KHS is getting a new home!

Keep checking back for progress updates on our new building.

Updates coming soon!

Each year we serve thousands of pet owners, many of whom are in difficult circumstances, by providing:

Low-cost spay/neuter services to reduce unwanted litters
A pet food bank to help people feed and keep their pets
Emergency housing of pets to assist families in crisis

Our work doesn’t stop there. Working with our volunteers and supporters, we provide humane education services to promote responsible treatment of animals, and we advocate for laws that help keep animals and our community safe for generations to come.

A top priority is ensuring that the Kalamazoo Humane Society has the professional, family-friendly space it needs to meet current and anticipated demands for its crucial services. Over the next year, a group of dedicated community leaders will be asking for your help in raising $4.75 million to construct a new facility. When complete, our new home will allow us to expand programs that reduce the number of shelter animals through education and access to veterinary services and assistance.

Please join us in supporting the Compassion • Prevention • Results campaign as we seek to safeguard animals by serving the families that care for them.

Our history is rooted in compassion.

In 1897, concern over the mistreatment of cows prompted Cora Meiser and Nora Gause to gather 100 people and pass a hat. Each person tossed in a silver dollar, and an organization to prevent cruelty to children and animals was born.

As the years passed, other groups took on the needs of children, allowing the renamed Kalamazoo County Humane Society to focus on animals. In 1937, it built its first shelter — later destroyed by fire — and a second on Stadium Drive in 1949, where it operated for three decades.

By 1979, the Humane Society shifted its focus from sheltering to prevention, launching its first spay/neuter assistance program. Named “Operation Fix-It” in 2002, this program has greatly reduced the number of unwanted animals in our community.

Now known as the Kalamazoo Humane Society (KHS), we’ve operated from a former bridal shop since 1997. Despite cramped conditions, KHS has continued to grow its services to include a thriving emergency pet food bank and other supportive services for people and pets in crisis. And still the needs are growing in our region for expanded partnerships and greater access to our many services.

We're eager to meet that need.

Compassion Is At The Heart Of Our Work

Results Guide Us

A Call to Protect

The passion to protect children and animals is as alive today as it was in 1897 when citizens created the organization that became known as the Kalamazoo Humane Society (KHS). Although we now focus on animals thanks to laws protecting children, we’ve never wavered from our commitment to protect the vulnerable.

Shelters are populated with unwanted dogs and cats, and strays roam our streets for a variety of reasons including financial hardship at home. Unwanted, neglected and abused animals are in personal danger and can pose a public health and safety threat by biting, spreading disease and damaging property. To make the greatest long-term impact for the benefit of animals and our community, KHS tackles the root causes of pet overpopulation, neglect and abuse and tracks results.

Prevention is Powerful

By providing education and access to low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, emergency lodging, and pet food assistance, we reduce unwanted litters and help keep pets safe and in their own homes.

Officially launched in 2002, our “Operation Fix-It” spay/neuter program reached a milestone of 50,000 surgeries in 2014 and continues to grow through our successful prevention education and outreach.
KHS has a long history of providing temporary lodging for pets in homes with domestic unrest or violence. The safe haven we provide gives pet owners peace of mind and the courage to leave unsafe circumstances.
KHS’s Pet Food Bank helps families in financial straits feed and keep their pets — an average of 500 pets each day

A Vital Resource

We serve as a vital central community resource in ever-changing ways. Pet owners turn to us when they don’t know where else to turn. We respond in the spirit of compassion, which drives everything we do.