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About Us

The Best of Clark County!

Best of Clark County_The Columbian logoThank you for naming HSSW the Best Nonprofit in the 2024 Best of Clark County and awarding us Best Pet Adoption service for six years running.

Each year, thousands of pets in our community receive care at HSSW. We provide shelter to lost and stray pets, a refuge from abuse and neglect, essential medical care, and a second chance for a happy home. And our commitment to the pets and people of Southwest Washington extends beyond the shelter, providing critical support to pets and families with Wellness Clinics, pet food assistance, spay/neuter, emergency boarding, financial assistance, and other programs that help keep families together.

We also own and operate ReTails Thrift Store. Giving new life to gently-used items, every purchase and donation at ReTails supports our lifesaving work with the animals.

Our Mission

rescue • return • restore • rehome • reconnect one animal at a time

Our Vision

A community where everyone loves and cares for animals

Path Forward 2025

Path Forward is the strategic vision that guides our work to make our community safer and more humane. 

As the needs of people and pets in our community change and evolve, we are responding by adding services and programs that reach beyond the walls of the shelter. Here's how we are prioritizing our work to achieve our vision of a community where everyone loves and cares for animals. 

Path Forward 2025

Who We Are

Founded in 1897, the Humane Society for Southwest Washington is the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Southwest Washington. Learn more about us at the links below.

Compassion | the desire to take action to relieve suffering

Collaboration | working with others to produce, create, or achieve a common goal

Excellence | the quality of being outstanding

Service | helping or doing work for others; providing aid

Integrity | being honest & having strong moral principles; the state of being whole & undivided

HSSW is a private nonprofit, operating independently of other shelters and animal welfare groups. We do not receive any federal, state, or government funding and we do not receive a portion of any donations paid to national animal welfare organizations. 

We rely on the support of donors, grants, and our own fundraising in order to provide lifesaving care and shelter to pets in our community. The Humane Society for Southwest Washington receives no funding from the Humane Society for the United States. We rely on donations from our community. All funds donated to HSSW stay in our community. Learn more about our funding.

In the animal welfare industry, a "no-kill" designation is achieved by a shelter with a save rate of 90% or higher. While we meet the threshold for a no-kill designation, HSSW does not refer to itself as a "no-kill" shelter because the term does not accurately reflect the realities of caring for pets in a shelter environment. The designation “no-kill” does not mean “no euthanasia.”

As a shelter that accepts companion animals from the community and animal control agencies, HSSW receives pets in many conditions. While most pets are medically and behaviorally healthy and can be placed into our adoption program immediately, others require medical treatment, foster care, or behavior rehabilitation. Other animals received by HSSW may be critically injured or behaviorally unsuitable for adoption. We devote time and resources to the care for each animal. There are no limits on how long an animal can stay with us, and we do not euthanize for space.

We believe in providing the same standard of care that an owner would want for their personal pet. In some instances, euthanasia is the humane option for pets who do not have a path to adoption. We only consider euthanasia for animals too sick for treatment or rehabilitation or those deemed behaviorally unsuitable for adoption. You can learn more by visiting our statistics page. HSSW is proud to be a partner in making the Vancouver area one of the safest communities for pets. 

HSSW is committed to an environment that welcomes and values all people. We believe we will be more successful in achieving our mission and vision when we seek out and respond to diversity, honoring the strengths, needs, voices, and backgrounds of all members of our staff, volunteers, workforce partners, donors, supporters and our community.

See our full DEIA statement.

Our Partnerships

At HSSW, we believe that the people and animals in our community benefit when animal welfare groups work together to make our region the safest for pets in our country. We're proud to be founding members of the following cooperative networks in Southwest Washington and the Portland Metro Area.

Humane Southwest Network

The Humane Southwest Network consists of two humane societies (West Columbia Gorge, and HSSW) that provide animal welfare services in Southwest Washington. Together, we a network dedicated to raising the standards of care for animals in our region. By working together we can create greater efficiencies, be more highly effective, and serve as better and stronger advocates for animals and their families.

The HSN is committed to protecting the health of shelter populations, ensuring quality shelter medical services, minimizing average length of stay, and providing assistance in the event of an emergency.

Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland

Founded in 2006, the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP) is a working coalition composed of the following Portland/Vancouver-area animal shelters and organizations: 

ASAP envisions a community that values, protects and cares for animals and provides a safety net for homeless and at-risk cats and dogs. Working together, ASAP develops and sustains metro-wide programs and services that reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs, and save the lives of all shelter pets that can be humanely and responsibly rehomed. For further information, please visit asapmetro.org.

Learn more about ASAP coalition.