OUR MISSION
Allsop Family Humane Society supports healthy relationships between people and animals through compassion, adoption, education, and community outreach.
ADMISSION POLICY
The AFHS provides animal care and adoption services to more than 7,000 animals each year. Taking in homeless animals (strays), owner-surrendered animals, and rescued animals. The shelter team carefully evaluates the temperament and overall health of each animal, and then works to place each animal with an ideal family. The AFHS also works with many other organizations to provide services and to educate the public on a variety of animal-related issues including, but not limited to, the benefits of spaying/neutering pets, basic pet care needs, and lost pet prevention. It also hosts low cost dog obedience training classes, animal socialization programs, and other programming such as Pets for Vets, Cat Companions, Kids who Care Cat Tales, and low cost vaccine clinics that aim to ensure the welfare of animals in Eastern Iowa and beyond.
ANIMALS WE SERVE
The AFHS has spent more than 100 years working to be at the forefront of animal sheltering and welfare. It is also a regional leader in helping at-risk families with pets stay together. In the last two years, the shelter has helped over 8,000 animals that might otherwise be surrendered to a shelter through its low-cost vaccine clinics and free pet food bank.
It also provides many unique services such as the Humane Education Program. This program provides staff and volunteers the ability to educate students both in and out of the classroom and engage the leaders of tomorrow about the humane treatment of animals.
The AFHS provides animal control services to cities and towns in Linn, Johnson and Benton Counties as well as the unincorporated areas of Linn County. Bypassing the traditional “dog catcher” model of other shelters, the AFHS instead works closely with the communities it serves to quickly reunite lost pets with their families at a more economical cost than city or county-run animal control services.
HISTORY
The Allsop Family Humane Society (AFHS) was established in 1901 as the Humane Society of the City of Cedar Rapids. The original shelter was located on Griffith Farm, and early cases involved cruelty and abuse of women, children, the elderly, horses, cattle, dogs, and cats. Investigations involving women, children, and the elderly were eventually dropped from society’s list of objectives, and in 1921, the organization changed its name to the Linn County Humane Society.
By 1923, the need for a permanent shelter became apparent, and a fundraising campaign began. In 1928, a property was purchased at 700 C Avenue NE for $3,000. This served as headquarters for the society until 1968, when the organization built its current facility at 7411 Mt. Vernon Rd SE.
In 1991, the organization changed its name again, this time to the Cedar Valley Humane Society.
Animal Services
The AFHS currently provides animal services to over 69,692 residents in the unincorporated areas of Linn County as the following cities:
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North Liberty
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Swisher
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Tiffin
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Shueyville
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Oxford
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Walford
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Solon
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Atkins
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Shellsburg
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Urbana
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Van Horne
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Walker
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Alburnett
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Central City
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Bertram Township
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Prairieburg
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Coggon
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Ely
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Fairfax
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Marion
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Hiawatha
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Lisbon
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Mt Vernon
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Palo
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Robins
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Springville
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Center Point
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Vinton
Cedar Valley Humane Society 2024 Impact
7,252
Volunteer Hours
3,886
Dogs Helped
3,762
Cats Helped
16,405
Foster Hours
221
Stray Pets Returned to Owner
96
Pets Transferred In From Overcrowded Shelters
Allsop Family Humane Society 2025 Impact
6,626
Volunteer Hours
3,736
Dogs Helped
3,696
Cats Helped
22,149
Foster Hours
193
Stray Pets Returned to Owner
111