 After being with us almost a year, we're overjoyed that Harstine and Dixie have been adopted together in a very special "foster fail."
The story of how these dogs, who were abandoned and scared, found safety and family is incredibly heartwarming. Grab some tissues! You're going to need them as our fosters share their decision to shift from temporary to forever with these two precious dogs. Enjoy this beautiful story shared from Harstine and Dixie's fosters, turned adopters, in their own words.  Temporary. That was the word we clung to. A bridge, not a destination. We help dogs decompress, learn what it feels like to be safe, then send them to their forever homes. We have said it out loud, more than once, like a rule not meant to be broken. Then came Harstine. A BIG scared galoof that stole our hearts from day one, but the goal was to help him find his way. We said, "He will make an incredible dog someday." We meant it.  Then came Dixie. On a hot August day, she needed help.This shy girl chose life with her own agenda. We laughed and said, "She's going to make somebody so happy; she is such a good girl." We meant that too. As fosters, we spent countless hours trying to prepare them for their future. The applications that came in were close matches, but nothing that seemed perfect.  Then something happened that we didn't plan for. Harstine changed his routine, brought ballies to us, and relaxed in a way we had never seen. Dixie started looking for us, enjoying car rides, helping Harstine balance his fears. The last few applications, something would tighten in our chests. Letting them go would not be helping them, it would be breaking something that had already come together.
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 Ever heard the saying, "It takes a village?"When it comes to animals, it truly does take a community working together to rescue, protect and care for these vulnerable, precious souls. The Humane Society of Mason County is honored to serve in an area where people have a heart for animals. A sad goodbye. A new beginning. We were saddened to learned of a mama cat who was found deceased in the middle of the road in Belfair, presumably having been struck by a car. This cat belonged to an outdoor colony that was being cared for by a compassionate community member. One of our volunteers, Torrie, was recently approached about trapping the cats at this location so they can be spayed/neutered and vaccinated and then returned. Torrie was alerted about a mom with babies living in the colony, but when she went out to assess, she found the babies hidden in a completely inaccessible spot under a porch. When we heard the news of poor mom's demise, we knew that time was critical to find and provide care for her babies. Without mom, these kittens wouldn't survive! The babies were not at their last location; their mom had moved them! But where? Torrie, and HSMC staffer Lisa, quickly mobilized in the rain to search possible hiding spots. And wouldn't you know they guessed right on their first try! The four babies were now hiding under a shed. But how to get to them???
As you can see in these first two photos, there is almost no gap between the shed and the ground. Time to start digging! Armed with shovels, flashlights and a cat carrier, Lisa and Torrie set to work. It took almost three hours, but finally, they were able to create an opening large enough to access the babies (third photo). Torrie shared with us, "One came out of the side and tried to hide in the boards, so I grabbed him. The other three were a challenge. We dug a tunnel just barely big enough for me to crawl into and grabbed them one by one."
 Thankfully, we had an experienced bottle baby foster ready to say yes to accepting these little ones into her home. The kittens - Trey, Spider, Erica and Atari - are growing healthy and strong in foster! What happened to the mom who was killed? A compassionate community member graciously retrieved mama cat's body and respectfully buried her. This is what true community looks like - all of us coming together to improve the lives of animals and their people! Thank you to everyone who is part of this "village."  Volunteers in action, unloading pet food for our food bank partners! Want to be part of the village? When we work together, we can have a significant impact on our community's pets. If you're passionate about animals and want to be part of the "village" working to improve the lives of pets and their people, we'd love to have you join our team! There are many opportunities to get involved. Foster: As a foster-based organization, we rely on fosters to house and care for our animals until they are adopted. The larger our foster network, the more animals we can accept into our program. Our team provides you with supplies and training; you provide the love and care. Adopt: One of the greatest ways you can support animals in our community is to adopt! HSMC has a team of volunteer adoption counselors who will work with you to find a pet who is a great match. We're here to help you every step of the way - before, during and even after adoption! Volunteer: There are lots of ways to volunteer with HSMC! We can always use help around the office doing a myriad of things that change day to day. Want to work directly with animals? Join our PetSmart care and adoptions team. Have skills writing or with photography or video editing? Enjoy planning events? Organizing? So many opportunities! Complete a volunteer application and we'll chat with you about all the options. Donate: Every dollar matters! Donating to HSMC helps provide food, vaccines, spay/neuter surgery and basic supplies, such as litter, for animals in our care. Your contributions help pets and the people who love them stay together when times are tough, through low-cost or free vet services and much-needed food and supplies. Your gift enables us to continue offering low-cost spay/neuter for our community, which prevents unwanted births and improves the health of that animal. Because of you we can trap, neuter/spay, vaccinate and return community outdoor cats, thereby ending the cycle of continued litters. Your compassion is extended to your community through HSMC's work in accepting animals found as strays or when family members can no longer provide care. The list of ways your funding through HSMC supports our community goes on and on! Get Started Today Celebrating Volunteer Appreciation Week  Every day is volunteer appreciation at HSMC, because volunteers are the heart of all we do!
