Enjoy wine, nibbles, and adoption specials at our birthday party!

April 10, 2017 – The San Francisco SPCA is celebrating its 149th birthday and inviting partygoers to join in the fun. On Friday, April 21, visit the SF SPCA’s Mission Campus Adoption Center from 6pm – 9pm for wine, nibbles from Et Volià, and treats from Smitten Ice Cream. Watch the shelter dogs celebrate with a special doggie birthday cake! Tickets are required and available with a donation.

Attendees can bring home their very own SF SPCA birthday present – rabbits and adult cats will be free to adopt all day on April 21!

“For 149 years the SF SPCA has been committed to helping animals, people, and the San Francisco community,” explained Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, SF SPCA President. “We were the fourth humane organization to be established in America, and the first west of the Mississippi.”

The SF SPCA was founded on April 18, 1868, by James Sloan Hutchinson, who caught sight of two men dragging a terrified hog along the rough cobblestone street. Hutchinson was appalled and stepped in to stop the abuse. The rescue served as a catalyst for Hutchinson and 15 others to fight animal cruelty by establishing the SF SPCA.

The SF SPCA helped pass California’s first anti-cruelty bill in 1868. Twenty years later the organization introduced a horse ambulance in San Francisco, before human ambulances ever appeared in the city. More recently, in 1994, San Francisco became the first No-Kill city in America. Today, the SF SPCA is working toward Vision 2020, a plan to end animal abandonment in the city by the year 2020.

“The SF SPCA has grown along with San Francisco, and today the city is a worldwide leader in animal welfare,” said Dr. Scarlett. “We hope everyone will join us in celebrating the victories that have been achieved for San Francisco’s animals over the past 149 years!”

To learn more about the SF SPCA’s history, visit sfspca.org/who-we-are/history