SAN FRANCISCO SPCA 'FIRSTS'
Leading the Nation with Progressive Programs

• 1^st humane society west of the Mississippi, 1868
  
  
• 1^st horse ambulance in the West, 1884

    
  
  

• 1^st low-cost spay/neuter clinic in San Francisco, 1976
  
  
• 1^st humane society to establish a Hearing Dog Program, 1978
  
  
• 1^st humane society to offer an Animal Assisted Therapy Program, 1981
  
  
• 1^st humane society with a Pet Loss Support Group, 1983
  
  
• 1^st city to guarantee a home to adoptable dogs and cats, in a partnership between The SF/SPCA and San Francisco Animal Care and Control, 1994
  
  
• 1^st humane society to have an Academy for Dog Trainers, 1999
  
  
• 1^st humane society ever profiled by the PBS series "The Visionaries", 2001