Tacoma TACOMA’S
HUMANE SOCIETY “COMPASSION ISN’T CANCELED” IN HUMANE SOCIETY’S 30TH ANNUAL DOG-A-THON By Rachel Kelly Photos Courtesy of Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County and the Tacoma Public Library Archives
T
he story begins in 1888. The local circus was in town, along with an advertised performance by local animals; one of those performers being a large bear. The mistreated and most likely malnutritioned bear failed to perform. His trainer began to ruthlessly kick him and would not stop. Appalled, the people of Tacoma began to cry as one for kindness and justice. The trainer spent some time in prison as a result of his cruelty; enough time to recognize that he’d found himself in a wholly different kind of city. It was for this reason that the Tacoma Humane Society was formed. The Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County is not really connected to other Humane Societies, in that they’re not one large nonprofit. Each society functions separately and individually according to the needs of its community. The Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County is proudly one of the oldest Humane Societies in the country. In 1888, when it was founded, it ran a little different than it does today. Originally, the Tacoma Humane Society began as a nonprofit geared as a refuge for orphaned children and livestock. Today it has evolved according to the needs of its community and is back to where it began (minus the children). It is a refuge for injured, abused or lost animals. Namely, domesticated pets. Currently the Tacoma Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County is housing over 230 cats, dogs and critters. This doesn’t include those in its foster care program, which bumps the number of pets considerably higher. The society only euthanizes animals for the sake of compassion, and never for space or time. Which is why the foster care program is so essential: It makes space. The Humane Society for Tacoma
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