They play a vital role in rescuing animals, providing care, and partnering with adopters to ensure a supportive adoption process. Volunteers make our office run smoothly by preparing surgical kits, entering important data into our system, assisting with printing and mailing, doing loads and loads of laundry, and serving as a resource for community members. Our dedicated team of volunteers transports donations to HSMC and partnering food banks. They bring rescued pets from shelter partners coming into our care, and transport animals to specialty vet visits. They deliver cats to PetSmart where they help socialize the kitties and help adopters find their match. Volunteers help organize our fundraising events, keep our facility in good repair, photograph our animals, and so much more! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all our volunteers. We appreciate you and all you do! A year worth celebrating! What began just a few years ago as a bold commitment to expand access to spay and neuter services has grown into a comprehensive, community-centered organization providing compassionate care and integrative solutions for animals and their people throughout Mason County. Because of the support of our community, the Humane Society of Mason County rescued 44% more animals in 2025 than the previous year, and we provided 39% more spay/neuter surgeries. These services do more than change individual lives, they help prevent future hardship and bolster our entire community.
Read Their Stories Our 2025 Impact Report is here and it's filled with reasons to celebrate! So many lives were changed in 2025 because of you! Like Patches who was rescued from an overcrowded home with 81 cats, Melvin who went from unwanted to loved and training to be a seeing eye dog, Kat who was abandoned but survived, and Dorothy who needed time to accept love and has now found her happily ever after! Read the stories of lives changed, and hear updates on where these animals are now. Plus, check out the numbers that reflect all these incredible success stories.  Be Part of the Magic!
 For the first time ever, we aren't able to send new kitties to Ziggy's this week. Why is that? In a nutshell, the cats who were designated to go to Ziggy's unfortunately started having diarrhea. They are on medication, but are not yet healthy enough to send. Given our current low numbers of adoptable cats, we unfortunately don't have any other cats who are an option to send. The adoptable cats we do have are not a candidate for Ziggy's because of their personality or health issues. Interested in learning our process for accepting animals and how we get them ready for adoption? Read on for the inside scoop... Where do our animals come from?We accept animals into our program through a variety of ways. Some are found as strays and officially enter our program after their stay hold period is completed. Many puppies and kittens come in through our Last Litter program, and animals of all ages are surrendered due to a variety of reasons. Others come in through rescue partners. And still others come from overcrowded, very unhealthy "hoarder" homes. Young kittens capable of socialization come in through our TNR efforts, and other animals are sadly left abandoned at our door. To accept a stray or surrender into our program, we review surrender applications that are submitted to us, and when we have space available, we follow up with each person to learn more about the pet. If we're able to assist, we set up a time to intake the pets. You wouldn't believe the number of people who never call us back or who don't show up for their intake appointments! Around the holidays, the lack of response was even greater. We currently have less than half the number of animals we have the rest of the year. Granted, this cycle of having more animals in the summer and fewer in the winter is very common. But the lack of response from people applying to surrender pets has contributed to our reduced number of animals. Thankfully, people are now responding, and we have 23 animals coming in this week. We bring as many pets into our program as we can while maintaining quality standards of care for the animals and realistic expectations for our team. However, It's important to note that we are not an open admission shelter. We are a small foster-based nonprofit organization, and we do not have the capacity to accept every single animal into our care.  