ARF – Humane Society of Jackson County
Who are we?
ARF (Humane Society of Jackson County) is a network of foster parents, not a shelter. We are not “The Shelter” either, though we work with them closely.
ARF rescues animals from the shelter and the community, sends adoptable animals to New England and Florida on our frequent transports, and runs two low-cost or free spay/neuter trips to Asheville Spay Neuter Alliance every month.
Our volunteers are constantly at work driving, rescuing, vetting, applying for spay/neuter grants, fundraising, assisting community members, and–of course–cleaning!
About us
Find out who we are and what we do
About this page and its art
Mary Adams designed the page, so be nice. The photos are of ARF and shelter dogs taken by foster parents and adopters.
Many of the best dog photographs were supplied by Beth Schore for ARF newsletters. Mary doesn’t know how to put photo credits in the animations, so a big thank-you to Beth goes here.
About Our Organization
ARF (Humane Society of Jackson County) is a 501(c)3 organization. Our status as a tax-exempt public charity can be verified on Guidestar and the IRS web pages. Our 501(c)3 number is 56-1575881.
ARF was founded by a group of friends in 1978 and led by Veronica Nicholas for many years. In 2016, Mary Adams took over as President.
ARF uses its funds to rescue and care for dogs, to provide low-cost spay neuter for owned dogs in the county, to transport unwanted dogs to safety in no-kill shelters where adopters are more common, and to pay for emergency care for sick or injured dogs that come into the municipal shelter. ARF has no paid employees.
ARF runs a low-cost spay neuter program with Catman2 and sends dogs to the ASPCA Spay Neuter alliance to be fixed once or twice each month. Our program now also includes dogs and cats from the Jackson County Animal Shelter.
ARF is run by volunteers and our rescue partners, especially Sylva Animal Hospital and the Sylva Pet Stop. We desperately need volunteers and foster parents!
Meet The Team
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Volunteers
Volunteers help with spay neuter, fostering, and rescue
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Adoptions/ Transports
Animals adopted or transported since 2015
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Spay Neuter
Animals assisted annually with spay neuter
What People Say
Why I foster!
I find it so satisfying to foster for ARF. Dogs are descended from wolves, and for thousands of years they’ve helped us as companions and protectors. Now dogs need our help. They need us to feed them, train them, and defend them, and they give so much back!
Melissa Toppino
Foster parentWhy I foster! !
Here are three great reasons to foster:
- Fostering is a great way to test drive to see what kind of dog matches your family’s needs.
- Fostering can give you a sense of purpose! You’re helping to save and transform dogs’ lives.
- Save lives! You’re not just saving one dog; you’re making room to save many more dogs at the shelter.
Kaleb Alexander Lynch
Catman2.orgI’m happy to be a part of this!
Recently we lost a loved one unexpectedly, and we suddenly had to rehome ten dogs. We were new to the area and didn’t know where to turn. ARF provided quality foster care for all our dogs, updating their records and finding them loving homes. Our loved one treated her dogs as family, and we were so grateful to ARF’s foster parents for treating them as family too. Thank you so much!
A grieving family
Amazing team!
I get all my dogs from ARF. This year, ARF brought me Apollo, a Pyrenees mix whose vet bills for being hit by a car reached almost $5000. Without ARF’s generosity and loving foster care, Apollo wouldn’t be part of my family. Thank you ARF!
Allison Bolden
Vet techOur Goals
Want to get involved?
Contact us