This is not your traditional animal shelter! The OHS works hard every day to save and improve lives through rescue, adoption, education, and much more.
The Oregon Humane Society, founded 150 years ago, has been rescuing, healing, and adopting out more than 11,000 pets each year and never places a time limit on how long they can stay at the shelter. Though they operate as a non-profit organization, they receive no government funding and therefore rely 100% on the generosity of their donors, fundraisers, and sponsors to continue the lifesaving work they are able to accomplish for and with the support of the community.
Because of that support the Oregon Humane Society has been able to develop and refine a variety of programs which they have been able to leverage for the good of the pets and the community.
In addition several core programs, they also offer emergency relief to disaster zones with a large group of staff and volunteers trained and certified in emergency shelter assistance, as well as a Technical Animal Rescue team consisting of volunteers who spend their free time repelling off of cliffs and climbing trees. They also offer end of life services, and re-homing assistance to make sure the difficult decisions that sometimes need to be made are met with support, and the best possible outcome for the pet.
Training and Behavior: Because of the many personalities you encounter in shelter pets, and the variety of experiences they may be recovering from in their past, OHS provides training and behavior modification to help ease the transition into a loving home. Additionally there are classes held at OHS from basic manners for puppy through adult dogs, to nosework and agility classes, to reactive rover, and one-on-one training sessions. They even have a pet advice and helpline number run by our behavioral specialists which is a resource for the community if they are seeing behavioral issues in their pet. Anyone, not just OHS adopters, are welcome to call and the services are free! (503) 416-2983
More about the Training and Behavior Department
Youth Education: The Oregon Humane Society understands that to continue a legacy of a more humane society for all, we must teach the next generation how to care for those who have no voice. Thanks to their education department, they are able to send teachers to classrooms around the state to educate kids and teens on the importance of being kind to not only animals, but your community. They are able to provide continuing education classes for educators in the field of animal welfare, and they have a wonderful summer camp, and opportunities for youth to get involved as volunteers at the shelter starting as young as 12 years old.
More about the OHS Youth Education Department
Humane Investigations: One of the core values OHS was built on was to stand up for the rights of animals in need. 150 years since they were founded, and they are seeing this dream in reality with a humane investigations department that travels the state to uphold this pledge. Though following up on cases of animal abuse and neglect is a significant portion of what their investigators do, they primarily serve as educators and public servants, traveling to bring supplies to those who may have landed on hard times, and teach those in need about the nearby resources they have available to them and their pets. It is always their first priority to help, and if an animal can be helped without leaving their loving home then our humane investigators will do everything they can to support that!
More about the Humane Investigations Department and the link to report cruelty.
More about legislation and Animal Advocacy
Veterinary Services: Thanks to dedicated individuals at OHS and donors, they have been able to build a state of the art veterinary facility with which they can care for a large variety of conditions homeless pets arrive with. Whether they were injured as a stray, simply have a cold, or are coming in for a Spay/Neuter, our Medical Learning Center provides opportunities and second chances for pets, while giving veterinary students from Oregon State University the opportunity to complete residencies under expert veterinarians with hands on training before graduating. They currently do not have their veterinary services open to the public (besides the Spay and Save program) but a community hospital is already in the works for the future.
Spay & Save program: This is a low cost spay and neuter programs for low income families who may otherwise not have had the opportunity to provide this service for their pet. Because of the spay and save program the pet overpopulation in Oregon has dramatically decreased over the years. This has made it possible for the Oregon Humane Society to partner with more than 90 shelters both in and outside the state and around the country to provide relief for those who are overburdened, and second chances for pets who may otherwise not have had them due to space issues. The dream to see stray pets off the streets is slowly becoming a reality in our community, and as such they are glad to be able to help others from CA, to WA, all the way to OK.
More about the Spay & Save program
Hurricane Harvey: Rescue and adoption reaching across the country.
- Harvey’s new family in Portland, Oregon