The animal shelter that serves Redmond and its environs has dropped the Humane Society tag, the better to distinguish itself from similar organizations, and changed its name to BrightSide Animal Center.

The shelter, which according to its overseers saves 98 percent of all the unwanted and stray animals it receives, can accommodate about 50 dogs and 60 cats comfortably, said BrightSide board of directors Vice President Reese Mercer. Another 10 to 30 animals may be in foster homes, she said.

The name change separates the organization from humane societies elsewhere — the Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend, the Humane Society of the Ochocos in Prineville, the Oregon Humane Society in Portland, and the Humane Society of the United States, Mercer said. On occasion, would-be donors gave to one of those organizations expecting the money would be shared with the Redmond organization, she said.

“We regularly receive volunteer applications destined for them, or people come to the shelter and say, ‘We’ve made a donation to you,’” Mercer explained. “But we don’t see the donation or have any record of it.”

The private, nonprofit organization funds its operation through grants, donations, bequests and other sources. Deschutes County loaned the organization $1.5 million in 2008, on which it still owes more than $800,000, said Deputy County Administrator Erik Kropp. The county also established credit lines with the organization totaling $175,000.

In February 2012, Kropp, at the time interim county administrator, approved only $35,000 of a shelter request for $60,000 from its credit line to pay off operational debt. Kropp at the time told the society he believed its “operational model is not sustainable.”

He said Friday he hasn’t seen recent budget figures for the organization and did not comment on its finances.

He said the county expects the 2008 loan will eventually be repaid over time out of money held in trust for the organization. The outstanding loan balance as of Dec. 31, 2012, is $808,017. The organization has repaid $723,641.95, Kropp wrote in an email. The county contracts with the shelter to house stray dogs for up to five days.

Mercer said the Redmond shelter’s finances improved in 2012. She said membership in the group is up and with it revenues. The group closed 2012 in better shape than expected financially but did not finish in the black.

“The nature of the deal struck four years ago with the county, in my estimation, was a recipe for disaster,” Mercer said. “It did not set us up for success. It’s been a slog.”

The organization operates on a budget of close to $900,000 annually, about half of which is spent on payroll, said shelter manager Chris Bauersfeld on Friday. Volunteers provide about $500,000 worth of their time.

Mercer and Bauersfeld said the notion of an animal shelter as a place to drop off unwanted animals is outdated. BrightSide will refuse no animal, but will not accept unwanted pets “on demand,” they said.

Instead, the shelter will schedule a time for the animal owner or caretaker to bring it to the shelter when space is available, usually a matter of several days.

In some cases, the shelter works to resolve issues involving health or behavior that threaten to separate a pet from its owner, or keep the animal from connecting with a new owner. The shelter is careful, some say picky, about pairing animals with new owners, Bauersfeld said. She described a process something like a dating service, but one that she defends as successful.

“Once (a dog or cat) gets here, there’s a 98 percent chance of it walking out the door with a new owner,” Bauersfeld said.