The Heartwarming History of Animal Shelters and the Hoomans Who Gave Hope a Home

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Nov 11, 2026 8:15 AM EST

Have you ever thought about how animal shelters originated? What's the history of adoption?

Stray animals have been wandering around since the beginning of time. In agricultural eras, farm animals played a purpose: for food, for the benefit of the whole farm, for clothing, for basic functioning. Dogs and cats could be apart of that too, but when did we decide to domesticate them? When we did we decide that they deserved to sleep in our beds? To be fed and loved with us in the household instead of staying on the streets? The history of animal shelters is fascinating, albeit emotional. Shelters usually take in street animals for the sake of receiving medical care, love, and the opportunity for adoption and finding a forever home. But before they were officially the shelters we know of today, they were institutions designed to remove stray animals from the streets. It started as animal control for the sake of them being some sort of nuisance on the streets, but now they're taken in humanely. 

The history of why these institutions transformed into what they are today is all down below. Animal adoption is a serious issue, both in getting strays off the streets and the promotion of adopting from shelters. If you want to encourage the adoption of animals, then you can donate to the organization Best Friends Animal Society here. 

Give the gift of kindness this holiday season by donating to our Giving Tuesday fundraiser to help homeless pets and animals in need! It's time to pay your cat tax!

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  • 01

    1824

    Cheezburger Image 10675246592
    via dramandaforeman

  • It all started with a small group of people in England meeting at a coffee shop. They became the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Their intention was to promote the livelihood of animals and try to prevent cruelty towards them. They still exist as an organization today! 

  • 02

    1866

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    via NY Post

  • To America! The England founded origins immigrate to the United States of America when Henry Bergh opens the ASPCA in New York in 1866. As humane societies expanded, some began operating shelters and taking responsibility for stray animals.

  • 03

    Early 1900s

    Cheezburger Image 10675247104
    via Table d’Hôte at a Dogs Home - John Charles Dollman

  • With expanding cities and industrial revolution came more and more animals without a home. Overcrowding was common, but the animal rights activists above forced the institutions to treat the animals humanely as they were collected. They advocated for their rights, shifting the institutional state from one of structured collection to a loving temporary home. 

  • 04

    Late 1900s

    VOLUNTEER
    via Africa images / Canva

  • Pet ownership became more and more widespread, shelters increasingly offered adoption services, veterinary care, and public education. Sterilization programs became a thing, and the shelters were now used for animal welfare how we know it today. Animals should be kept happy and healthy. 

  • 05
    Cheezburger Image 10675247872
    via Group4 Studio / Canva

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