PROGRAMS
AND SERVICES
The Washington Humane Society (WHS) protects animals
and serves the Washington, DC community through a wide variety of
programs. While the heart of our mission remains rescuing animals
in trouble and finding them good, permanent homes, we also focus
on preventing suffering through education, spay/neuter campaigns
and diligently enforcing the District's anti-cruelty laws.
WHS, the only Congressionally-chartered animal
welfare agency in the United States, has been the leading voice
for animals in the District of Columbia since 1870. As the only
open-access shelter in the nation’s capital, no call for help
goes unanswered, and no animal is ever turned away. The Washington
Humane Society provides comfort and care to more than 20,000 animals
each year through its broad range of programs and services including:
Humane Law Enforcement
- WHS enforces all of the District's animal laws: anti-cruelty
statutes under an 1870 Congressional charter, and animal control
laws under a contract with the DC government.
- WHS investigates every report of mistreatment of animals, taking
appropriate action which may include any of the following: impoundment
to protect an animal's health and safety, owner education, arrest
and prosecution, inspections to ensure compliance with the law
and assistance with spay/neuter or veterinary care.
Sheltering
- WHS operates a private shelter on 7319 Georgia Avenue, as well
as the DC Shelter (under contract by the Department of Health)
on 1201 New York Avenue. Both shelters maintain an open admission
policy– no animal is ever turned away for any reason!
- WHS is proud to maintain the highest animal care standards
for medical protocols, cleanliness and comfort of the animals
in our care. This, in turn, helps placement efforts as a happy
and healthy animal is a better candidate for adoption.
- As the largest animal protection agency in the District, WHS
shelters stray, mistreated, and abandoned animals, reunites people
with lost companion animals, places animals in responsible homes,
rescues sick and injured domestic and wild animals, offers low-cost
spay and neuter services, as well as weekly low-cost vaccination
clinics for cats and dogs, and transports wild animals to licensed
rehabilitators.
Adoptions
- At any given time, WHS has approximately 60-70 animals available
for adoption.
- WHS works with a corps of 350 volunteers to promote and facilitate
successful adoptions.
- WHS has a broad network of foster homes and relationships with
rescue groups who help place animals.
- WHS's adoption-focused web site receives over 50 thousand visits
a month.
- Sophie's Fund enables
us to provide medical attention for animals in our care, so they
are able to get the second chance in life they deserve.
- Shelter In-House Training (SIT)
Program teaches dogs the necessary skills such as sit, stay, come
that will help them succeed in their new "forever" homes
Meet Your Match™
You could be gazing at the animal of your dreams, but you just can’t tell what she’s thinking behind that furry face. What if you knew a little something about her personality and habits before you moved in together? The ASPCA’s Meet Your Match™ program wouldn’t let you go home without knowing who’s in that carrier or on that leash. MYM is the only method in existence today that evaluates an animal’s behavior and interests and matches them to an adopter’s preferences so that you take home a pet you can really click with.
Foster
Care
- In order for WHS to succeed with its 5 year Good Home Guarantee
Plan, promising every adoptable animal entering its 2 open-access
shelters a home, we have greatly expanded our foster home network.
- As the only open admission shelters in Washington, DC, WHS
takes in on average 30 animals a day. WHS’s Foster Program
works around the clock to provide comfort to all of the animals
in our care. Each time an animal is taken out of our shelter and
into a home to be fostered, it provides us the more space for
another animal that needs our special care and attention.
- For more information on becoming a dog or cat foster parent
for WHS, please contact Kate Zapf
at 202-541-6358 or kzapf@washhumane.org
Spay/Neuter
- In fall 2007 the Washington Humane Society, along with founding
partner Alley Cat Allies unveiled the first ever low-cost Regional
Spay/Neuter Center, created specifically to service the entire
DC metropolitan area. The new facility is named the National
Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center. The National
Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center is located on 1001 L Street
on Capitol Hill in Southeast Washington, DC.
- The Center addresses the desperate need for low-cost spay/neuter
of domestic animals in our region with a goal of providing sterilization
surgery on up to 75 animals every day, five days a week. The volume
of animals will come from the Washington Humane Society Animal
Shelter, the DC Animal Shelter (operated by the Washington Humane
Society), as well as many other participating shelters, rescue
groups and animal control agencies from around the region.
- Because the drastic pet overpopulation problem is the root
cause of animal abandonment, neglect, and suffering, WHS makes
every effort to ensure that as many dogs and cats as possible
are spayed and neutered. The WHS National Capital Area Spay &
Neuter Center – the only one in DC, serves animals being
adopted, returned to owners, and animals belonging to members
of the public. Special days at the Center are devoted to sterilizing
feral cats for free. For more information on this vital service,
visit the Spay/Neuter
Center page.
