Do you want to advocate for accessible veterinary care? Shelter leadership? Or easy adoption?
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Animals has a wide range of projects supporting animal shelters, veterinary care, behavior, and education.
Keep reading to learn more about San Francisco SPCA, their history, current projects, and how you can help.
Who is the San Francisco SPCA?
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is an all-in-one organization dedicated to saving animals’ lives in their community.
This San Francisco, California-based charity is not only an animal shelter. They are also a spay and neuter clinic and a full-service public animal hospital.
This makes San Francisco SPCA the largest animal shelter in the SF Bay Area and the first cageless animal shelter established in the US.
These high-quality services are based on the belief that all cats and dogs deserve access to high-quality veterinary care. It’s also their way of showing love and care for animal lovers all over the city.
San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is committed to going beyond ordinary animal care models. They are a pioneer for innovative pathways to animal service, ensuring inclusivity and non-discrimination toward animals.
How Did the San Francisco SPCA Start?
Everything started on a spring day in 1868 when James Sloan Hutchinson saw two men dragging a hog on the rough pavement. His first heroic deed was to stop this cruelty.
This incident empowered him to speak out against rampant animal abuse. He rallied 15 like-minded citizens to found the San Francisco SPCA.
Since then, San Francisco SPCA has reached great heights. In 1968, SF SPCA celebrated their 100th anniversary and hosted a national convention of The American Humane Association.
They founded the No-Kill movement in 1994 to fight for every adoptable cat’s and dog’s life.
In 2014, they merged with Pets Unlimited, an animal welfare non-profit organization with the same mission and vision.
The organization is now the oldest US Animal welfare organization in the West.
What Does the San Francisco SPCA Do?
San Francisco SPCA has dozens of programs that ensure animals around the West live high-quality lives.
Its animal shelter introduced shelter medicine, a field dedicated to caring for homeless animals. The medicine team does physical exams, diagnostic treatments, husbandry, data entry, and research infectious diseases.
The San Francisco SPCA offers Spay/Neuter Clinic competitively priced spay-neuter for public clients.
Another popular charity program is Shelter PALS, the country’s first and only legal aid organization dedicated to animal shelters.
They champion policy change and counsel shelter clients to reduce imbalances of expertise and resources that result in poor outcomes for animals.
The charity also believes in the importance of education and advocacy. SFSPCA offers a resource library on cats and dogs that will help you learn about their behavior.
You can also attend orientations on animal behavior to become a better guardian.
SFSPCA also offers a rehoming program. All you have to do is submit a private rehoming application form and wait for a response.
How You Can Help the San Francisco SPCA
There are many ways you can help the San Francisco SPCA in their mission.
Donate with a one-time lifesaving gift that will go a long way in supporting local animals. You can gift the money in honor or memory of someone if you want.
Make a monthly gift. This monthly donation entitles you to their Circle of Friends membership so that you can receive their newsletters, updates, and event invitations.
You can also donate assets, such as stocks, mutual funds, gifts from IRA, and crypto.
Get involved with SFSPCA in any of the following ways:
- become a volunteer
- foster an animal
- support their advocacy
- adopt a pet
- attend an event
- become a corporate sponsor
- join their newsletter
- organize a fundraiser
Share the good work the San Francisco SPCA are doing with your friends and followers on social media. Like their Facebook page to stay updated on their projects and events, and support them on Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.
San Francisco SPCA makes it their mission to give all pets access to human veterinary care by 2030. And their current progress is proof that this goal is easily attainable.
Continue supporting San Francisco SPCA to help them achieve their goals. Doing so will guarantee that all dogs live high-quality lives.
Check out other organizations helping animals so you can make a difference in the best way possible.