To better serve their communities, the Humane Society of Southwest Washington (HSSW) has officially acquired the Humane Society of Cowlitz County (HSCC) – operating together since the beginning of January 2025. The acquisition allows the Humane Society of Cowlitz County access to the larger county’s assets.
“[The Humane Society of Cowlitz County] had many reasons for pursuing the acquisition,” shares Sam Ellingson, associate vice president of communications and marketing for the humane societies. I can’t speak to the reasons that led HSCC to pursue acquisition. But through discussions between HSSW and HSCC, it became clear that the best path forward for animal welfare in Cowlitz County for HSSW to assume operation of the Longview shelter and expand our programs to support pets and people in the community.”
“The HSCC board sees this as the best opportunity to provide the support our community needs,” says Cindy Nordstrom, HSCC board president. “We can tap into the resources and strengths of their organization and do even more for pets in need.”
Along with the acquisition came new names. The Humane Society of Cowlitz County is now the Humane Society of Southwest Washington Longview Campus and the shelter on 192nd is the Humane Society of Southwest Washington Vancouver Campus.
Ellingson explains that this type of acquisition is not new or unique. In fact, it’s fairly common for larger animal shelters to take over the operations of smaller ones, as they have more resources. “This type of model allows us to operate at scale, delivering more effective and efficient services for pets and families who need them,” says Ellingson. “Through programs like spay/neuter, medical and wellness care, financial support, free pet food, temporary shelter, and more, we are not only helping pets find new homes, we are helping pets stay home with the family they love instead of entering the shelter.”
The current Humane Society of Southwest Washington board remained in place, with no merging of the former Cowlitz County board. “We do know that many of the former board members from Longview plan to stay engaged with the shelter and support our work in the community,” shares Ellingson.
Because of their services such as the low-cost spay and neuter program, the shelters help many owned pets in addition to animals in need of homes. “We are proud of our more than 125-year history in animal welfare and our long partnership with HSCC,” says Andrea Bruno, Humane Society of Southwest Washington president. “This is an exciting opportunity to provide more support for pets and families in our community and expand our work to make Southwest Washington safer, healthier, and happier for people and pets.”
Supporting Your Local Animal Shelter
As a private nonprofit, the Humane Society of Southwest Washington relies on donations from fundraising to operate. “We do hold contracts with municipalities to provide shelter and care of lost/stray pets, but that accounts only for 10% of our funding,” shares Ellingson. “We have been working with municipalities in Cowlitz County to provide the same service, but those contracts didn’t take effect until January 1.”
Because of this, donations are always needed, and can be done at the Humane Society of Southwest Washington website. And of course, people can donate of their time including helping out at the shelter or events, or fostering and adopting! “All and any of those are great ways to help ensure we can achieve our vision of a community where everyone loves and cares for animals,” says Ellingson.
It looks like a bright new future for animals in need in Cowlitz and Clark counties.
