Five months after selecting a new executive director, board members at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society are seeking a new leader.

Jason Stipp, who was hired following what organization representatives called an extensive nationwide search on Feb. 22, has resigned, the organization confirmed late last week.

Stipp, who succeeded Luanne Hinkle, OPHS’s leader from 2017-2024, informed OPHS he was leaving the position on July 24, according to board president Marti Oldham.

“He resigned on good terms with OPHS. His decision comes from a place of profound commitment to our mission,” Oldham said in an email.

“By resigning, he aims to free up funds that were previously allocated to his salary, allowing us to allocate more resources directly to the care and support of animals in need, and reopening Bark House in the near future.

“We are deeply grateful for his dedication and selflessness, which exemplify the core values of our organization.”

Stipp had an annual salary of $115,000, organization representatives said.

OPHS leaders are assembling a an advisory board consisting of key donors, a financial advisor, a veterinarian and a dog behaviorist to help with the next steps for leadership and operations, Oldham wrote.

The organization plans to hire an operations manager and an outreach and development lead.

”We look forward to providing updates when those decisions are made and the advisory board is fully formed,” she wrote.

OPHS has seen its organization — and facilities — grow in recent years, adding Kitty City, a facility that can house as many as 75 cats in 7,500 square feet of space off South Boyce Road, in June 2022. That addition allowed OPHS to transition its facility on Old Olympic Highway into a dog-only facility.

However, the organization’s board of directors announced on July 10 it will close its Bark House campus, which opened in May 2016, by the end of August.

Stipp wrote in a press release that OPHS made the difficult decision because of unsustainable high operating costs, an unprecedented number of animal surrenders and the ongoing costs for running two campuses.

Kitty City will remain open and be renovated to accommodate dogs to “help OPHS stabilize our financial position and ultimately improve the housing quality for the dogs in our care,” he wrote.

“By reducing operational costs, OPHS can enhance its service to the community and better fulfill its mission of rescuing and saving the lives of homeless pets,” he wrote.

“Our goal is to have all dogs adopted or transferred to other high-save rescue organizations by the end of August 2024.”

Oldham said in a previous interview that Aug. 30 is not an expiration date for the dogs, as they intend to close The Bark House after all the dogs have been housed or relocated.

“We’re not going to euthanize any animal to make space,” she said. “It’s one reason we’re at over capacity, because we don’t [euthanize animals]. A lot of these dogs come from circumstances that are horrendous. We see the worst of the worst cases that require a lot of time and training and love and medical treatment and rehab and are in our care for a long time.”

Oldham said their plan for now is to tentatively sell The Bark House property and build a new dog building adjacent to Kitty City.

“Ideally, we would like to (sell) once we get the animals to other high-save shelters,” she said. “We’ll shut it down, get it cleaned out and move all operations to Kitty City.”

As of July 11, The Bark House had 59 dogs with capacity for 40, and more being fostered at homes.

Clallam County undersheriff Lorraine Shore said the announcement came as a surprise and the Sheriff’s Office now doesn’t have a facility to place dogs as it’s one of their largest calls for service.

“I think (the decision) shocked the community at large,” she said. “It impacts everyone.”

Shore said deputies have been instructed not to seize any dogs at this time.

Stipp’s background includes eight years as executive director of Pet Network Humane Society located in Incline Village, Nevada, located on Lake Tahoe. There, OPHS representatives noted, Stipp led several animal rescue missions, including saving 181 dogs from New Orleans after Hurricane Harvey and 80 cats from fire-ravaged Northern California communities.

In addition, he started Healing Hounds, a program that matched veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, with shelter dogs.

For more than 77 years, OPHS has maintained an active presence in Sequim, Port Angeles and surrounding areas. A no-kill shelter, the organization cares for domestic animals of all types, is financed primarily by private donations and is not associated with any national organization.

About 1,200 animals pass through the doors of the facility on an annual basis. Its dog campus is at 1743 Old Olympic Highway, Port Angeles, and cat campus is at 91 S. Boyce Road, Sequim.

For more information about OPHS, call 360-457-8206 or visit ophumanesociety.org.