Happy 150th birthday! The Charleston Animal Society (CAS), South Carolina’s first animal organization and one of the oldest in the nation, is marking its 150th anniversary today (March 14) as part of a year of celebrations for its continuing work in animal welfare in the Palmetto State.
“The 150 years of leadership, tradition and excellence in improving the plight of animals and children illustrates what can be accomplished by a group of dedicated individuals and a committed community of compassionate citizens from one generation to another,” said CAS President and CEO Joe Elmore said in a statement.
Celebrations of the sesquicentennial year will continue through December as the organization weaves its history, mission and accomplishments through many of its coming events. Among the highlights are:
- CAS’s 150th Annual Meeting and Celebration of Success, 6 p.m. April 17, Charleston Marriott.
- The annual Rescue Brew contest, which will start April 8
- A special commemorative issue of the Animal Society’s Carolina Tails magazine in June.
- The annual Applause for Paws Gala in the fall
- The yearly Paws in the Park Festival, which is set for Nov. 23.
- More details on the sesquicentennial celebration can be found at charlestonanimalsociety.org/150.
A long history with major milestones
Founded by Charlestonians on March 14, 1874, as the South Carolina Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the organization’s immediate concerns were to combat the neglect of livestock, farm animals and horses. To begin to help these working animals, the society focused first on the inhumane shipping of cattle and the epidemic of stray dogs.
“A common misconception is that Charleston Animal Society was formed to shelter homeless animals,” Elmore said.
But as the needs of the community changed, so did the organization, expanding into teaching compassion to children and sheltering animals in response to the horrific conditions and mass killings by the local government as a way of responding to strays.
Elmore explained: “During that time, it was a common practice for government to round-up stray dogs and kill them en masse by drowning or other inhumane means. From New York City to Charleston, countless dogs met their final demise in the Hudson or Ashley and Cooper rivers.
“However, as the government-designated animal shelter in Charleston County, Charleston Animal Society worked for decades to lower euthanasia rates and push for more humane methods.”
In 1948, it built its first shelter on Meeting Street, a building that is now home to Patrick Veterinary Clinic. It then moved to locations on St. Andrews Boulevard., Dupont Road and Leeds Avenue before building its current Remount Road campus.
The organization has celebrated major accomplishments in recent years.
- Providing shelter for the largest number of animals in the Palmetto State.
- Earning the honor of being the state’s top-rated nonprofit.
- CAS built the first No Kill Community in the Southeast in 2013.
- It is a leading state and regional emergency response organization during disaster and cruelty operatings by law enforcement agencies.
- CAS is a leader in providing spay/neuter surgeries to combat overpopulation of cats and dogs throughout the Lowcountry.
- In 2015, the society earned the American Animal Hospital Association’s first accreditation in the South of a combined animal shelter and animal hospital.
- In 2023, CAS set a Guinness World Record for pet vaccines.
The organization has also hosted the nation’s largest annual statewide adoption event for dogs and cats for the past six years in a row, won a North American competition of nonprofits with Land Rover and sustained Charleston County as a no-kill community for the past 11 years.
“As we focus on the past, present, and future during our sesquicentennial year, we will provide
occasions to honor the past and to inspire a brighter future for the health and safety of both animals and people in the greater Charleston area and beyond,” said CAS board member Jane Graham, a co-chair of the 150th anniversary celebrations.
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