How do we ready animals for adoption?When an animal first comes to us, they receive vaccines, a dewormer, and an intake exam. Almost every pet accepted into our program comes to us with an illness or injury that needs treatment. In fact, in 2025, HSMC spent over $26,000 on diagnostic testing and emergency care alone! Countless cats come into our care with upper respiratory infections, and we had a large number of cats who came to us with ringworm this past year. A lot of animals, especially cats, have diarrhea that can take quite a while to address. Healing takes time. Thankfully, our incredible team of skilled veterinarians, techs and assistants is able to provide most care in-house, which significantly reduces our overall medical costs! Many of the pets who enter our program are scared. Some have never been exposed to humans or they have had negative experiences in their short lives. We help them to learn that respectful, loving humans are safe. Helping them to trust takes time and patience. On average, only about 20% of the animals in our care are ready for adoption. Because we strongly believe in reducing the overpopulation problem, all of our pets are spayed/neutered before being made available for adoption. As you may know, the low-cost spay/neuter appointments at our clinic are in high demand. We are working hard to expand our clinic capacity, but at the present, we must balance the number of appointments used by HSMC pets and those made available to the community to get their own pets fixed. Because of this, there are times when our pets are waiting to be made adoptable because they haven't been able to have surgery yet. Selecting cats for Ziggy'sIn order to be a candidate for Ziggy's Cat Lounge, cats must be healthy. They must have gone through a quarantine period so we know they aren't contagious to others. They must have passed their FIV/FeLV test, and they must be able to handle the fun, yet overwhelming environment. And of course, cats who don't do well with other cats obviously aren't a logical fit. We do our best to evaluate every cat to determine who will be a successful match for Ziggy's in order to keep everyone safe and healthy.  Congratulations to Ziggy's for celebrating their 900th adoption on Saturday! We're rocking the adoptions!Now that you know some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into accepting and preparing an animal for adoption, it's important to highlight one of the main reasons we have so few pets right now. So many adopters are looking to HSMC to find their new best friend. This is wonderful news! Almost every week, every single cat is adopted at Ziggy's. Cats arrive at PetSmart in Silverdale and often leave the same day! Even our shy cats living in foster or at our facility in Belfair are being adopted. This is incredible, and we're so thankful for the amazing adopters who choose to love our pets! Our adoptions team works hard to help loving families select a pet who will be a good match. And after adoption, we're here to help with any questions or problems that might arise. Because of this, our rate of return is quite low. More good news!  We're disappointed that we aren't able to supply Ziggy's with adorable cats this week. But making sure that all the animals in our care are safe and healthy is our top priority! We expect to have more cats available next week. In the meantime, we ask all our of supporters to show Ziggy's some love this week! Want to help?
