Montgomery County Humane Society, Inc.

The Montgomery County Humane Society's mission is to end animal homelessness through education, outreach and adoption, while saving lives and strengthening the bond between people and their pets. We want to stop the inflow of pets to shelters by addressing the problems at their source, and at the same time make pets a more integral part of the community.

We are doing this by making spay/neuter more accessible, by providing education to prospective and current pet owners about how to address pet behaviors and other challenges, by educating the very young so they learn compassion and respect for animals at a young age, and by rescuing pets from overcrowded shelters and adopting them into new, loving homes. With these programs, more pets will be altered, more pet behaviors will be curtailed, more people will embrace the bond between pets and people, and more homeless pets will be pulled from harm's way and placed in homes.

1) Rescue and Adoption: The MCHS Rescue Team travels hundreds of miles each month in order to rescue cats and dogs from overcrowded public shelters. The animals are returned to our headquarters where they are vaccinated and given preventive treatments, spayed or neutered, given veterinary care as needed, socialized, and made ready for adoption.

2) Education: By working with schools, scout troops, churches and other youth-oriented organizations, the MCHS Humane Education team reaches thousands of children and teens each year. Programs focus on compassion, respect for and understanding of animals, the benefits to people of pet ownership, the tenets of responsible pet ownership, and the important stewardship role we all play in advancing animal welfare in our community. Programs for adults focus on strategies for adopting a pet for the family's lifestyle, pet emotions, pet behaviors, understanding animal control ordinances, and more.

3) Community Outreach : MCHS hosts and attends a number of community events each year designed to raise awareness of the problem of animal homelessness, and to share advice, resources and volunteer opportunities which help create a more humane community, which then becomes part of the solution to ending animal homelessness.

The Montgomery County Humane Society is staffed with seasoned animal welfare professionals that bring decades of experience in all facets of animal welfare. Our rescue and adoption team includes veteran animal caretakers and trainers and personnel familiar with field services related to companion animals, farm animals and wildlife. Our humane education team includes teachers and animal behaviorists with honed programs for children, teens and adults. Our veterinary team brings decades of experience in the latest shelter medicine and spay/neuter surgical procedures and other medical issues, and others are seasoned in program planning and strategic initiatives.

We have a 6,500 square foot rescue building for housing our staff, as well as up to 20 dogs and 35 cats, vehicles for animal transport, a mobile clinic designed to provide surgeries on site at MCHS or on the road in areas of critical need, and we are planning an expansion of our services at a new location that is currently under development.

In April 2014, MCHS became a fully independent animal welfare charity funded 100% with private program revenues and contributions. For the 55 years prior to becoming independent, we operated the public shelter for Montgomery County, Maryland, an open-admission shelter.

Since becoming independent, MCHS has rescued ________ and adopted into new homes cats and dogs. We have also met with thousands of children, teens and adults, and our education programs are wildly successful, with a large number of referrals and a 70% return rate year over year for public school and scouting programs.

This year, MCHS will launch a new adult education series dedicated to the emotional lives of cats and dogs, and how pet owners can tap into these emotions to better understand and care for their pets.

Also in 2019, we have launched our new low-cost spay/neuter clinic. It is the first clinic of its kind in Montgomery County, and will serve a very important need in the county for affordable services for the pets of Montgomery County and other nearby jurisdictions.

Our new MCHS Campus, which will be an expanded animal welfare and education center, will greatly expand our ability to provide services for the community.