The Seattle Humane Society has helped animals in need since 1879, as a staple non-profit organization in our community. According to the Humane Society’s annual report, just in the years 2022-2023, around 5,688 dogs, cats, and critters were able to find their forever home. There are many ways to support our local humane society, including donations, volunteer work, and food drives. There are even events and volunteer positions for high school students who are looking to help animals in need.
Seattle Humane started as a small organization to advocate for animal rights in stockyards and slaughterhouses, as the number of domestic animals increased in the Pacific Northwest. The society was proudly the sole animal protection agency in King County up to 1970. After the City of Seattle and King County established their own animal protections, the society began focusing more on house pets, including dogs, cats, and other critters. In 2010, Seattle Humane began raising money for a new facility to replace the scattered and run-down buildings. By 2017, the new facility finally opened, allowing for more animals to be cared for and protected. From then on, Seattle Humane has continued to expand their programs and accessibility, helping the animals in our community.
Compassion, accessibility, innovation, responsibility, and teamwork are all values the Humane Society runs by. They hope to help as many animals as possible, but not only those at the facility. An employee at the Humane Society explains how, “Providing resources to families who already have pets to make sure that they can keep their pets with them and not have to surrender them to an animal shelter.” The Community Medicine program provides low-income areas affordable veterinary care, covering everything from vaccines to pre-surgery checkups. Seattle Humane is a no-kill shelter, meaning they only euthanize animals who are an extreme danger to themselves or others. Overall, Seattle Humane Society is working to protect and help all animals in the King County area.
The Humane Society cares for three main groups of animals: dogs, cats, and critters like rats, mice, guinea pigs and chinchillas. Any of these animals can be adopted once they have gone through the proper intake process. The adoption process is simple. After someone is interested in adoption, they will sign paperwork and go over any health or behavior information about the pet. People should remember that, “Waiting to see a pet or looking around in the adoption areas may take longer than the actual adoption process due to the volume of adopters we have coming to our shelter,” as stated by an interviewed Seattle Humane representative.
The Humane Society is able to help many animals find their forever home, though it takes some longer than others. On average, dogs are adopted within 10 days of arrival, and cats within 8 days. However, age, health, and breed can have a large impact on the time an animal spends at the Humane Society. Dogs and cats who are older are often less desirable and can have trouble being adopted. The same goes for breeds with negative stigma, such as pit bulls. Many dogs and cats with seemingly undesirable traits can still be loveable and amazing pets, and always should be given a chance.
The intake process is one that Seattle Humane takes seriously. The intake process is initiated when the Humane Society receives a new animal. This animal might have been a stray or needed to be rehomed. The first step of this process is running the animal through the intake department. This department decides if Seattle Humane will accept this pet. After the pet is accepted, they will go through an exam. A Humane Society representative said that the exam the pet goes through is like “If you were to get a physical at your doctor’s office.” If the examination reveals that the pet does not have the necessary vaccines, the Humane Society will give the animal the required shots. After this last step, the pet is ready to be put up for adoption.
Many people describe the adoption process as being expensive and time consuming, but the process takes only about thirty-five minutes at the Humane Society. These thirty-five minutes include signing papers, getting more information about their new pet, and getting briefed over the next steps. Typically, looking for a pet takes more time than the adoption process since Seattle Humane receives a lot of adopters.
Adoption has a sizeable effect on the animals who are rescued. The recently adopted stories support this. Theresa, a woman who has adopted dogs from shelters including Seattle Humane, said that when she received her dog Woody, he was comfortable with other animals but was fearful of people. Theresa adopted a dog named Sadie to help Woody overcome his fear. Now, Woody is thriving and Theresa plans to adopt and foster more pets. She says that Woody and her other dogs have inspired her to foster more pets and advocate more.
There are many ways to help Seattle Humane’s noble mission, from donations to volunteer work. The Humane Society Youth Program offers community service shifts for people in ninth through twelfth grade, where students directly help the animals at the Humane Society. This also counts as volunteer hours and can be submitted to the Big Heart Community Service Program for credit. If you earn 100 hours or more during your high school career, you can gain an extra honor cord at graduation.
The Seattle Humane Society has a mission to help critters, cats and dogs find their loving homes forever and offers low-income families financial help with their pets. Despite them being able to achieve all of this, the Humane Society can still use your help. You can volunteer or donate to help these pets have a comfortable stay while they are waiting for their forever homes, or you can be their forever family.