As Defend Your Friend weekend comes to an end, the 5Ks have been completed at the park, around your neighborhood or on trips from the couch to the fridge; no step was taken without greater purpose. Together, we all have the ability to impact the lives of those who need our help most because together, we make Columbus Humane. As a result of Defend Your Friend 5K 2020, 279 people participated accompanied by 140 dogs resulting in $50,889 raised for our Cruelty Investigations Department with an additional $20K raised to support the Susan Wright Yoder Memorial Fund, which helps us provide care for dogs admitted through animal cruelty investigations. Your contribution to Defend Your Friend will help do things like:

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 – A Grove City couple has been convicted of 17 counts of animal cruelty after Columbus Humane agents seized 247 animals from two properties the couple owned citing unsanitary, dangerous conditions in 2019.

(Thursday, October 15, 2020) – Columbus Humane is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for two separate, violent acts of animal cruelty.

An open letter to our neighbors:

“I promise to be kind to all creatures within my reach and to protect them as far as I can from cruelty and ill-usage.”

This Columbus Humane pledge dates back to 1884, just a year after our organization’s founding. Times are different. Societal norms have changed in many ways since the late 1800’s. Our language is different. (I can’t recall ever using “ill-usage” in a sentence.) Our mission is even a bit different, as our founders set out primarily to protect women, children and carriage horses.

COLUMBUS, OHIO (May 7, 2020) — Columbus Humane is seeking to help pet owners in need through a new partnership with the ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbus Humane is providing free cat and dog food, provided by the ASPCA, for residents in the Franklin County area struggling to feed their pets. Starting today, pet food and supplies are available by appointment for pick-up and curbside delivery.

Earlier this week Columbus Humane received a donation of more than 20 palettes of pet food and supplies from the national nonprofit organization, Greatergood.org to distribute to individuals in the community in need of pet food assistance. Within 24 hours of announcing the opportunity to the community via social media, Columbus Humane received more than 500 requests for support. Even this generous donation that filled a semi-truck will not be enough to help everyone who submitted a request for support.

April 3, 2020 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released recommendations around COVID-19 that impact families with pets in the home. You can put your worries to rest regarding your four-legged friend. The CDC recognized that there is no current evidence of companion animals spreading COVID-19 and that the spread of the virus is the result of human to human transmission. Early on, there was concern that the virus could be harbored by a pet’s fur. The new recommendations, however clearly indicate…

(March 17, 2020) — In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Central Ohio, Columbus Humane changed the adoption process to keep people healthier and make animals more accessible to the community. We will be open to the public by appointment only for adoptions and we are not accepting visitors, only those intending to adopt. All adoption fees are 50 percent off this week.

(January 17, 2020) — Columbus Humane is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the suspected poisoning of a dog in North Linden.