1868: James Sloan Hutchinson founds the San Francisco SPCA and lobbies the California State Legislature to pass a bill making cruelty to animals a crime.
1869: The SF/SPCA is staffed with 36 volunteer humane officers.
1877: The SF/SPCA prosecutes 53 animal cruelty cases and obtains 47 convictions.
1884: The SF/SPCA designs and constructs a horse ambulance, the first of its kind in the West.
1888: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors receives a petition signed by more than 18,000 citizens demanding that the public pound be placed under SF/SPCA control.
1890: The SF/SPCA builds two small wooden buildings, including an "Animals Home" at 16th and Alabama streets.
1891: The SF/SPCA adds a horse-drawn "Dog Wagon," providing the first transportation for animals picked up in the street. SF/SPCA Trustee John Partridge is appointed San Francisco's "Poundmaster."
1898: The SF/SPCA hires its first full-time female employee, Miss M. E. McGraw. She visits schools, conducts classes in humane education and organizes Bands of Mercy, groups of children who meet regularly to exchange facts and stories about humane care of animals.
1903-1904: The SF/SPCA successfully lobbies for a new state law forbidding the use of spiked bits on riding horses.
1905: A court order gives The SF/SPCA full responsibility for animal control services in San Francisco.
1905 - 1907: California passes laws requiring humane transport of animals and outlawing cockfighting, dog fighting and docking of horses' tails.
1906: The SF/SPCA comes to the aid of animals imperiled by San Francisco's devastating earthquake and fire. The SF/SPCA saves hundreds of horses from burning stables, and rescues more than 300 lost dogs suffering from hunger and thirst.
1911: The SF/SPCA is chosen to host the annual convention of the American Humane Association, meeting for the first time west of the Rockies.
1913: San Francisco's last horse-drawn streetcar rolls up Market Street, driven by Mayor James Rolph, Jr.
1914-1917: During World War I, The SF/SPCA is part of the national Red Star Animal Relief, raising funds to aid horses used by the armed forces. Red Star supplies horse ambulances, bandages, medicines and veterinary supplies, and is credited with saving the lives of countless horses on the battlefield.
1918: Lottie G, an elderly horse who served the San Francisco Fire Department, is the first horse retired to the SF/SPCA Animals Home Farm. Instead of being sold, retired Fire and Police Department horses can now spend their golden years on quiet country ranches, thanks to The SF/SPCA's new "pensioners' fund."
1919: San Francisco's last horse-drawn fire engine is replaced by a gasoline-powered one.
1924: The SF/SPCA Animal Hospital opens to the public.
1932: The SF/SPCA replaces its many structures with a single, block-long, Spanish Mission-style building that is still home to The SF/SPCA today.
1941: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, people and pets are evacuated from Hawaii. Animals are shipped separately from people, and in many cases, their first stop is San Francisco. The SF/SPCA receives and cares for these pets until they can be reunited with their families throughout the country.
1955: The SF/SPCA establishes an Education Division to formalize its longstanding commitment to humane education.
1962: The SF/SPCA breaks ground for the Memorial Shelter Project to expand and upgrade its shelter and hospital.
1976: The SF/SPCA establishes a low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic, the first in San Francisco.
1977: The SF/SPCA Animal Hospital introduces Pet-A-Care, providing discounted veterinary services to qualified low-income San Franciscans. At the urging of The SF/SPCA, San Francisco bans steel jaw traps, in California's first such ordinance.
1978: The SF/SPCA establishes the first humane society-based Hearing Dog Program.
1980: The SF/SPCA begins one of the nation's first Adoption Outreach programs, setting up mobile adoption centers throughout the city, so cats and dogs can meet more potential adopters. The SF/SPCA establishes the Foster Care Program, nurturing underage, sick or injured cats and dogs in volunteer foster homes until they are old enough or well enough to be adopted.
1981: The SF/SPCA sues to stop the state from killing deer on Angel Island. With help from The SF/SPCA, more than 200 deer are relocated to the Mayacamas Mountains. The SF/SPCA establishes the first humane-society based Animal Assisted Therapy Program.
1982: The SF/SPCA establishes the Sido Program, finding new loving homes for dogs and cats whose owner/guardian has passed away.
1983: The SF/SPCA Animal Hospital establishes the Emergency Care Fund to assist low-income San Francisco residents whose pets have a life-threatening illness or injury. The SF/SPCA begins the Pet Loss Support Group for people grieving the death of a pet.
1984: The SF/SPCA establishes a free Behavior Advice Line, providing the public with help managing pet behavior issues, as well as referrals to qualified trainers and behavior specialists.
1987: The SF/SPCA launches Holiday Windows, an annual event that brings adoptable cats and dogs to downtown store windows between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
1989: After 84 years as San Francisco's animal control agency, The SF/SPCA turns over animal control functions to a new city department, San Francisco Animal Care and Control, allowing The SF/SPCA to focus its resources on pioneering programs for the treatment and adoption of homeless cats and dogs.The SF/SPCA begins spaying or neutering all dogs and cats prior to adoption.
1991: The SF/SPCA launches the Open Door Program, helping people find pet-friendly housing and encouraging landlords to open their doors to responsible tenants with pets.
1993: The SF/SPCA begins the Feral Fix program, providing free spay/neuter surgery for San Francisco's feral cats.
1994: The SF/SPCA and San Francisco Animal Care and Control partner in a pact to guarantee a home for all San Francisco's adoptable cats and dogs.
1998: The SF/SPCA opens the groundbreaking Maddie's Pet Adoption Center, where dogs and cats awaiting adoption live in light, airy comfortable rooms.
1999: The SF/SPCA establishes the Academy for Dog Trainers, offering comprehensive, leading-edge education for dog behavior and training professionals.
2001: The SF/SPCA is the first humane society to be profiled on "The Visionaries," a public television series about people and organizations driving positive social change. The SF/SPCA introduces "9Lives," a comprehensive video series on the care and humane management of feral cats.
2002: The SF/SPCA establishes LifeLinks, working with Northern California shelters that are overburdened, transferring dogs and cats who might otherwise have to be euthanized to The SF/SPCA.The SF/SPCA launches a fundraising campaign to build The Leanne B. Roberts Animal Care Center, a world-class animal care facility.
2005: SF/SPCA receives $13 million, the largest single gift in it's history, as key funding for The Leanne B. Roberts Animal Care Center.
