Naperville Area Humane Society

History In 1979, a group of caring citizens dedicated themselves to helping homeless companion animals in their community. They created the Naperville Humane Society and fostered animals in their homes until permanent homes could be found. Wishing to serve more people and animals, this group solicited the financial support of the community and built a 3,550-square-foot shelter in 1988. After 43 years and more than 20,000 animals served, the Board of Directors changed the organization's name to more accurately reflect the population we serve. In January of 2005, the name was officially changed to Naperville Area Humane Society. This new name more accurately reflects the areas we serve. In 2021, we completed our shelter expansion project, which increased our square footage to 8,150. The Naperville Area Humane Society is a 501(c)3 organization. Our tax-exempt number is 363040480. Care At the Naperville Area Humane Society, each animal is tenderly cared for. Entering a shelter can be stressful or possibly even terrifying to some cats and dogs. Our dedicated and highly trained staff and volunteers offer compassionate care to each animal and work to address his or her individual needs. The staff diligently matches each pet's needs with a family eager to adopt a dog or cat. At the Naperville Area Humane Society, all animals receive basic vaccinations and medical care. All animals are neutered or spayed before being released to their new owners. In addition, dogs’ temperaments are thoroughly assessed before being made available for adoption. Unfortunately, far too many cats and dogs continue to need help in our society. Since we cannot solve this overwhelming problem ourselves, we have evolved our approach to the homeless animal crisis to include innovative community service initiatives, such as humane education and a behavior helpline, while we continue to rehome animals. No-Kill Statement There is no term in the animal sheltering field more divisive than no-kill; in fact, there is no clear definition. Generally speaking, a no-kill shelter is described as an organization that does not euthanize “adoptable” animals. A 90-percent save rate for animals entering a shelter is the common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10 percent of all pets entering shelters.* While the 90-percent benchmark offers a meaningful, consistent way to gauge progress, it is neither a floor nor a ceiling. For many shelters, a true no-kill statistic may be closer to a 95-percent save rate or higher. For some shelters, particularly those offering unique care and services such as neonatal kitten programs or compassionate end-of-life services for residents with pets in under-resourced communities, the benchmark may be slightly below 90 percent.* The Naperville Area Humane Society meets the requirements of a no-kill animal shelter, but we choose not to use the term because of its ambiguity. We refer to our shelter as a limited-admission organization. We accept only those animals that we have space to house safely and properly, meeting the standards of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. Rather than keeping our animals in overcrowded conditions, we have a waiting list for animals needing to come into the shelter. The Naperville Area Humane Society never euthanizes animals for space or time constraints. All animals are evaluated for health by local veterinarians and for behavior by trained shelter staff using standardized assessments. The decision to euthanize an animal is never an easy one, but we believe it is sometimes necessary. We will choose euthanasia when an animal is suffering from an incurable, debilitating medical condition or when an animal displays severe, unmanageable aggression. We believe it is irresponsible to place a dangerous animal in the community. When appropriate, however, we will transfer an animal to an approved rescue group with the resources to provide behavior modification training in a foster home to change outcomes.

The Naperville Area Humane Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit limited admission animal shelter for dog and cat adoption, foster care, and owner surrenders serving the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Mission To promote the humane treatment of companion animals and create lasting human-animal bonds.