Mission: Talbot Humane provides a safe and healthy environment for unwanted companion animals; places all treatable and adoptable companion animals in good homes; protects all animals from cruelty and neglect; and reduces the unwanted companion animal population through spay/neuter and educational services.

Talbot Humane has been helping animals on the Eastern Shore of Maryland since 1932. For over 90 years we have we have committed our work to the animals of the Midshore and their people.

Our goals continue to grow, but our mission always stay true to our core values: 

• To rescue animals from cruelty and neglect;
• To place companion animals into loving homes;
• To reunite lost pets with their owners; 
• To reduce pet overpopulation through progressive spay and neuter programs
• To provide the community with programs and services which support the human animal bond.

Vision Statement

Talbot Humane is the standard of excellence in animal sheltering.

Values Statement

Health and Welfare of the Animals: All companion animals have the right to be healthy & safe. 

Community Education: Animals thrive when they have educated and caring owners that are supported through quality community-based programs. 

Community Engagement: Engaging and participating in and with the community with regards to animal care and support services impacts the community and the owners of animals in a positive way. 

Community Support: Supporting the owners and their families in adoptions, pet ownership and support services adds to the quality of the animal’s life and an animal’s place in our community. 

Equity and Inclusion: Value the range of different backgrounds and identities that people bring, appreciate that diversity makes us better at what we do, and strive to create an environment in which everyone on the margins can thrive. 

Talbot Humane, a 501.c.3 non-profit, carries the contract with Talbot County to provide animal control services within the county 40 hours per week. 2 officers serve the entire county 365 days a year.

Our compassionate staff and dedicated volunteers make a difference every day by fulfilling the needs of pets and their owners. Our open admission shelter is a success thanks to the support of our community.  Our adoption program  places pets in new loving homes. We also work with other organizations whether we are receiving animals from other humane organizations in need of help or a 501.c.3 rescue group is accepting one of our special need residents into their care, we continue toward our mission of placing every treatable, adoptable pet coming through our doors into a forever home.

Our programs encourage responsible pet ownership and offer resources such low/no cost microchipping, a pet pantry, intervention programs, spay/neuter, lost pet services, pet loss support, humane education and so much more.

Talbot Humane operates as a Socially Conscious Shelter. We believe the Best Shelter is a Humane Community.

The Eight Tenets of Socially Conscious Animal Sheltering are as follows:

• Place every healthy and safe animal. Every single one. Healthy is defined as either having no signs of clinical disease or evidence of disease that a veterinarian determines has a good or excellent prognosis for a comfortable life. Safe means that the animal has not exhibited behavior that is likely to result in severe injury or death to another animal or person.
• Ensure every unwanted or homeless pet has a safe place to go for shelter and care. An animal’s opportunity to be nurtured, healed, and rehomed should not depend on their age or condition—every community must have a shelter that accepts all animals brought to it. It is unacceptable to turn animals away because they are too old, too sick, too broken.
• Assess the medical and behavioral needs of homeless animals and ensure these needs are thoughtfully addressed. Animals housed in shelters and rescues must be assessed for disease and injury and must have all medical conditions addressed so the animal does not suffer. These animals must also have their behavioral needs assessed and met, including enrichment sufficient to make them comfortable and to prevent self-destructive, obsessive-compulsive coping behaviors.
• Align shelter policy with the needs of the community. Does the community allow trap-neuter-return programs? If so, offer them. Will members of your community adopt animals with chronic disease, are they willing to assume the time and expense of managing that disease? If so, with full disclosure, place them in these homes. Socially Conscious Shelters listen to their communities.
• Alleviate suffering and make appropriate euthanasia decisions. Compassionate euthanasia is a gift. It is not acceptable to let a terminally ill, suffering animal languish in a cage until it dies naturally when compassionate euthanasia can ease that endless pain. It is not acceptable to house a known dangerous animal who cannot be safely placed in the community for years until it goes crazy in a cage. Each euthanasia decision is difficult, and every decision must consider the welfare of the individual animal.
• Enhance the human-animal bond through safe placements and post adoption support. Integrating a living being into a new home can be difficult. As adoption agencies, Socially Conscious Shelters have a responsibility to support the new family. This can mean post-adoption behavior advice, classes for new pet caregivers, addressing shelter related medical needs and being willing to accept the animal back if the pet and the family are not a good fit. It also means not placing animals into homes that disrupt the human-animal bond by injuring children, other pets and other people. There are many behavior issues that can be addressed through behavior modification and positive experiences. There are other behaviors that are dangerous and that cannot be mitigated.
• Consider the health, wellness and safety of animals for each community when transferring animals. Moving dogs and cats from communities that do not have homes available for them to communities where people are actively seeking pets saves lives. However, bringing pets into a community is a responsibility. It is a responsibility to the animals already living in that community to not bring in infectious diseases that would make them sick. It is a responsibility to those living within the community to bring in animals that will live in harmony. And there is a responsibility to the community from which animals are being moved to impact that community’s animal welfare struggles through humane education and spay and neuter programs.
• Foster a culture of transparency, ethical decision making, mutual respect, continual learning and collaboration. Socially Conscious Shelters are committed to full transparency. This can include reporting accurate statistics, sharing policies, and fully and quickly admitting when mistakes are made. Integrity must be the foundation of all decisions. Every shelter can learn something from every other shelter—it is important to be curious and to share innovative solutions to common problems. Only by working together can we ensure the best outcomes for all animals.

We are here to help. Our mission continues to be service to animals and their owners of the Midshore with compassion, transparency and thoughtfulness.  You are part of our Humane Community.