Help us build a better tomorrow for the Imperial Valley’s homeless pets!

The Humane Society of Imperial County is the largest functioning non-profit animal shelter in the Imperial Valley. We do not receive supplemental funding from local government or at a state level, nor are we affiliated with or funded by the Humane Society of the United States or the ASPCA. Our funding comes from private contributions, fundraisers, some grant funding, and a lot of hard work put forth by our dedicated staff. Despite the lack of resources in Imperial County, we are proud to report that our organization has been able to maintain a "no-kill" status since 2015 and was recently recognized by Best Friends Animal Society for this achievement. A “no-kill” status means that 90% or more of the animals that leave our shelter have live outcomes! 

Through municipal contracts, our shelter provides animal housing services for most of Imperial County. We literally take in animals from every corner of the community, with over 1,300 animals entering our care annually. Our shelter provides a low-cost spay and neuter program for all pet owners within our community, and we service over 2,000 animals annually through that program. Through a partnership with Imperial County Behavioral Health Services, we provide a pet therapy program called the P.E.T. (Positive Engagement Team) Program. Dogs from our shelter are put through training which allows them to work with behavioral health consumers. After six months of being in the program, the dogs retire and are adopted out through the program.

Post COVID-19, the state of California is currently one of the highest kill states in the United States. Many local pet owners are experiencing hardships and are struggling to care for themselves; therefore, many pet owners are being forced to surrender their pets. Our shelter is made to comfortably house about 80 animals, and we currently have over 200 in our care. The animals currently live in uncomfortable, stressful, and severely overcrowded conditions. Our shelter is so inundated with unwanted pets that we are unable to take in owner surrenders, and we have had to temporarily stop accepting animals from certain municipal shelters. In turn, pet owners are turning their pets loose, and this creates a major health and safety concern. With more animals roaming the streets, community members are more susceptible to dog bites (which is how the rabies virus is spread), and roaming animals are known for causing traffic accidents. In addition, because we can no longer accept animals from certain municipalities, taxpayers’ dollars are being wasted on euthanizing healthy and adoptable pets within certain cities. To make matters worse, our current facility, which was built in the early 1970’s, has begun to fail us. Due to the deteriorating infrastructure of our building, we have major capacity needs which are detrimental to the safety and wellbeing of our staff, the animals in our care, and our adopters and volunteers. We have come to realize it is time for a shift in our operation – we must find a more suitable solution in addressing the growing unwanted pet crisis before our existing facility becomes completely inoperable…

We are currently working with a local contractor and a committee of local animal advocates to address these capacity needs. The contractor has drafted a layout of what our new shelter would look like and through said contractor, we were given a budget of 3.5 million dollars to build a new shelter. Through three sizable private contributions and some online fundraising, we currently have over 1.5 million secured in a bank account that is earmarked for the new shelter. Also, a one-acre parcel of land was donated to us for this project! A new shelter will allow us to build a facility large enough to accommodate the growing unwanted pet population and provide those pets with a safe and comfortable temporary living environment until they are adopted into loving homes. A new shelter will also allow us to take in more animals, so they are not roaming the streets, and aid in eliminating potential public health and safety hazards and concerns. Also, we would have an overall safe facility for staff, volunteers, and customers.

As of 2023, Imperial County has a population of 178,211 people. If each person in the county made a $5 donation once a month for 3 months, or a one-time donation of $15, we can build a modern facility that is climate controlled, comfortable, functional, and spacious within a year’s time! The new shelter would allow the animals to have enclosed outdoor access for fresh air and sunshine! Our goal for this online fundraiser is to reach $1,500,000 to put towards the new shelter! It doesn’t take a small group of people to make one big contribution to bring about a great change. This is a community effort. If everyone came together to make a small contribution all at once, the rate and impact of change would be astronomical! With the help of friends and supporters near and far, we can secure the funding needed to complete this project and better serve both our four-legged community members. This online fundraiser is the perfect opportunity for the entire community to come together and do their small part in making this dream a reality for the thousands of homeless pets in the Imperial Valley. We can do this!

Donors have the option to make a one-time donation or set up monthly reoccurring donations. The online fundraising platform we are using is Zeffy, and 100% of your donation for this campaign is deposited directly into the shelter’s Building Fund Account. To donate, please fill out the form below.

If you prefer to send your donation via check, that is perfectly fine! Please make checks payable to HUMANE SOCIETY OF IMPERIAL COUNTY. Please make sure to make note in the memo that your donation is for the New Shelter Project. We can manually add your check donation to this fundraiser so the amount will appear in the Donation Thermometer. Our address is 1585 W. Pico Ave. El Centro, CA 92243

For questions, additional information, to become involved in this project in other ways, or for donors who would like to make larger donations, please contact our Executive Director, Devon Apodaca at hello@imperialcountyhumane.org

The Humane Society of Imperial County is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit organization under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3). All donations made to this project are tax-deductible. For your records, a donation receipt will be automatically generated and emailed to you shortly after your donation is made. Our Tax Identification Number is 23-7108184

THANK YOU!

Donation Thermometer

This thermometer helps us track the progress of the campaign!

Donation Form

Please select an amount you would like to donate on a one-time or monthly basis. No amount is too big or too small, and any amount is great appreciated and helps tremendously!