Welcome to the Humane Society of Elkhart County
Our Vision
The Humane Society of Elkhart County seeks to create caring communities that advocate for the humane treatment of all animals.
Our Mission
The mission of the Humane Society of Elkhart County is to rescue, rehabilitate, rehome, and advocate for the compassionate care of animals.
History
In the late 1930’s, there was a growing concern regarding the fate of unwanted and stranded animals. In 1939 a small band of interested individuals began to formally take on these unfortunate creatures. Their efforts lead to the formation of the Humane Society of Elkhart County which operates an animal shelter and serves as animal control for Elkhart County.
Funding
The Humane Society of Elkhart County is a private 501c3 Not-For-Profit organization and relies on community donations to help support its mission. HSEC is not a governmental agency. However, it is contracted by the county and all cities in Elkhart County to provide animal control services to support stray, abandoned and owner released animals in Elkhart County.
Population Served
The Humane Society serves a community of over 200,000 people working in Elkhart County. It is estimated that over 60% of Elkhart County owns a pet. The Humane Society seeks to educate regarding proper animal care and various animal welfare issues.
Statistics
Other statistics and program information are available in the Humane Society’s annual report.
Open vs. Closed Admission
Because we provide animal control to all of Elkhart County, we are considered an open admission shelter. This means HSEC will not refuse animals from Elkhart County service area residents if the shelter is full. Closed admission shelters may refuse to take more animals because they have reached their facility limit.
Adoption Center
Although we are an Open Admission shelter, we are proud to say that every animal that goes into our adoption center stays there until they are adopted. We have worked really hard to try every effort of finding an animal a home by adoption or working with legitimate animal welfare groups. If the animal won’t fit well in our adoption center, we will try to find another animal welfare group to give it a home.