Your Humane Society of Southeast Texas
Your Humane Society of Southeast Texas was founded in 1962. It is a nonprofit charitable organization supported entirely by voluntary donations and dedicated to the promotion of animal welfare throughout Southeast Texas. The purpose of your Humane Society is preventing cruelty to animals, providing care for homeless and distressed animals, promoting spaying and neutering, educating the public in proper animal care, and related humane issues. The many and varied programs described below are all directed toward this goal.

Adoptions - Receiving
Approximated 4,000 animals come to us each year and good homes with carefully screened, concerned, qualified owners are found for a large percentage.

Humane Education
The Education Department of your Humane Society conducts an intensive program of humane education for the residents of Jefferson County through tours of the shelter, visits to public and private schools, and presentations to preschool children, citizens groups, civic and service clubs and other adult organizations. This program has successfully reached thousands of individuals and has helped make them aware of the Society, the problems we face, proper care of animals and the importance of responsible pet ownership.

Information Services
Through our quarterly newsletter, Paw Prints, pamphlets and the print and electronic news media, we assist the citizens of Jefferson County in learning more about animals. Your Humane Society's telephone rings thousands of times each year and the answers to countless questions about animals are provided free of charge. Your Humane Society is the unquestioned leader in providing solutions to animal-related problems in Jefferson County and surrounding areas.

Lost And Found
One of the most rewarding services provided by your Humane Society is the successful reunion of lost pets with their owners. In addition to lost animals actually brought here, many animals we never see are returned through the matching of a call from an owner and the finder of a wandering pet.

Rescue Service
When the city Animal Control division or the County Sheriffs' Department cannot provide aid to an injured or suffering animal, your Humane Society provides rescue service. In rural areas that are not under the jurisdiction of any legal authority, your Humane Society offers the only service of this type that is available.

Investigations - Inspections
Your Humane Society serves as a focal point for reporting animal cruelty cases and as a catalyst for securing the required action from the appropriate enforcement or inspection agency or legal department. Every effort is made to alleviate problems through education and persuasion whenever possible but court proceedings are initiated where necessary.

Pet Facilitated Therapy
Humane Society volunteers, accompanied by a variety of small animals, make regular visits to nursing homes and convalescent centers in Jefferson County. This "hands on" activity brings joy to hundreds of aged and bedridden citizens of our community each year by providing them with the opportunity to reflect on animals they may have owned and to stroke and cuddle a furry kitten or puppy.

Animal Population Control . . . Spay / Neuter
Your Humane Society is greatly concerned about the problem of stray dogs and cats and the resulting threat to public health, life and property that they pose in Jefferson County. In an effort to combat the pet population explosion, sterilization is required for every animal adopted from your Humane Society. In addition, the Society's staff spends substantial time and effort in educating would-be pet owners and the public at large about the tangible benefits of spaying and neutering and explaining the problems created when animals are not sterilized.

Legislative Activities
Your Humane Society works actively with other local, regional and national humane organizations in promoting legislation aimed at alleviating animal suffering.

The Humane Society of Southeast Texas . . .
Animal Control . . .
There Is A Major Difference!
Your Humane Society is a nonprofit organization that is NOT supported by your tax money. Animal Control, on the other hand, IS a part of local government and IS supported by your taxes. The Humane Society accepts and places out for adoption unwanted animals brought to us by the public. Animal Control deals with stray and nuisance animals and is responsible for enforcement of laws relating to these animals. Your Humane Society is not connected with Animal Control in any way and operates only as a result of generous contributions from caring people like you.

Volunteer Programs
You can become as involved in your Humane Society as you wish. Volunteers play an important part in all of the programs previously mentioned and extra hands are always needed at the Shelter for everything from answering phones to walking dogs. Or, volunteer to help from your own home with our various fundraising projects. Call us for more information. For those who truly love animals, there is a way you can help those who cannot speak for themselves.

Other Services
Your Humane Society promotes "Be Kind To Animals Week" in April . . . promotes "Adopt-A-Cat" month in June and "Adopt-A-Dog" month in October . . . and provides a pet cemetery for dignified burial of beloved animals. The generous assistance of local veterinarians who volunteer their services makes it possible for us to offer care and concern for the animals housed at our shelter.