane Colorado to a rural part of the state that had a large stray animal population. As Apryl puts it: “If we’re going to be ‘Humane Colorado,’ we have to address where we know there’s a really significant need that’s not being met. And so that’s why we went ahead and built a shelter, the San Luis Valley Animal Center, in Alamosa.”
Apryl has made a national and international impact on veterinary care through socially conscious sheltering, an animal welfare framework guiding shelters to achieve the best outcomes for pets. Regarding what’s best for pets, Apryl was motivated to make a big change in Colorado since the ratio is way off in terms of there not being enough veterinarians for the amount of pets who live here. She led the campaign for a brand new Veterinary Professional Associate position. Apryl knew, and voters agreed, that having a practitioner that will resemble a physician’s assistant in the human world, will be best for animals and families.
This video story premiered before several hundred people on a snowy night in December at Apryl’s retirement celebration at the Denver Art Museum. After this story was shared, the room of supporters eagerly donated to the brand new Dr. Apryl Steel Fund for Veterinary Care.
This evening was probably one of the more heartfelt events I’ve ever attended and it was the perfect launching pad and place to introduce Humane Colorado’s new President & CEO Katie Parker.
As she leaves this organization physically, Apryl told me it will always be deep in her heart: “I really hope that as Humane Colorado continues to lead, that the organization owns the role that we have in pushing the envelope, in making new solutions for animals, making sure that animals and their families can stay together and making sure that every animal has a safe place to go. And I know that will happen. This that’s in the DNA of this organization.”
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