About

The Humane Society of Midland County is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the goal of enabling Midland County to be an innovative leader in responsible and humane animal treatment. Our entire organization is made up of volunteers,and we welcome those with a passion for the welfare of the community’s dog and cat population.

Our organization is often confused as being Midland Animal Control, and that is not the case. Midland Animal Control is the “pound” run by the County. There are two kinds of animals here – Stray and Adoptable. When a stray dog is picked up, Animal Control must keep the dog 7 days before placing it the Adoption side of the facility (by law). While in Strays, interested parties can reserve the animal for adoption if owner doesn’t reclaim and before the dog is placed on the Adoption side. When Stray time is up, the first name on the dog has 12 hours to adopt before the next name is given priority (assuming there was more than one name). With cats, there is no law designating how long to keep a cat/kitten. They could be there for a couple hours or weeks. If they’re in for a few weeks, they’re named “Lucky”. We’re trying to save as many animals from this system as possible, by pulling them out and placing them in foster care. Unfortunately, we can’t rescue them all. The amount that comes in is greater than the number of foster homes we have. It would be ideal if all pet owners spayed/neutered their pets, but the harsh reality is that 3-4 million cats and dogs in the U.S are euthanized every year because of irresponsible people.

Another issue here in Midland County is that the Animal Control building is very outdated. Also, the public hours are only from 8-5, M-F and closed weekends. These are inconvenient times for those who work and are interested in adopting.

Although the Humane Society of Midland County has been in existence for a number of years, our current board and members have only been in operation since late 2008.  We have dedicated volunteers that spend countless hours at MAC cleaning cages, walking dogs and hugging cats. We’ve installed a washer and dryer in order to supply clean blankets for their cages. We provide transports of animals to rescues for many who would have otherwise been euthanized. We’re also working diligently on securing a more modern facility so that we can house more animals and provide convenient visiting hours for the public.

Our presence IS making a difference:
• Adopted out 200 animals (2009)
• Initiated the Pet Pantry network to help those in low income situations to feed and be able to keep their pets (Dec 2009)
• Elimination of the antiquated and brutal euthanasia method of the gas chamber (April 2010)

With the progress we’re making however, there is still so much to do. It’s a huge job, and we definitely need more volunteers to do walking, hugging and cleaning. If you are interested in any of our volunteer opportunities, then feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.