Nashville Humane is celebrating our 80th birthday this year!
Founded in 1946, Nashville Humane Association is more than a shelter.
We are committed to humane education, reducing pet overpopulation, and maintaining a 99% annual save rate. In addition to pet adoptions, NHA offers low-cost vaccine and spay/neuter clinics, the city’s first 24-hour microchip scanner, a pet food bank, foster care opportunities, and educational resources for pet owners and the broader community.
As an entirely gift-based not-for-profit, Nashville Humane relies on contributions from supporters like you to do the work necessary to protect homeless, adoptable, and at-risk pets in Nashville, throughout middle Tennessee, and across the globe.
Simply put, we’ve been doing this for a very long time. None of the amazing work that we perform daily for pets and their people would be possible without your support. We’re not a government agency; we don’t have the support of a giant national umbrella organization. We’re a small, local shelter that is dedicated to saving lives.
It’s because of your support that we will continue to rescue pets from hoarding cases, neglect and abuse cases, and puppy mills. It’s because of your support that we’re able to provide disaster relief and support urban and rural animal shelters and rescues. And, it’s because of your support that we will save thousands and thousands of lives every year, with a 99% save rate.
Voted Nashville’s “Best Place to Adopt” year-over-year as well as our city’s favorite charity events, award-winning programming, and so much more. We do it all for you. We are your neighborhood shelter. We are Nashville Humane Association.
Nashville Humane by The Numbers
In 2025, Nashville Humane was able to accomplish some pretty big things:
- 2,691 shelter pets were adopted into loving homes (1,579 dogs and 1,121 cats)
- We celebrated a save-rate of 99 percent
- We assisted 69 unique urban and rural shelter partners and pulled 288 animals from Metro Animal Care and Control
- 2,764 total animals benefited from NHA’s transport program
- Our Foster Program spanned across 679 homes and gave 1,720 animals a break from the shelter environment
- 571 active volunteers gave 13,279 hours of their time to the animals in our care
- Our medical team helped 162 neonatal animals and 54 heartworm-positive dogs, and performed 2,226 spay & neuter surgeries
- We assisted during the Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief and helped transport 51 animals into our care to free up space for animals and families displaced by the disaster
- Our Low-Cost Clinics provided 1,794 vaccines, including 722 rabies vaccines, to our community
- Through our Food Bank and Community Food Program, we distributed more than 65,098 pounds of pet food
Visit nashvillehumane.org for more information about our services and to learn more about our daily impact on pets in our community.