About

Our mission at the Chautauqua County Humane Society is to empower our community to improve the lives of animals.

History: On January 9, 1905, the Chautauqua County branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was incorporated with the mandate to serve the community in the prevention of cruelty to animals. CCHS will celebrate our 120th anniversary on January 9th, 2025.

Vision: A community where all animals are respected, healthy, and safe.

Core Principles:

• Relationships: CCHS puts relationships at the center of its work: relationships with people, the community, and our animals.
• Collaboration: Rather than compete, we choose to work together with one another, with pet owners, with community leaders, and with other agencies.
• Agility: Our community’s needs are always changing, so we need to be ready to innovate and use creativity to respond accordingly.
• Compassion: Our team commits to showing up with empathy for those around us, animals and people, knowing that life includes many challenges, and that compassion is the foundation for success.
• Accountability: We act with maturity and responsibility. We do what is needed for our animals, our community, and each other.
• Education: We empower every individual to take the best care possible of all animals.

Commitment: The decision to end an animal’s life is an extremely serious one and is always treated as such. On April 15, 2003, the Chautauqua County Humane Society Board of Directors voted in the policy that no healthy and friendly animal would be euthanized due to overcrowding. What Chautauqua County Humane Society is creating is an animal welfare organization that has “no need to kill.” The cornerstone of this policy is to work aggressively on programming that prevents companion animal overpopulation and finds humane and responsible solutions for animals in crisis.

FAQs:

How is the Chautauqua County Humane Society funded?

The Chautauqua County Humane Society is a nonprofit organization that does not receive ongoing city, county, state, or federal funding. Most of the funds that are necessary to run our organization are raised through donations from our generous community, special event fundraising, and grants. To support CCHS, you can donate online here.

CCHS is NOT supported by any national animal welfare organizations like HSUS or ASPCA.

We are a local nonprofit organization and not funded by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), or any other national group. When making a donation to the ASPCA and HSUS, you are not making a donation to CCHS. However, the ASPCA will support CCHS and our endeavors, including event sponsorships and grant monies.

Does CCHS provide low-cost veterinary services?

We offer an affordable spay/neuter clinic for cats at the Strunk Road Adoption Center. To learn more, visit here.

Is CCHS a no-kill shelter?

We consider ourselves a “no need to kill” shelter, meaning that no healthy and friendly animal is euthanized at CCHS.

How many animals does CCHS adopt out each year?

On average, we adopt out 900 animals per year.

How many animals are at CCHS?

On average, we house within our shelter approximately 70 animals at any given time.