Friends of Hardin County Animal Shelter (FOHCAS) was formed in January 2014 to support the Hardin County Animal Shelter by providing materials and equipment that are outside of the shelter's budget, establishing a medical fund to provide veterinary care to injured and sick shelter pets, and educating the community about responsible pet ownership and help facilitate lasting adoptions that benefit both the pet and the pet owner. 

Four local women founded FOHCAS: Julia Springsteen, Jo Ellen Thomas, Leslie Smith and Autumn O’Neal. Our board has grown in recent years and some of our “founding mothers” have retired from their board positions, but we will never forget how much we owe to these four women who saw a need and made their dream and reality.

Our mission expanded early on with the creation of our Spay/Neuter assistance program and later in our support of the shelter’s community cat “Return to Field” program. By working to reduce pet overpopulation we will - over time - reduce the number of pets that end up in our animal shelter.  

100% of the donations to Friends of Hardin County Animal Shelter are used to fulfill our mission. We have no paid employees, just volunteers willing to work for the pets of our county.