 December 31, 2025 As we close out another year, I want to share my heartfelt gratitude with everyone who has walked alongside HSMC. Your time, funding, expertise, and kind words have made a meaningful difference. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generosity, compassion, and support. Working in animal welfare is challenging, but it is also incredibly rewarding. There are sad days when an animal is simply too sick to be saved, and our hearts hurt for those we lose. But those moments are only part of the story. There are also so many moments of hope. Beautiful lives we are able to nurse back to health. Animals who learn what love feels like, gain confidence, and move on to life with families of their own. All lives are precious, and it is a true honor and joy to be part of their journey. It is because of you that we are able to say "yes" to so many animals in need, including my sweet foster Konica, who has been adopted and is living her best life!  UpdateYou may be aware that the Humane Society of Mason County has been in conversation with the City of Shelton to determine how we might partner together to expand animal welfare services in Shelton. The City Council recently conducted a study session to consider this partnership. I hope you'll take the time to watch the video recording of the meeting.  The details of exactly what that partnership would look like is still being discussed, and there is no time frame for when, or if, the partnership would begin. Nevertheless, I think it's important to keep you in the loop and share some of my thoughts. First and foremost, please know that HSMC is committed to Mason County and the surrounding area. We currently serve the residents of Shelton and will continue to do so whether we enter into a partnership with the City of Shelton or not. We are a nonprofit organization, and we currently rely solely on our low services for fees, the grants we diligently apply for, and generous donations. We are committed to fiscal responsibility; to using the funds entrusted to us with wisdom, gratitude and respect. Our organization will continue to grow, and our services will be expanded, as funding allows us to do so. A partnership with the City would enable us to expand our services for that community. Through our established, robust programming, we would be able to provide greater visibility for Shelton's adoptable dogs, reduce length of stay, and ensure quality veterinary care, enrichment and behavioral support, whether those dogs are located at the Shelton shelter facility or in our foster program. This proposal includes an animal welfare officer, a role that is greatly needed, yet is not currently available anywhere within the county. Not only would this position advise on cruelty and neglect cases, and assist with at-large and dangerous dogs, but this person will be a resource for the community, offering education and options for affordable services and solutions. What we're proposing is a true partnership, where the City of Shelton provides a percentage of the funds needed for this program, and we contribute funds as well. We'll have the greatest impact by working together! I'll update you as I know more about this potential partnership. But for now, please know that I'm grateful for your support. HSMC is proud to serve our community, and we are looking forward to growing our capacity for service. The need is so great, but together we are making a real difference! With gratitude,
Katherine Johnson
Executive Director  Imagine a world in which all of our community’s pets are safe, healthy and loved. In just three short years, the Humane Society of Mason County has jumped in with both feet, ready to make this vision a reality.Because of your support, we launched a low-cost spay/neuter clinic that has already changed the lives of over 13,000 animals! That means THOUSANDS of pets are no longer adding to the overpopulation crisis. This year alone, our small team of staff, volunteers and fosters has rescued almost 1,400 pets, which includes bottle babies, strays, cats in overcrowded hoarding homes, animals who are injured or sick, birds whose owner passed away, senior pets, and a couple of guinea pigs and rabbits.  Maurice's StoryBy the time Maurice came to HSMC, he was the only survivor in his litter, and he was in rough shape! He had been stepped on and had terrible fractures and contusions. Our skilled vet team (with stabilizing support from the ER vets) helped repair his little body, and his foster family gave him all the love and care he needed to heal. Once he was off kennel rest, Maurice showed off all his pent-up energy by playing hard with every cat, dog and person he could find! What a wonderful sight to see this baby playing! No more broken body, no more fear! Maurice's playful energy resulted in another wonderful success! He helped foster sibling Boriska come out of her shell! When she first went into her foster home, Boriska endured pets but mostly just wanted to hide in a corner. Her foster family was making slow progress on getting her to trust them...and then Maurice came to live with them! Maurice refused to accept "no" for an answer! He'd get Boriska to play with him no matter what! Check out this video of the early days when Maurice was just starting to teach Boriska to play. He was tenacious...and she was falling for his charms! It worked! Now, our once shy Boriska can't get enough attention from her people! She's such a fun, silly little girl! Check out this video to see what a love bug she is! We have a feeling Boriska will be adopted in no time now that Maurice has helped her gain confidence.  Amazing news! Our miracle baby Maurice has been adopted and is loving life with his new family! Here's what his adopter shared with us... "Todd, formally Maurice, is settling in so well already! I'm recovering after a very recent but luckily minor heart attack and when I went in to Ziggy's Cat Lounge to meet him, he crawled down my sweatshirt and curled up right over my heart and purred. That's when I knew I had to bring him home. This little man is a joy!" Congratulations to this new family! There's still time to give in 2025!We're blessed to witness countless miracle stories, like Maurice's, because of your support! If you have given in any way this year, please know that YOU are the reason we celebrate these successes!
