Mission
Helen Woodward Animal Center’s passionate belief that animals help people and people help animals through trust, unconditional love, and respect, creates a legacy of caring. Sharing this philosophy with others, the Center inspires and teaches locally and globally, the importance of the animal human bond.
About Us
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a unique, private, non-profit organization in San Diego County that, for 45 years, has been committed to the philosophy of people helping animals and animals helping people. Located on 12 acres in Rancho Santa Fe, our nationally recognized Center provides a variety of services that benefit the community through educational and therapeutic programs for people, and humane care and adoption for animals.
Today, our Adoptions program saves the lives of more than 3,000 pets each year, and our other programs impact approximately 10,000 additional animals that we see through our hospitals, boarding facility, and AniMeals programs. Our Pet Encounter Therapy program has grown to reach over 25,000 children and adults each year, while Therapeutic Riding serves 65 clients each week and AniMeals serves over 600 human clients every month. Our Education program now sees approximately 10,000 children each year through our Critter Camp programs as well as special tours and visits for groups.
We are a no-kill facility that receives no government funding and relies heavily on tax-deductible contributions from private donors to continue our life-saving mission.