Central Dakota Humane Society

The Central Dakota Humane Society has had a shelter located three miles north of Mandan since 1994, but many people are surprised to find out that the organization has actually been doing good deeds in the community for over 46 years. CDHS was originally formed by 12 members as the League for Animal Welfare in 1960. Now CDHS has over 1,400 members, but unfortunately, an animal shelter in a community the size of Bismarck/Mandan and the outlying towns should have about 3,000 members to continue its community work and help more animals.

There seem to be a few misconceptions about the CDHS. We are not the pound. We do not euthanize healthy and adoptable animals. The members who drafted the shelter’s mission in 1994 decided that we should be a no-kill shelter, which means if an animal is healthy and temperamentally sound, we will not euthanize it. We will keep the animal until it can find a loving home. The members today continue to live by this philosophy because we believe there is always the perfect guardian out there looking for the loving cats and dogs we house at the shelter.

By adopting a shelter pet, a family can make a difference for the one they adopt and for another one on our waiting list who needs a new home. Please remember when searching for a new pet – the animals in our shelter have already been given an examination by a veterinarian, given shots, many dogs have had behavior lessons and many animals have already been spayed or neutered.

Another misconception – we are NOT associated with PETA. Although we may have some members who prefer to be vegetarian or who are opposed to hunting and fishing, our organization does NOT take a stand on those issues. Indeed, we have had several very loyal hunters sitting on our board of directors over the years, and they love their pets as much as anyone can.

Our main goals fall in line with our mission statement. Our first mission is to provide for, house, rehabilitate and relocate lost, strayed or homeless animals. Another important mission is to promote spaying and neutering of pets in order to cut down the number of the area’s unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. We are proud to say that since January 1998 we have helped spay and neuter more than 6,917 cats and dogs.

We ARE a vital partner and a needed asset in our community. Please help us continue our mission. We challenge every pet lover in the Central Dakota area to show your love for your own animals by giving back to those less fortunate – the stray, abandoned and abused creatures who find their way to our doorstep and who are eventually adopted into wonderful, forever homes.

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