We rely solely on our low fee for services, the grants we diligently apply for, and donations from people who believe in what we’re doing and want to be part of the solution. Thank you for your support!  Let’s face it. As hard as we’re working, the need is greater than ever. What's the solution?We’ve considered the needs of our community and what will create long-term, lasting change in animal welfare. Not just today, but for years to come. It all comes down to two critical priorities: #1 The best way to reduce the number of pets needing care is through low-cost spay/neuter services, including Trap Neuter Return (TNR) for community cats. #2 By keeping animals in loving homes, we eliminate their need to come into rescue. We can support families through our pet pantry and free or reduced-fee veterinary wellness services.  With your support, HSMC will be expanding our services!Over the next three years, HSMC plans to: #1 Increase our ability to provide affordable spay/neuter surgeries through expanded capacity and a full-time surgeon. #2 Grow our team to better support pet owners facing barriers, such as transportation or communication challenges. #3 Expand access to affordable care by offering more opportunities for pets to receive routine care through wellness appointments, vaccinations, and supportive end-of-life services. Be part of the solution by giving today! I’m thrilled to share how compassion, patience, and perseverance has led to saving lives and ending the cycle of continuous puppy litters.This isn’t the first time Harley has given birth to puppies, but it will be her last! Can you believe that this sweet mom had 15 babies? Sadly, by the time they came to us at the Humane Society of Mason County, two of the puppies had passed away. Now this big family is living the spoiled life and getting all the loving care they need from one of our superhero foster moms!  Harley comes from a family living in rural Mason County that has endured hardship exacerbated by a lack of reliable transportation, phone and internet service, and even power to their home. They have several adult dogs and have experienced multiple litters of puppies. Over the past year, we’ve built a relationship with this family based on trust and ongoing support. We have accepted 29 puppies from them, we have spayed or neutered most of their adult dogs, and the mom currently in our care will be spayed as soon as her babies are weaned. The remaining mom and babies are expected into our care soon.  Your compassion has changed the course of so many lives. With your support HSMC can reach the next family that is overwhelmed and in need of support. Donate today to help us save more |
| Scared, abandoned kittens running loose outside our front door! That’s the scene our staff walked into one morning when they arrived for work. Our team raced to scoop up all the kittens before the babies could run off the porch towards the dangers of the parking lot and highway! How did they get there? We reviewed our camera footage and found that someone had abandoned the kittens after we left the evening before. The babies were left in a cardboard box, scared and without food or water all night long. The box wasn’t very secure and the kittens were able to escape! |  |
Sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve come to the office and found abandoned cats. In fact, someone has been stealing our cat carriers and returning them with cats inside. To date, 47 cats have been abandoned at our door this year alone.
Let us be clear; we do not condone the abandonment of animals.
We are honored to serve our community, and we work diligently to accept animals into our program. Anyone interested in surrendering animals to HSMC can complete a surrender application or reach out to us directly with any questions.
Abandonment is not the way to seek help for animals!
Let us be clear; we do not condone the abandonment of animals.
We are honored to serve our community, and we work diligently to accept animals into our program. Anyone interested in surrendering animals to HSMC can complete a surrender application or reach out to us directly with any questions.
Abandonment is not the way to seek help for animals!
Cody was found left at our back door. We're thrilled to share that
he has been adopted and is loving life in his new home.
he has been adopted and is loving life in his new home.
Yet one thing is clear:
Our community knows that the Humane Society of Mason County is here to help.
Years ago, those cats likely would have been abandoned in any number of unsafe locations. Sweet babies would have been left to fend for themselves.
Our community knows that the Humane Society of Mason County is here to help.
Years ago, those cats likely would have been abandoned in any number of unsafe locations. Sweet babies would have been left to fend for themselves.
Today, people see us as a resource. A safe haven. A solution.
Thank you for giving generously. Together, we are saving lives and completing families!
** Great news! **
All donations will be matched up to $7,500 thanks to the
generosity of some of our special friends.
Your gift will be DOUBLED!
All donations will be matched up to $7,500 thanks to the
generosity of some of our special friends.
Your gift will be DOUBLED!
