Impact Story: Melanie Corwin

Head and Heart 

When Melanie first started volunteering at a small local animal shelter, she was still practicing law. Her weekdays were spent guiding clients through legal matters; her weekends helping animals find homes. 

Each adoption felt like a victory—wagging tails, happy families, hopeful beginnings. But the feeling never lasted. By the following weekend, the shelter was full again. It was a revolving door—stray and unwanted animals in, adopted or transferred animals out—day after day after day.

Determined to understand why, Melanie started researching the root cause of the problem. What she discovered changed the course of her career and her life. 

At the time, an estimated 70,000 puppies and kittens were being born every day in the United States, compared to roughly 10,000 people. Melanie realized the issue wasn’t a lack of compassion—it was math. There would never be enough homes to match that pace.  

Spay and neuter, Melanie understood, was the most effective way to stop the cycle of unplanned, unwanted litters that overwhelm shelters and place animals—and families—at risk.

Melanie discovered that national animal welfare organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and Best Friends Animal Society had found the solution to the pet overpopulation crisis: preventing unplanned litters of puppies and kittens through affordable spay/neuter surgery programs.

“I knew this is where I needed to be.”

That realization led Melanie to make a bold shift—from supporting shelters after animals arrived, to stopping the problem before it began. Eventually, that path led her to becoming Executive Director of UCAN. 

By focusing on prevention, UCAN reduces the number of homeless cats and dogs entering shelters, and helps more animals quickly become adoption-ready—breaking the cycle at its source. 

But Melanie’s vision goes beyond shelters.

She has found that for families facing temporary homelessness, domestic violence, addiction, or sudden financial hardship, pets are not luxuries. They are lifelines to emotional stability and security.

Too often, families are forced to surrender their beloved pets simply because they can’t afford basic vaccinations required by landlords or emergency housing providers. In moments meant to offer safety, they are asked to leave a family member behind.

Which, to Melanie, is heartbreaking. And another reason why low-cost vaccination services are so important to families.

For Melanie, the journey from attorney to animal welfare leader has always been about head and heart — about impact.

“When I learned that something as simple as vaccinations and spay/neuter surgery could keep a family from losing their beloved pet—and prevent another animal from entering an overcrowded shelter—I knew this was where I needed to be,” she said.  “This isn’t just basic pet care. It’s keeping families whole and fixing the problem before it starts.”

That belief is at the heart of UCAN today.