Our Mission, History & Philosophy
The Mission of the Humane Society of Chittenden County is to foster compassionate treatment of animals and to prevent animal suffering.
Founded in 1901 as the Burlington Humane Society (and operating as the Humane Society of Greater Burlington until 1998), HSCC has been serving the animals and people of Vermont’s largest county for well over 100 years. In October, 2002 we opened the doors to our nearly 12,000 square foot state-of-the-art adoption center and animal care facility. Each year we welcome as many as 20,000 visitors who come to our shelter to volunteer, learn more about our programs, attend trainings, or look for a new best friend.
On an annual basis we take in roughly 750 - 1,000 animals (dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs and more) and work to care for and place them in loving forever homes.
HSCC is a private, independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that receives no city, state, or federal funding to meet our mission and serve our community. We rely solely on the limited revenue generated by our programs and fees and on the tremendous generosity of our community of individual and business donors and supporters. We serve Vermont's most populated county (Chittenden) as well as the smaller Lake Champlain island community to our north (Grand Isle.)
As a "controlled-admission" shelter we accept, by appointment, animals brought to us regardless of health or behavioral issues. Ony in the most severe cases will we advise an owner than an animal's health or behavioral needs are beyond our capacity to address. Our staff includes a management team of dedicated supervisors and an extraordinary animal care and adoption staff - as well as the most dedicated bunch of volunteers one could ask for - who work daily to care for our population and to treat and rehabilitate those animals with conditions and problems that may pose challenges to finding new homes. We’re proud of our successes and aim each day to make the right match for every animal - and potential adopter - in our care.
We’re often asked if HSCC is a “no-kill” animal shelter and while we’ve answered that question at some length in the Frequently Asked Questions section of our site, here’s a quick answer: no. . .and yes. While HSCC meets the generally understood guidelines for a “no-kill” shelter (we do not euthanize animals for space or length of stay), we choose very deliberately not to label ourselves with a brand such as “no-kill.” The truth is, even shelters that choose to use such a label have to make the decision to euthanize animals whose health or behavior makes them either inappropriate to place or subject to a very low quality of life. While we admire and appreciate the spirit and philosophy behind the "no-kill" movement, we also think it can be a misleading label. Without exception, euthanasia decisions are the most difficult - not to mention often painful and even heart-breaking - decisions we face in the course of our work. We invest every resource within our reach and within reason to rehabilitate, cure, and help the animals who come our way. Sometimes their health conditions are beyond our resources (or find them suffering) or their behavioral issues make them unsafe or unadoptable. As an organization committed to transparency and community education, it would be disingenuous of us (and a disservice truly) to be anything but upfront and forthright about this aspect of our work.
Our pledge to the members of our community - two and four-legged alike - is to conduct our work with compassion, an abiding commitment to education, prevention, and intervention, and high standards of both animal care and dedication to the welfare of our community. We do that work not only with the support of our community but also with other organizations and animal welfare entities in Vermont and throughout the region.
For a list of other shelters and animal welfare organizations in Vermont, visit our Resources Page here .