Our History

In 1927, Elsie Seeger Barton founded the Humane Society of Baltimore County, now known as the Baltimore Humane Society (BHS.)  Since that time, Ms. Barton’s selfless dream of establishing a refuge for abused and homeless animals has since come to fruition, situated on 365 acres of peaceful farmland in Reisterstown, Maryland.  Over the years, BHS has provided safe and loving homes for literally hundreds of thousands of wonderful animals.  In addition, Nicodemus Memorial Park, on the grounds of BHS, provides a final resting place for many beloved pets.  And finally, the unused acres of land serve as a nature preserve, alive with deer, fox, several species of birds, and numerous other types of local wildlife.

Our Commitments

The Baltimore Humane Society was founded to protect our region's pets and to address their suffering. Since inception, the Baltimore Humane Society has strived to reach its potential and to achieve its mission. Over the years, we've adopted a set of tenets that represent our commitments to the pets that come into our care. All of our efforts are centered around one word... humane.

Live Humane

Each individual has the power through their own actions and a focus on their personal ethics to live with respect for others and for other life.

Lead Humane

Each individual has the strength to demonstrate and to educate others on their conviction that all individuals, be they man or animal, deserve respect and humane care.

Believe Humane

Each individual can trust in the goodness and virtue of others and can believe that our community continues to move toward greater respect and humane treatment of the animals in our care.

Dream Humane

Each individual can dream of tomorrow and the opportunities it will bring to progress our mission of a humane community.