Our Story
CHA was founded in 1975 when three friends noted the growing number of stray animals wandering the streets of Franklin County. They formed a non-profit corporation under O.R.C. § 1717.05 and set out to feed, shelter and find homes for these animals.
Originally operating out of the basement of one of these founders, CHA was able to care for only a small number of dogs and cats. Despite its size and limitations, CHA’s reputation for helping the homeless was already beginning to firmly take root.
By the early 1980s, the demand for CHA’s services far exceeded the capacity of anyone’s basement. The all volunteer group managed to rent an old farmhouse on Westerville Road where they had cages for nearly 60 animals. Soon the group realized the need to hire a small part- time staff to better care for the animals. They also continued their efforts to reach out to the community for donations and began an aggressive program to find “foster homes” for their animals that needed a respite from their cages at the shelter.
In the past decade, CHA has increased the number of animals it can find homes for by establishing satellite adoptions in several PetsMart locations and extending its outreach to the community by staffing CHA information tables at hundreds of public events and securing air time on local radio and TV stations. And in an effort to ensure long-term income and awareness, CHA has trademarked its largest annual fundraisers – the Dog Jog™, Paws to Party™ , and Par for Pets™ Golf Outing.
Then in the late 1990’s, CHA took on one of its most courageous undertakings. As the walls of farmhouse shelter were literally crumbling down, CHA knew that it was time to move out and move on. CHA volunteers began their search to investigate the best shelter designs, equipment and programs in order to build a new shelter. After many months of seminars, visits to other shelters, meetings, and discussions, the plans for the new CHA shelter were drawn. The designs followed the plan to create not the biggest, fanciest shelter, but the
most efficient, sanitary, and comfortable place for the animals that CHA had been diligently serving for over 25 years. Although the new shelter was not elaborate, it was certainly going to take more money than CHA had. It was then that the Capital Campaign Committee was created and a rigorous Capital Campaign was launched to raise the funds to get the desperately needed shelter built. CHA also entered into a relationship with the Columbus Foundation to help secure and raise financial support and manage our endowment fund.
On June 14th, 2003 the doors to the new CHA opened! The animals at CHA finally had what they deserved: separate wings for dogs and cats, isolated sick areas, windows to light their rooms, larger cages and runs, play rooms, and green grass for walks. It was a happy day! But, CHA did not stop there.
Because of the amazing support of our community, CHA Animal Shelter has been able to help more and more animals find adoptive homes each year.
Thank you to every person who saw a dog or cat in need or realized they could no longer provide for their pet and who brought that animal to us for help. Thank you to every volunteer and staff member who provided love and comfort to the animals during their journey with us. Thank you to all who followed us on social media and who networked and advertised our animals and mission. Thank you to our fosters who helped raise, nurse, and rehabilitate the most vulnerable animals. Thank you to our adoption counselors for matching each animal with their adoptive family, and thank you to each person who chose to adopt and welcome an animal into their home from CHA or any other organization. Thank you to all those who attended our events and/or sponsored our shelter and thank you to CHA's Board of Directors for their support and guidance.
And most importantly, thank you to all those who chose to make an in-kind or monetary gift of any amount to CHA. With your help, we were able to provide 1487 happily-ever-afters to dogs and cats in 2019. These lives were saved because of you. Thank you!
