San Diego Humane Society, is a non-profit organization in San Diego, California with five campuses in San Diego County - El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, San Diego and Ramona. They are an open-admission shelter and are zero euthanasia for healthy and treatable shelter animals. The organization's programs include sheltering and adopting animals, humane law enforcement, practicing and advancing the field of Shelter Medicine, rescuing animals in emergency situations, wildlife rehabilitation, the country's first 24/7 kitten nursery, positive reinforcement behavior training, providing adult and youth education programs, providing free pet food and supplies to families in need, sharing animals through pet-assisted therapy and more. San Diego Humane Society provides animal services for 14 cities in San Diego County and cares for nearly 50,000 animals a year.
Mission statement
Create a more humane world by inspiring compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people.
History
The San Diego Humane Society and SPCA was organized on March 10, 1880 by George W. Marston and George W. Hazzard, and is the oldest and largest humane society in San Diego County. 54 years later the organization signed a contract with the City of San Diego to run the shelter under the supervision of San Diego County Department of Health. In 1951, the first animals were moved to the original site, located on Sherman Street (formerly a milk plant). The lease was set to expire in 2000 and the city of San Diego asked San Diego Humane Society to consider building a new facility adjacent to the proposed County Animal Services facility on Gaines Street. The Humane Society accepted and opened the facility in 2002.
Fives years later and after the Asilomar Accords were adopted by several animal care agencies nationwide, the San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition was formed so that local animal welfare organizations could work together to reduce the euthanasia of healthy or treatable companion animals in San Diego County. San Diego Humane Society remains a part of the coalition to this day.
In 2009, San Diego Humane Society opened its Kitten Nursery, which delivers 24-hour care to infant kittens before they become eligible for adoption. The Kitten Nursery was the first program of its kind and has provided a model for other shelters ever since.
Through merger agreements, San Diego Humane Society absorbed the former North County Humane Society & SPCA in Oceanside, California in 2010, and the Escondido Humane Society in Escondido, California in 2014.
In 2014, San Diego Humane Society merged with PAWS San Diego, to expand programs to help more pet owners keep their pets, making this the largest pet safety net service in San Diego. PAWS San Diego provided essential pet services and support to low-income seniors, chronically ill and disabled individuals. After merging, this vital community service kept its name and became the official safety net program of San Diego Humane Society.
Later in 2014, San Diego Humane Society merged with Project Wildlife, the primary local resource for animal rehabilitation, conservation, and wildlife education. They opened the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Center in 2019.
In 2018, San Diego Humane Society began providing animal services to six additional cities in San Diego County, marking the biggest milestone in their 138-year history. They are now serving more than 2.2 million people across 620 square miles.
In winter of that year, San Diego Humane Society opened the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Center for Shelter Medicine – the first of its kind in California. The Bahde Center offers a comprehensive shelter medicine regime to homeless pets and serves as a teaching hospital to train the shelter veterinarians of tomorrow.
In September 2019, they opened a new Behavior Center facility where behavior experts work systematically to address complex challenges such as anxiety, fear, resource guarding, overstimulation, and other behavioral issues. Animals in the Behavior Center have individual rehabilitation plans to help them become adoptable.
July 2020
The PAWS name was retired in July 2020 after six years of integrating the work of PAWS San Diego throughout San Diego Humane Society. The Society introduced a new model called Human Animal Support Services (HASS).