About Us
History: Since its inception in 1908 as the Washington Humane Society, the Federation has had a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people and animals. During the early 1900’s, animals and animal issues received little attention and/or funding. The Federation was formed to provide animal agencies professional support, the opportunity to train and network together, and bring professional growth to the animal protection business.
Today: The Federation is made up of members from all corners of Washington, working together to provide a collective voice for animal welfare. Our active Board of Directors is comprised of Executive Directors, Managers and Supervisors of humane societies, animal control agencies and other non-profit animal welfare agencies. Board members are available to assist with shelter design, program information and development, training and animal care and control resources on both a local and national level.
Our current goals include:
- Assume a statewide leadership role with a collaborative approach in advocating animal welfare.
- Act as a center clearinghouse for sharing information with animal welfare agencies.
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Provide useful information to the public regarding animal care and other issues important to the membership.
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Collaborate with the veterinary community in order to share information and resources, and more effectively promote humane practices and laws for all animals in Washington State.
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Provides annual trainings in the form of regional workshops. Recent workshops have addressed issues of horse abuse investigation, customer service and communication skills; officer safety, adoption screening techniques and animal disaster relief.
- Conducts an annual statewide survey of member and non-member agencies. Survey results provide information that can help track trends in animal welfare that allow us to determine where we need to concentrate our resources.
- Administers a disaster relief fund to assist local member agencies in helping people and animals that have been subjected to the overwhelming effects of natural disasters.
- Offers grants funded by "We Love Our Pets" license plate fees to animal welfare organizations to help support spay/neuter activities in Washington State.
If you would like to register your agency to become a member of the Federation, please click here for more information.
Interested in becoming a Board Member? Or want to join a Committee? Contact us for details.
