5400 Niles Rd - St Joseph, MI Phone: 269-927-3303
5400 Niles Rd - St Joseph, MI Phone: 269-927-3303

Shelter Information

Mission 

The Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan (HSSM) exists to provide shelter and care for sick, homeless, abused, and unwanted animals, with utmost importance on adoption services for the animals in our care.

Adoption News: 

Our mission as a Humane Society is to help animals find their forever homes. We work hard to care for them while they are with us. Ultimately our goal is to see that they are safely placed in a loving home of their own.

To this end, we accept animals that are being surrendered by their owners for reasons such as a move, or a change in the household. These animals had a good life, and we want to make sure they can have another one.

We also work with Animal Controls and other Humane Societies to bring in animals that we feel our community will accept with open arms.

General Policies 

The Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan (HSSM) is open to the public from 11am to 5pm Tuesdays through Fridays and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays. HSSM is closed on Sundays and Mondays. 

We highly recommend that all prospective adopters complete our adoption form and send it to us prior to coming in to view animals for adoption. This will allow us to review and approve the application and better facilitate any possible adoption. If you stop in and fill out the form, please note that it may take 24-48 hours to be approved.

Cats are available to view on a walk-in basis at this time. You will need to be with a shelter employee as you view the cats. This will help you to learn more about each animal and help you select the perfect one for your family.

Dogs are available for viewings only with an appointment. This policy is in place to help the animals avoid the stresses involved with unpredictable visits into the kennels. It also allows the kennel technicians to walk the dog prior to the appointment. All of this helps you to see the animal at their very best.

There are no viewings of dogs after 4pm or cats after 4:30pm weekdays and 1:30pm on Saturdays for both. This allows our kennel technicians time to prepare the animals for the end of the day.