Charleston Animal Society

For 150 years, Charleston Animal Society has been preventing cruelty to animals. Nationally and internationally recognized as a model of lifesaving success.

Charleston Animal Society will not rest until every animal in need of a loving home has one and peop

Goal One: To build the first No Kill State (South Carolina) in the southern half of the United States, from East Coast to West Coast, by 2024, as evidenced by all 46 counties achieving their measure of success.

Goal Two: To enhance the lifesaving capacity of the animal welfare field as evidenced by continued progress in reducing companion animal 1. unnecessary euthanasia 2. overpopulation 3. cruelty and/or neglect

Goal Three: To be our community's charity of choice and sustain the highest tier of a cadre of charity ratings.

Charleston Animal Society (CAS) has built a culture of investing in its staff and encouraging leadership and participation in “paying forward” to build a safer and healthier community for all. Staff are encouraged to pursue continuing education, professional development and credentialing. The organization as a whole also pursues this. CAS provides full funding for these opportunities. Currently, CAS has more Certified Animal Welfare Administrators (the vanguard of animal welfare credentialing) than any other organization in the country. CAS actively provides overall training, updates and emerging trends to the entire staff with specialty training by functional area. Julie Morris Leadership Development Fund: In October of 2019, the Board of Directors established this Fund to support the strategic long-term development of senior leadership, both staff and Board, to ensure able and exemplary leadership of the organization. Note: This fund currently sponsors a bachelor's degree.

As each and every one of us struggled to navigate the uncertainties of an unprecedented global pandemic in our lifetimes during 2020 and 2021, many private sector entities were set back or ended. Not only did CAS effectively respond to COVID, it stepped up its effort to help others in their time of need, supported by its 18,000+ membership. Note: A CAS member is one who gives a gift of their time (volunteer), home (adopter) or income (donor). CAS began watching the spread of COVID in January 2020, made preparations and sailed forward into the storm, not knowing when or if it would successfully arrive on the other side. The lifesaving organization continued to operate 24/7, only reducing its elective surgeries (appr. 5,000) in response to the nationwide shortage of critical supplies needed for the human healthcare system. As an animal hospital, CAS uses the same supplies as human hospitals. In fact, when CAS learned of the dire shortage of supplies at Charleston’s VA Hospital, CAS donated supplies to the VA. In addition to its assistance to the VA Hospital, CAS reached out to struggling organizations across our state and region to assist them. From the Lowcountry to the Pee Dee to the Midlands and to the Upstate, CAS was there and continues to be when COVID crippled their operations by taking in animals from their overcrowded shelters and helping them market adoptions. In July 2021, CAS organized the largest annual adoption event (PickMe! SC) for dogs and cats in the United States achieving upward of 2,000 adoptions across South Carolina. During the most active hurricane season on record (2020), the Gulf States were pummeled on top of the pandemic. CAS was there time and again, responding when no one else would or could, to evacuate hundreds of animals out of harm’s way. One of the measures of how dedicated the CAS staff is in saving lives and being prepared to help others is that 92% of the staff were fully vaccinated against COVID by Memorial Day.