Humane Society of Delaware County (Columbus)

The Humane Society of Delaware County was founded in 1972 by several concerned citizens. All of the cats and dogs were housed in foster homes until the shelter opened in 1987.

An adoption center for cats began in a garage near the city of Delaware for about one year. The organization was totally run by volunteers at that time.

Mr. Pete Martin and Mrs. Ruth Schultz, gave generous bequests which enabled the building of the present shelter, located at 4920 St. Rt. 37 East. Mr. Martin wanted his bequest to operate a low-cost spay and neuter clinic in order to battle the ever-growing problem of pet overpopulation.

The HSDC Board of Directors asked the county commissioner to require a mandatory spay and neuter clause for all animals adopted through our humane society. (This was rare in the state of Ohio at the time.) Our spay and neuter clinic opened in 1989 and has since performed almost 50,000 low-cost spay and neuters. This has helped to reduce the number of unwanted pets, but much more still needs to be done.

The shelter has recently averaged about 1,400 adoptions per year - and we thank all the good folks in our community who helped save all those lives by adding a new pet to their family. We've added programs such as cruelty investigations and humane education, and now we're even able to place animals with special needs or disabilities - something very rare in shelter situations.

We now have a Board of Directors and operate the shelter with paid staff and volunteers, but we will never forget our humble beginnings as we strive to make this a better world for our pets. Thank you for your ongoing support, donations, and memberships. We truly couldn't do it without you!

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