Mission, Vision and Values
Create a more humane world by inspiring compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people.
Create a More Humane San Diego®
San Diego Humane Society, an open-admission shelter, is creating a more humane world by inspiring compassion and advancing the welfare of animals and people. Our lifesaving safety net has helped San Diego become the largest city in the U.S. to keep healthy and treatable shelter animals from being euthanized. We are a private, independent, nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any other humane society or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
With campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego, we provide animal services for 14 cities within San Diego County. We not only care for more than 40,000 animals in our communities annually, but also share the expertise we have gained through our innovative programs with shelters nationwide so they can save more lives in their communities.
While our influence is expanding nationally, our top priority is meeting the needs of San Diego. We provide exceptional care for all animals through world-class veterinary medicine, shelter and most of all: love.
What We Strive For
Our Vision
A more compassionate world.
Our Mission
Create a more humane world by inspiring compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people.
Our Values
- Compassion
- Courage
- Impact
- Inclusion
- Integrity
How We Measure Success
Operationally, we have set goals to:
Advance Animal Welfare
Support a Healthy Community
Champion a Thriving Organization
Maintain Financial Health
We're More Than a Shelter
Behavior Center
Our Behavior Center provides specialized training for animals who display shy/fearful or defensive behaviors, kennel stress or reactivity while in the shelter environment. It opened in 2013 and has rehabilitated thousands of animals who, prior to its start, may have been euthanized due to being unsafe in a home environment.
Kitten Nursery
Our Kitten Nursery was the first of its kind in the country, and it has helped more than 30,000 kittens since its inception in 2009. The Kitten Nursery has established our organization as a national leader in solving the challenges that shelters face in working with this fragile population of animals.
Humane Law Enforcement
Our Humane Law Enforcement team is often the first to respond when animals suffer. Receiving over 100,000 calls to dispatch each year, the team has officers in the field seven days a week, dedicated to protecting animals throughout San Diego County by enforcing animal cruelty and neglect laws.
Project Wildlife
Project Wildlife stands alone as the primary resource in San Diego County for the majority of wildlife to receive help when they critically need it. As our human population grows, we have less natural space for wildlife, which dramatically increases the need for rehabilitative care and conservation.
Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Medicine touches each one of the thousands of animals that come through our doors every year. Providing world-class veterinary care is a hallmark of San Diego Humane Society and is an essential component of our lifesaving work.
Your Support in Action
Our commitment is to continue to ensure San Diego County can Stay at Zero euthanasia of healthy or treatable shelter animals — while leading the way nationally to help shelters across the country save more lives in their own communities. We are deeply committed to creating a better world for animals and the people who love them. But we can’t do it without the generosity of our friends in the community — friends who know that when they donate to San Diego Humane Society, they are making extraordinary work possible. As an independent nonprofit organization not affiliated with any other humane society or Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, philanthropy is crucial to our mission and provides nearly 50% of our budget each year.
And, what does this giving support?
- Every pet we place in a loving home is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and provided the highest level of care while they are in our shelters.
- Innovative programs, including our Kitten Program, which cares for more than 6,000 kittens under eight weeks old each year and finds them loving homes.
- Project Wildlife, which provides emergency and rehabilitative care to over 10,000 sick, injured or orphaned wild animals annually.
- Our Community Support Services, which distribute more than 2 million pet meals each year and offer a life-changing safety-net for pet families in need.
These figures are a small snapshot of what we accomplish together with people like you who love animals. Together, we can create a more humane San Diego. To become a partner in this lifesaving work, donate here.