Map
to Spay/Neuter Center
CatNiPP (Cat
Neighborhood Partnership Program)
- CatNiPP is designed to address the challenge faced by property
owners surrounding the presence of stray and feral cats, all while
treating the cats in a humane and ethical manner. Stray and feral
cats are the product of human mistreatment – owned cats
are too often abandoned and those that are not neutered produce
litters of untamable kittens. Unaddressed, the process continues
and seems unstoppable.
- Through CatNiPP, the Washington Humane Society endorses a management
method called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR works because it addresses
the root of the problem – the breeding. In TNR the cats
are humanely trapped, brought to our spay/neuter clinic where
they are neutered, vaccinated and generally examined. They are
also "eartipped" (a portion of their ear is cut) to
signal that they have been treated by a veterinarian. After treatment
the cats are then returned to their outdoor home – to live
out their days in a managed colony. They no longer reproduce and
their nuisance behaviors, like fighting, spraying and yowling
are dramatically reduced.
- In keeping with the goal of reducing the number of unwanted
animals entering our shelters, WHS has opened its National
Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center the second
Sunday of every month for a full day of feral cat sterilization
surgeries. It is understood that all cats that participate in
the clinic are true feral animals, and are not tame, nor adoptable
cats. Tame and adoptable stray cats should make an appointment
for sterilization during normal business hours.
Washington
Humane Society Behavior & Learning Center
- The new WHS training facility located on 7315 Georgia
Avenue, NW offers competitively priced private and group
lessons. The WHS Behavior & Learning department also utilizes
the new training facility to work with adoptable dogs and cats
in the WHS shelters and train WHS volunteers and staff on the
philosophies of animal learning.
- Group training classes, and private lessons for dogs and cats
owned by private citizens are open to the public and provide education
and training in subjects such as socialization, preparedness,
general manners, specific obedience, general cat and dog care,
and even a leash aggression class.
Legislative Affairs
-
The Washington Humane Society was chartered by Congress in 1870 to
enforce the animal cruelty laws of the District of Columbia. We work
with City Council to pass laws which help provide better protection for
the animals of Washington, DC.
Humane Education
- WHS's program serves schools in areas with a high incidence
of animal abuse, making multiple visits to classrooms every year.
Building this rapport with students and teachers has proven essential
in creating an atmosphere of trust and compassion for animals.
- WHS's award-winning SPEAK Program introduces children to loving
family dogs and allows them to form a bond. Many of the school
children have only known fighting pit bulls and guard dogs.
- WHS's Junior Humane Officer Program builds self-esteem as children
gain confidence in their ability to make a difference in an animal's
life by reporting suspected abuse.
- For more information, contact Humane Education Program Manager,
Shakela Brown, 202-723-5730 (ext. 133), sbrown@washhumane.org
Safe Haven
- WHS has long been at the forefront of educating the public and
social service workers about the link between animal abuse and
domestic violence.
- The Safe Haven Program cares for pets during an interim period
when their owners make the courageous decision to leave an abuser.
Human –
Animal Rehabilitation
- WHS and N Street Village, a nonprofit social service agency
for homeless women, have established a new unique program, benefiting
both homeless women and homeless animals. The women from N Street
Village volunteer weekly in the WHS shelter in an internship program
with specific goals in mind, helping to care for, rehabilitate,
socialize and train the animals, while gaining on-the-job experience.
This program was recognized by the Dalai
Lama, during his October 2007 visit to the nation’s
capital to accept the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. To hear remarks
by the Dalai Lama on this program, visit the "In
the News" page.
- WHS's DOG TAGS Program prepares wounded Soldiers,
recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, for a future career
in the animal behavior industry through a 3 tier certificate level
training curriculum. The Soldiers come twice a week to our Behavior
& Learning Center and learn skills that enable them to pursue
either a hobby or a career working with animals, all-the-while,
providing training, enrichment, and companionship for the WHS
cats and dogs that are awaiting adoption.
This program gives WHS an opportunity to give back to the injured
men and women of the Armed Forces while creating healing relationships
that benefit both humans and animals.
$35
Microchipping
- The public is welcome to visit either of our two shelters or
our National Capital Area Spay & Neuter Center for this quick
and painless $35 procedure to safeguard your pet
- No appointment is necessary. Click
here for hours of operation and
locations
- No limit on the number of animals
- Cats must be in a carrier & dogs on a leash
For information on supporting specific programs,
our endowment, or designating your gift to a special fund, click
here.
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