Founded in 1893, the Guelph Humane Society provides care and shelter for more than 3,000 homeless, stray, injured and abused animals each year.
What We Do
The Guelph Humane Society envisions a world where all animals are treated humanely, with respect and compassion. Our mission is to advocate for all animals, and in particular those animals whose lives we can influence, through care, education, community support, protection, and leadership. To achieve those goals, we provide animal sheltering, pet rehoming, adoption services, veterinary care, pet identification, a progressive spay/neuter program, and return of lost pets. We actively participate in innovative programs like Cat Healthy, Capacity for Care and Cats & Birds. We also provide care and assistance with sick, orphaned and injured wildlife.
The Guelph Humane Society also boasts strong education programs that impact thousands of children and youth annually. Through weekly school visits in Guelph and Wellington County, children have the opportunity to participate in welfare and animal safety-based curriculum delivered by our Humane Educator. We also offer a weekday Junior Humane Club, a March Break Camp and summer camp programs.
The Guelph Humane Society is contracted by the City of Guelph, the Township of Centre Wellington and the Township of Guelph-Eramosa to provide animal services. Our staff enforce animal related by-laws, help stray domestic animals, respond to citizens with animal concerns, and provide emergency response to stray animals or animals (including wildlife) that are sick or injured.
How you can help
There are many ways to get involved at GHS! Here are a few of our favourites:
Every purchase of GHS Swag helps to support the animals in our care. All proceeds from retail sales in our Happy Tails Boutique go straight to helping the animals. Our in-shelter store also stocks many new or gently used pet items, from crates and cat trees to collars and leashes. All proceeds go to supporting the animals.
As we do not receive government funding, we rely on donations to fund the many expenses associated with caring for animals. This includes animal enrichment, food and treats, supplies, veterinary care, shelter, and our fantastic animal care team. You can make a donation here.
We have many Volunteer Opportunities both in-shelter and at our special events. Check out available volunteer openings here.
Our GHS Kids programming is a great way for kids to have hands-on experience with animals in our care. Our Programs team continually adds new kids programming, which can be found here.