About Capital Area Humane Society

The Capital Area Humane Society is a nonprofit, charitable companion animal welfare organization dedicated to the humane treatment and welfare of companion animals. We serve over 40,000 people and nearly 7,000 animals annually by building relationships between people and their pets, by giving animals a second chance, and by educating people and their pets about proper animal care and training so that they can live in harmony.

Mission/History

The mission of the Capital Area Humane Society is to promote the humane treatment of companion animals through protection, placement, education and example. We were founded in 1936 by Mrs. Warren H. Hosmer who cared for the community's homeless animals in her home and secretly in the basement of the school in which she taught. We are the only animal shelter in the tri-county region dedicated to ensuring the responsible care and treatment of animals.

In 1993 our current facility in Watertown Township was built through generous community contributions and includes 48 kennel runs for dogs and 40 enclosures for cats that are clean, bright, attractive and safe. In 1998 we expanded the shelter to add a veterinary clinic and education center to further our vision of ending pet overpopulation and finding homes for all placeable animals through active spaying and neutering and public education.

Who We Are

The Capital Area Humane Society is a non-profit, charitable, companion animal welfare organization, founded in 1936 to ensure responsible care and treatment of companion animals. We provide kind, tender and compassionate care to all animals surrendered to the shelter.

Core to our mission is the Humane Treatment of Companion Animals. In all our activities we concentrate on providing kind, tender and compassionate care to all animals who deserve to be cared for with love and respect.

We exist because people should have an alternative to abandoning a companion animal in the countryside or a place to take their animals when they are no longer able to care for them. We exist because pet overpopulation forces our community to euthanize over 10,000 innocent animals each year. We exist because Animal Control can't meet the insurmountable demand for investigations of animal cruelty complaints, when their primary mission is to protect citizens from animals.

Our professional staff of 30 includes veterinarians, trainers and others who are experts on animal care issues. The board, staff and volunteers are passionate about animals, and are committed to: ending pet overpopulation, finding homes for placeable animals, preventing animal cruelty and neglect, and educating children and adults about animal care.

Who We Serve

The Capital Area Humane Society is an organization about giving animals a second chance. We do so by building relationships between people and their pets.

We serve nearly 7,000 animals a year. Many are surrendered; some are strays. While at the shelter each animal receives an excellent healthcare package, to the best of our abilities, that includes: basic vaccinations (and rabies), spaying or neutering, heartworm testing, health screening, and feline leukemia testing for cats. They receive quality food, clean kennels and cages, and tender loving care from our staff and volunteers who walk and cuddle with them daily.

We serve over 40,000 adults and children a year through a variety of programs and services.

We serve people who must surrender their animals because they can no longer keep them for a variety of reasons, such as moving, or health or behavior issues. Yet these people want to be assured that their pet will have a second chance with another family, or will be euthanized in a humane fashion by a loving animal care specialist.

We serve adopters by helping them find the right pet for their family through counseling about breeds, lifestyles and animal care. All our pets are spayed or neutered, and we offer behavior-training classes to improve the chances of successful adoptions. We also waive adoption fees for the elderly.

We serve adults, who visit our shelter, adopt and surrender pets to us, rely on us for adviceand guidance, attend our training classes, and the elderly who benefit from our Pet Therapy training programs.

We serve children each year by teaching humane values, empathy and animal care on site or in area classrooms. Our C.H.A.T. (Children for Humane Animal Treatment) program serving 60 kids, meets bimonthly and is bursting at the seams.

How We Are Funded

The Capital Area Humane Society does not receive tax dollars or government funding to support its programs. We are dependent on donations and fund-raising.

Individual contributions account for 72% of our $1.5 million budget. Without individual support we could not fulfill our mission. Direct programs and services, such as the cost of adoptions and behavior-training classes offered by the shelter, and corporate and foundation support, account for the remainder of our funding.