is an official Safe&Happy
partner
of DocuPet
Animal Friends Humane Society (AFHS) was established in 1952 and is Butler County’s largest, and oldest non-profit animal shelter. Their mission is to promote humane principles, to protect lost, homeless, abandoned and mistreated animals, and to act as advocates for animals in their communities.
In 2009, AFHS relocated from its outdated facility in Trenton and now occupies a 22,500 sq. foot facility with top-notch amenities for its shelter population in Hamilton, Ohio. By adopting nationally recognized best practices for animal shelters, AFHS has successfully maintained high live release rates and is committed to providing individual care to local pets in need. Your support helps the more than 5,000 animals that enter their doors each year. Their team works tirelessly to serve the community and ensure that animals in need are cared for, by breaking down barriers, whether it's through fostering, adopting, or volunteering, so that more animals can find their forever homes.
When you license your pet in Butler County, you are keeping your pet safe and making a difference in the community by helping free up shelter space by getting lost pets home faster. But why stop at licensing to support our local animals? We are proud to call AFHS an official Safe&Happy Partner. There are many ways to support AFHS’ vital work, and we hope you’ll join us in our mission to provide them with all the help and resources they need.
“In addition to it being mandatory, having your pet licensed is an excellent form of identification. When a dog comes into the shelter wearing their license, we are able to immediately begin efforts to identify ownership and get them home.” -Anna Friedman Executive Director at AFHS
AFHS needs our help
AFHS faces significant challenges due to the length of stay of animals and the increasing number of owner surrenders, coupled with a decrease in adoptions. In the past, shelter diversion issues could be resolved with support such as donated dog/cat food and vaccine clinics.
There is a significant increase in the number of pet owners who are surrendering their animals due to complex challenges such as homelessness, inability to find affordable pet-friendly housing, and other harder-to-solve problems.
How to help:
License your pet
License your pet
Lost pets with licenses spend little to no time at the shelter, opening up resources for the pets that genuinely need them. As the county shelter, every time a dog comes in with their license, it makes AFHS’ job of identifying their owners and ensuring they get home much easier. License your pet here.
Make a donation
Make a donation
Donations to AFHS directly help support the 5,000+ animals entering the shelter each year and help to provide food, vaccines, spay/neuter and microchipping, supplies for their enrichment program, cleaning supplies, medications, and more. Donate to AFHS here.
Volunteer
Volunteer
AFHS is always in need of volunteers. Volunteer roles include dog walkers, clinic volunteers, Pet Mobile/adoption events volunteers, enrichment, off-site events, visiting nursing homes with adoptable animals, front office volunteers, cleaning and building maintenance, to name a few. Apply to volunteer here.
Shop DocuPet
Shop DocuPet
20% of every designer tag purchase is given to AFHS. Shop to support here.
What is the Safe&Happy Fund?
In an effort to provide animal organizations with as much funding as possible, we created our Safe&Happy Fund. Outside of pet licenses, we will always donate 20% of every designer tag sale to our Safe&Happy partners to provide additional funding for vulnerable animals and the staff that serves them. Pet owners are also given the option to donate to AFHS during the checkout.
AFHS by the numbers
We hope that by providing residents with as much information as possible, pet licenses' positive impact on the community is understood and valued.
32
Staff
Members
1,000
Pets
Fostered
2,693
Pets
Adopted
10,000
Pets
Served
801
Lost Pets
Reunited
250
Volunteers
*Per year
More than just a shelter
Pet Food Pantry
Pet Food Pantry
AFHS’ Pet Food Pantry is a volunteer-run program that distributes over 8,000 lbs of pet food and, when available, other supplies to the Butler County community.
AFHS has observed first-hand that this program allows families to keep their pets in their homes and ensure that their pets are not going without food, even during a difficult time.
Outreach and Education Program
Outreach and Education Program
AFHS’ Outreach Coordinator engages in a wide range of humane education and outreach opportunities throughout the year. These range from Girl Scout troops coming to the shelter for a tour to the shelter visiting local colleges to discuss volunteer and career opportunities.
Because of the wide scope of their outreach and humane education, AFHS impacts the community by directly influencing the next generation to be more compassionate animal-advocating adults.
SNIP
SNIP
The SNIP program is a voucher-based program that can be accessed by low-income Butler County residents. Individuals may come into the shelter to purchase a spay/neuter voucher at a low cost. Then, they can “redeem” this voucher at the external partner veterinarian’s office that AFHS partners with.
Through the SNIP program, AFHS sees more pets in the community becoming spayed or neutered, reducing accidental litters and other benefits of spay/neuter surgery, such as cancer reduction and improved behavioral issues.
Your license fees at work
Millions of pets enter shelters each year. The critical care, compassion and love that shelter workers and volunteers show these animals is unlimited, but the same can’t be said for their funding and resources. When you license your pet, it becomes easier for them to be quickly returned to you if lost, reducing shelter overcrowding and ensuring that less fortunate animals receive the care and resources they desperately need.
In July 2023, AFHS welcomed 92 dogs in a single day from a hoarding case. Though it pushed AFHS' staff, volunteers and resources to the limits, the situation brought everyone together on-site but also in the community as a whole, with lots of local businesses stepping up to host fundraisers, individuals sending in donations from the shelter’s wish list, and people offering to open their homes for fostering. Most of these dogs are now adopted and thriving in their new homes.
More about AFHS
We sat down with Anna Friedman, Executive Director at AFHS, to learn more about the important work being done for local animals in need at the shelter.
What is most rewarding about being a part of your organization?
Working with extremely dedicated and compassionate people who know the role of animal shelters is always evolving and want to provide barrier-free access to pet ownership while strengthening the human-animal bond.
In your words, why is it important for residents to license their pets, and what impact does that have on your organization and community as a whole?
In addition to it being mandatory, having your pet licensed is an excellent form of identification. When a dog comes into the shelter wearing their license, we are able to immediately begin efforts to identify ownership and get them home. Additionally, under Ohio Revised Code, dogs wearing a current license have an extended stray-hold of 14 days (versus three), so while it is our hope dogs get reclaimed as quickly as possible, it does give their owner some extra time if needed.
What is something that makes your shelter unique?
Our robust programs paired with extremely dedicated and forward-thinking staff. In addition to all the outreach programs we offer, I’m so proud of our on-site enrichment programs, which help alleviate the stressors of shelter life for our residents.
What is the best piece of advice you have for pet owners?
I think sometimes there is a misconception from pet owners that they need to be a “perfect” pet owner or that their animal would be happier with someone who is home more often or with more resources. In reality, even if a shelter is pristine and provides above and beyond care for its residents, a home environment is almost always preferable to a shelter and your pet wants to be with you whether they’re eating top-of-the-line kibble or bargain brand and whether you’re home all day or just at night. As a shelter, we are honored to be a resource for our community and our first goal is always to work together to help people keep their pets when possible.