Times are tough for many folks, with the steadily increasing cost of living and the government shutdown that has affected so many.
At HSMC, we understand the deep bond shared between a pet and their person.
At HSMC, we understand the deep bond shared between a pet and their person.
EVERYONE benefits when animals are kept in loving homes.
Pets: Quite simply, a pet is happiest when they are able to stay with the people they know and love. Moving an animal from their family into an unknown environment, even a loving foster home, is stressful for that pet.
People: Having to say goodbye to a beloved pet because of financial challenges is heartbreaking. Being able to continue providing their care is not only comforting for the pet but also for their person.
Community: Our region, and the entire country, is facing an overwhelming animal welfare crisis. More animals need homes than the number of adopters available. Keeping pets and people together is not only the most compassionate, animal- and people-focused solution, but it's also necessary given the lack of space shelters and rescues are experiencing.
People: Having to say goodbye to a beloved pet because of financial challenges is heartbreaking. Being able to continue providing their care is not only comforting for the pet but also for their person.
Community: Our region, and the entire country, is facing an overwhelming animal welfare crisis. More animals need homes than the number of adopters available. Keeping pets and people together is not only the most compassionate, animal- and people-focused solution, but it's also necessary given the lack of space shelters and rescues are experiencing.
This beautiful kitty came to HSMC through our Last Litter Program. Born to an outdoor community cat, Jasper and his siblings were sick with parvo but survived and are now available for adoption. His mom was successfully spayed and returned to her territory.
The Humane Society of Mason County is committed to keeping pets and their people together. In fact, we offer many programs and resources to support our community and their pets.
Pet Food & Supplies: Through our relationship with local food banks, HSMC offers pet food and supplies for over 500 families every week! We also host regular pop-up give-away events (top photo) to support pets in need.
Low-cost Spay/Neuter Surgery: One of the best ways we can support our community is by providing affordable spay/neuter services, which not only ends the cycle of unwanted births, but this surgery also prevents many life-threatening and expensive future health concerns and reduces some behavioral issues.
Low-cost Spay/Neuter Surgery: One of the best ways we can support our community is by providing affordable spay/neuter services, which not only ends the cycle of unwanted births, but this surgery also prevents many life-threatening and expensive future health concerns and reduces some behavioral issues.
Wellness Veterinary Care: As we have the capacity, we provide veterinary care for our community's pets in need, including addressing skin issues, ear infections, and more specialized care, such as eye enucleations (necessary medical removal).
Temporary Foster Care: When someone from our community is in crisis, often because of a home fire or domestic violence situation, we are able to provide temporary care for their pets through our Animal Safety Network.
TNR & Last Litter Programs: Sadly, unexpected litters are incredibly common in our community, both from owned pets as well as community/feral cats. HSMC offers support by assisting with Trap, Neuter (and spay), Return efforts. We also accept puppies and kittens into our care through our Last Litter program, where mom is spayed and returned to the owner.
Temporary Foster Care: When someone from our community is in crisis, often because of a home fire or domestic violence situation, we are able to provide temporary care for their pets through our Animal Safety Network.
TNR & Last Litter Programs: Sadly, unexpected litters are incredibly common in our community, both from owned pets as well as community/feral cats. HSMC offers support by assisting with Trap, Neuter (and spay), Return efforts. We also accept puppies and kittens into our care through our Last Litter program, where mom is spayed and returned to the owner.
Paws in Print
In this blog, you'll find adoption stories to warm your heart, plus news, tips for pet care, and so much more!
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The Humane Society of Mason County
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Office Address
24070 State Route 3 Belfair, WA 98528 |
Office Hours
Monday through Friday 9am - 1pm Adoption by Appointment |
Mailing Address
PO Box 168 Belfair, WA 98528 |
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© 2025 The Humane Society of Mason County
Supporting all of Mason County, including Shelton, Belfair, Allyn, Grapeview, Hoodsport, and Matlock.
Supporting all of Mason County, including Shelton, Belfair, Allyn, Grapeview, Hoodsport, and Matlock.