About Us

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH

WHO ARE WE?

Founded in 1960, the Humane Society of Utah is "dedicated to the elimination of pain, fear, and suffering in all animals." To that end we provide the following services:

• Shelter, care, and adoption for lost and unwanted animals
• Low-cost sterilization surgeries and vaccinations at our own fully-staffed in-house clinic
• A full-time certified cruelty investigator who responds to reports of neglect and abuse and checks animal facilities throughout the state
• Professional humane education programs for tens of thousands of school children
• In-house pet obedience classes
• A full-time foster parent program to help young, ill, or special-needs animals become adoptable
• Outreach adoptions through our Animobile and off-site adoptions staff
• A Rescue/Transfer program bringing animal breeds which are highly adoptable in Utah to our shelter from overcrowded facilities in other areas. Humane Society also takes animals that are not in great demand in our own area to accredited and screened shelters in other parts of the Southwest which adopt out such breeds in high numbers
• Pet-facilitated therapy programs for hospitals and adult-care centers
• Support for animal-friendly legislation
• Publications, special events, and community activities to heighten awareness of animal issues and problems

The Humane Society of Utah does all this with a total of 58 full-time employees, 7 part-time staff members, and a fluctuating number of volunteers.

B. THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH IS AN "OPEN-ADMISSIONS" SHELTER.

We welcome every animal in need that we can legally accept. (We do, however, encourage people to take stray animals to the Animal Control shelter nearest the location where the stray was found. Lost pets and their owners can be more quickly and easily reunited, since the local shelter is the logical place most people will go first to search for an animal.) Because we turn no animals away, we are defined as an "Open-Admissions" shelter.

There are other organizations that refer to themselves as being "no-kill" facilities, but we believe that this term is misleading. We feel it is more appropriate to call such groups "limited-access" shelters, because they generally must restrict the numbers of animals they take in, accepting only animals that are highly adoptable in order to ensure a quick turnover in their shelter population. Otherwise they would soon be filled with animals which are not adoptable.

As an Open-Admission shelter, we take in many animals who are not immediate candidates for adoption. Whenever possible, our foster parents work with these animals to rehabilitate them and qualify them for adoption to good homes.

There is no set limit to the length of time an animal can remain in our adoptions program. As long as we have room, and the animal appears to be able to maintain general good physical and emotional health in a kennel environment, he or she is kept here. Every animal, however long his or her stay, is guaranteed a clean, safe, comfortable space, nutritious food and fresh water, medical supervision and, when needed, care and supplies, as well as interaction with volunteers who groom, exercise, and socialize with them.

We move very young puppies and kittens and other special-needs animals into foster care, where they remain until they are ready for adoption. We also work with breed-specific groups and more than 140 shelters and rescue groups in and outside of Utah to find homes for some harder-to-place animals. We do everything in our power to avoid the euthanasia of healthy animals, or of animals who can be rehabilitated or go to homes that will provide special care for the animal’s lifetime.

The reality is that more animals come to us all the time — approximately 10,000 per year — than we can adopt out, and we do not have the space or money to accommodate all of them. We humanely euthanize, by injection, those animals that are not chosen by new families. We also euthanize aggressive animals that have been determined to be a potential threat to the community, as well as those sick or injured animals that cannot be rehabilitated.

We are able to find new homes for the great majority of our animals, however; as of 2012, our overall success rate for adoptable animals was 98%.

C. THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH’S ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR EUTHANASIA OF ALL HEALTHY OR REHABILITATABLE DOGS AND CATS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

To reach this goal, we are working to create not a "no-kill" shelter, but a "no-birth" society, insofar as homeless and unwanted animals are concerned. These are the steps we are taking to achieve that effect:

• Maintain a widespread effort to promote spaying and neutering of all companion animals
• Continually increase the number of shelter animals that are adopted to new homes through our programs of Outreach Adoptions, Transfer Adoptions, special events, and foster parenting
• Encourage responsible pet ownership through public-awareness campaigns, humane education programs, and efforts to legally eliminate puppy mills and backyard breeders
• Supporting pet owners through training classes, counseling, and referrals to national information sources

D. WHAT ARE OUR OTHER GOALS FOR THE FUTURE?

We are committed to achieving the following goals for the welfare of animals throughout Utah:

• Maintain high adoption rates, and in 2013 place at least 7,500 shelter animals in good new homes
• Continue to spay and neuter more companion animals than any other organization in Utah, and consistently perform more than 11,000 of these procedures per year
• Introduce and support necessary animal-friendly legislation
• Continue to expand our education efforts
• Expand our Foster, Outreach Adoptions, and Transfer programs extending their influence in the state
• Continue our Cruelty Investigation programs throughout the state, always using new techniques and materials as they are developed

E. YOU CAN HELP US.

The Humane Society of Utah is a private, charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are not affiliated with any other animal-welfare organization, locally or nationally. We are not supported by taxes or any other government funding, and rely entirely on the income from our clinic and shelter, and on donations from the public, to keep our doors open.

You can donate to us on this website, by sending your gift to us at P.O. Box 573659, Salt Lake City, UT 84157-3659, or by visiting our shelter at 4242 South 300 West. Membership in the Society is automatic with a donation of $10 or more, and entitles you to a 10% discount on all clinic and shelter services. We respect your privacy and do not sell or share any member information with other groups or individuals.

The Humane Society of Utah is accepting donated cars. We will arrange for the pick-up and disposal of all contributed vehicles.

You can become a volunteer or a foster parent. See our "Programs" site for information on how to do this.

Learn more about the Humane Society of Utah by reading our publication, Speaking of Animals, and checking this website regularly.

WE ARE HERE FOR THE ANIMALS OF UTAH. THEY ARE COUNTING ON US — AND ON YOU — TO MAKE THEIR WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR ALL OF THEM.