Software Cases

Randy Lindsey

Highly Successful Humane Society Management System

In the mid-1990's, the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region was attempting to manage 30,000 animal licenses and rabies vaccinations using an antiquated Data General minicomputer. The software was written in spaghetti-code Basic and was nearly unmanageable, much less capable of modification. They needed to add functions for shelter management, lost and found, officer dispatch, call tracking and fund raising.

I designed and programmed a replacement using FoxPro for DOS, and converted all the existing data into the new system. I then added modules to handle all the other elements required by their organization. The system was able to grow with the Humane Society through a substantial increase in animal licensing and animals housed, and even when they built a new, larger shelter. It also adapted to changes in animal control ordinances, such as escalating penalties for second and third violations. After some 8 years of operation it was replaced by a Windows-based package, but the staff continued to keep my system running for several years because it facilitated easier historical information retrieval even though the information had been migrated into the new system.

Click here to return to Software Cases.


Copyright @2006 by Randy Lindsey All rights reserved.