Humane Society of Allen County

Through the hard work of five caring individuals, the Animal Protection Association of Lima was incorporated on October 29,1937. Their purpose was "To promote the general welfare of dumb animals, to devise and execute means of securing for animals more kind and humane treatment." Since that time, the organization has been governed by a Board of Directors and acted as a not-for-profit agency. The name of the organization changed in 1965 and the Lima-Allen County Humane Society was incorporated.

The Society has built two shelters during its existence. The grand opening of the Seriff road shelter was celebrated in December 1979. The mortgage was paid off in only two years and the board of directors immediately began expansion plans. Those plans ultimately led to our current state-of-the-art shelter on Elida Road, which opened in May 2000. With that came another name change to The Humane Society of Allen County.

More changes came through work with the city of Lima. In 1972 the city contracted with the society to handle animal control within city limits. Three years later, the Allen County commissioners contracted with us to handle dog warden responsibilities. Animal control contracts with both the city and county were terminated in 1985 and in 2001 the society terminated the contract with Allen County to house stray dogs.

The recent changes serve to bring our shelter in compliance with laws that cover humane societies in Ohio. We strongly feel the need to maximize the available resources of the Society towards ending the overpopulation of homeless companion animals in Allen County. We will accomplish this through education, spay/neuter programs and innovative adoption education.

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