More Info About Us

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The Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, Inc. works with our community to strengthen the bond between animals and people, enhancing the quality of their lives through compassionate sheltering, responsible adoptions, education, and community outreach.

The Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation offering many vital services for Pioneer Valley animals and residents. We rely on our generous supporters and members to provide these services.

Our History

Originally founded in 1982 as Friends of Amherst’s Stray Animals by the late Janet Wilder Dakin and friends, the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society opened its doors to the public in 1995.

Today, the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society serves more than 1,200 cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens at its small shelter in rural Leverett, Massachusetts.

We serve nearly 1,000 more animals and their people through our various free and low-cost spay/neuter assistance programs.

The Adoption Program.

The Dakin Shelter has healthy, loving dogs and cats waiting to be adopted into lifetime homes. Our goals is to find a permanent placement for each animal in need. Matching people with pets, from Labradors to lap cats, is the passion of our well-trained adoption counselors.

An adoption fee helps the shelter provide routine medical care for our animal guests including spaying and neutering. Please consult our Adoption Program Information for more details about these fees and the adoption process. Also, please check our current hours of operation prior to visiting. If you have any questions, call us at (413) 548-9898 or email us for details.

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society Programs

• Care and shelter for homeless and abandoned dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens.
• Healthy, loving dogs and cats waiting to be adopted into qualified, life-time homes.
• Feral Spay Sunday Program
• Financial assistance to low-income individuals who want to neuter their cats, dogs, or rabbits.
• Educational presentations for schools, clubs, and civic organizations of all ages
• Shelter tours and children’s programs
• Counseling and referral about animal behavior problems
• Dog training classes (spring, summer, & fall sessions only)
• Opportunities to volunteer
• Emergency shelter for animal victims of domestic violence.
• Regional disaster response planning and relief services.

We Need Your Support!

We Need Your Support! Providing food, housing, medical care and attention to more than a thousand homeless animals each year costs more than $1,300 each day.

This is where you come in. The Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society relies on generous contributions from people like you in order to maintain our high standards of animal care and to support nationally-recognized programs like our Feral Spay Sunday. Please consider becoming a member with your tax-deductible donation: