Our Vision
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The Humane Society of Elkhart County seeks to create caring communities that advocate for the humane treatment of all animals.

History
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The HSEC has been in operation since 1939. However, the Humane Society has been around for more than 85 years. It first was a shelter for Women and Children of domestic violence. Later it transformed into a shelter for animals. Today, we are still the only Humane Society in Elkhart County.

Funding
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We are a 501c3 Not-For-Profit organization. This means we require donations to operate. Although we do receive funding from the city and county, this funding is for Animal Control Services and is only half of our annual budget a year.

Population Served
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We serve a community of over 200,000 people. This includes all the cities in Elkhart County as well as Nappanee and Middlebury. About 70% of Elkhart County owns a pet. It is our responsibility to educate the county on proper animal care.

Statistics
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The HSEC takes in over 700 animals a month. By the end of 2009, over 6880 animals had come into our shelter facility which has a 266 animal capacity.  At the same time, 1617 animals were adopted, returned to their owners or were sent on to legitimate rescue groups.  With all the services provided for animal welfare, the Humane Society touched the lives of over 12,000 animals.

Open Admission Vs. Closed Admission
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Because we must provide Animal Control to all of Elkhart County, we must consider ourselves as an Open Admission shelter. This means we cannot turn animals away because we are full. This is also why we are not considered a No-Kill shelter. Closed Admission shelters are able to turn away animals because they are full in capacity.

No-Kill Adoption Center
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We are proud to say that we have a No-Kill adoption center. Once an animal reaches adoption, it stays in adoption until it is adopted. The only reason an animal would be pulled from adoption is if it was sick, which then we would try to medicate the animal or if it was adopted/sent to a rescue. We work with numerous rescue groups that help us with the overcrowding of our shelter. If we see one of our animals continuing to be overlooked by potential adopters, we will send that animal to a rescue to give it a second chance for a new crowd to see.