User:Lowder76HSMO/sandbox

The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) is an animal welfare nonprofit organization that focuses on adopting, rescuing, and rehabilitating animals in need through animal cruelty investigations, spay/neuter programs, humane education, and state-of-the-art veterinary care.

History

HSMO is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, and was founded in 1870 by concerned St. Louis citizens who admired the philosophies of Henry Burgh, father of the American humane movement and original founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and decided to establish their own group advocating for the protection of animals, particularly workhorses which played a critical role in the transportation of commercial goods from the river and rail to their respective destinations. HSMO has no ties to the ASPCA or any other national humane society organization and receives no local or federal government funding.

In the early 1900s, the majority of HSMO's animal welfare efforts were in investigating and rescuing abused workhorses, widely used during the era for pulling carriages as transportation or for commerce. In 1911, HSMO implemented its first horse-drawn ambulance to help rescue animals in distress, investigating nearly 1,500 cases of abuse and neglect in St. Louis. In 1924 HSMO worked to install fountains in St. Louis's Central West End to be used as watering troughs, ensuring adequate hydration for thirsty workhorses.

At the turn of the century, HSMO began advocating for dogs, cats, and other residential animals. At the time, HSMO also began caring for abused and neglected children, an unfortunate necessity due to the lack of orphanages and other institutions to support children in need. While the children’s services ended in the 1930s, the focus on animal welfare remained and evolved into the programs offered today.