New leadership recently took over at Helping Strays as Anne Vincent stepped in as shelter director with ample experience when it comes to caring for neglected pets.

Vincent has lived in the metro east her entire life. She spent much of her youth in Granite City but moved to St. Louis as a senior in high school.

Upon graduating, she attended Maryville University for a time, though she left higher education to pursue a career in animal welfare and is currently in the process of wrapping up her degree.

As she stepped away from college, Vincent graduated from the National Animal Cruelty Investigations School, spending roughly 12 years as an animal cruelty investigator.

Speaking further on her training, Vincent noted she’s also a certified animal welfare administrator through the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

Vincent’s career really started with the Humane Society of Missouri in 2004. She spent a decade with that organization before working for a time with the City of St. Louis, ultimately returning to the humane society for another seven years.

“I started as an animal caregiver and worked my way up as an investigator, and then I actually left there as the adoption center director,” Vincent said.

From there, she went to the Animal Protective Association of Missouri and served as its population manager before finding herself with Helping Strays in November.

Vincent spoke with enthusiasm about her career, noting the satisfaction that comes both from helping animals and working with others in the field.

With her enjoyment of outreach and a sense of community, was drawn to Helping Strays given the organization’s strong presence throughout Monroe County.

“Obviously I have a passion for animal welfare, and I love building teams, working in smaller communities,” Vincent said. “As an investigator, I worked in neighborhoods and neighborhood settings, but I always have loved the community outreach aspect, the grassroots aspect of animal welfare, and I felt like Monroe County really had a foundation here of assisting their community. I just wanted to be a part of that, to be able to continue the foundation that had already been created.”

She further described the positive experience she’s had working with her fellows at Helping Strays over the past few months while also getting to know the community more.

“I love the team here, and I love what we’re able to provide,” Vincent said. “I look forward to meeting more and more folks from the community and invite them to come to Helping Strays, take a look around and hopefully meet their next best friend.”

She also offered encouragement for anyone looking to bring home a new furry addition to the family.

“We’ve got some amazing pets here that really are just looking for that second chance to be a forever family member,” Vincent said.

For more information on Helping Strays, visit helpingstrays.org or call 618-939-7389.