Our mission: Working with our compassionate community, we will end pet homelessness and animal suffering. When founded in 1910, our organization was named after the "Our Dumb Friends League," an animal welfare group in London. At that time, the term "dumb" was widely used to refer to animals because they lacked the ability of human speech. Today, the Dumb Friends League, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading community-based animal welfare organization in the United States dedicated to providing a strong and steadfast voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. Through our innovative and compassionate programs for pets and people, we:
- Shelter and care for approximately 20,000 homeless pets and horses each year
- Facilitate the adoption of pets and rehabilitated horses to loving homes
- Keep families together by reuniting lost pets with their owners
- Investigate animal neglect and mistreatment
- Advocate for policy and legislation that supports the welfare of pets and horses
- Foster kindness, responsible pet ownership, and respect for the living world through Humane and Community Education
- Offer animal behavioral support through classes, online resources, and a free helpline
- Spay/neuter every cat, dog, and rabbit (and castrate every male horse) adopted from our facilities, and perform mobile spay/neuter surgeries in priority neighborhoods
- Provide donor-subsidized veterinary services for families, owned pets, and community cats who otherwise would not have access to care
For more information about the Dumb Friends League, please visit ddfl.org/about-us/our-story.