Harlan Animal Shelter

Harlan Animal Shelter Your local safe haven for animals in need. We’re dedicated to rescuing and finding forever homes for pets. Join our mission and adopt, foster, or support today!

We do appointment based intakes for personal animals. Please call ahead for surrenders.

06/13/2026

Community Reminder: Helping Reduce the Cat Population

Like many shelters and rescues across the country, we are currently at capacity. Our shelter is full, and our rescue partners are also overwhelmed. The biggest way our community can help is by preventing unwanted litters before they happen.

Here are a few things everyone can do:

-Spay and neuter your cats. This is the single most effective way to reduce the number of homeless cats in our community.

-Keep owned cats indoors whenever possible. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives and are less likely to contribute to the stray population.

-Do not abandon cats or kittens. Abandonment only adds to the problem and puts animals at risk.

-If you feed community cats, consider Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Having cats sterilized prevents future litters while allowing stable colonies to naturally decrease over time.

-Reach out to friends, family, and neighbors before surrendering kittens. Sometimes a home can be found through personal connections before shelter resources are needed.

-Educate others about the importance of spaying and neutering. Preventing one litter today can prevent dozens of kittens in the future.

We understand that finding a stray cat or unexpected litter can be frustrating, but the reality is that shelters alone cannot solve pet overpopulation. It takes a community effort. By working together and focusing on prevention, we can reduce the number of free roaming cats and improve the lives of animals throughout Harlan County.

Thank you for supporting responsible pet ownership and helping us create lasting solutions for our community.

— Harlan County Animal Shelter 🐾

Happy adoption day moose!
06/13/2026

Happy adoption day moose!

Happy Adoption Day!
06/07/2026

Happy Adoption Day!

🐾 NO-KILL CELEBRATION ADOPTION SPECIAL! 🐾We are excited to celebrate a milestone that once seemed impossible—the Harlan ...
06/04/2026

🐾 NO-KILL CELEBRATION ADOPTION SPECIAL! 🐾

We are excited to celebrate a milestone that once seemed impossible—the Harlan County Animal Shelter has officially achieved No-Kill status!

To thank our community for helping make this happen, we're offering a special adoption promotion throughout the entire month of June:

ALL ADOPTIONS ONLY $50

📅 Valid through June 30th

Now let's keep the momentum going! Every adoption opens a kennel for another animal in need and helps us maintain the lifesaving success we've worked so hard to achieve.

If you've been thinking about adding a furry family member to your home, there has never been a better time!

$50 Adoptions • All Month Long • June 2026

06/04/2026

Harlan County Animal Shelter Director's Message
Now that everything has calmed down a little after the great news of becoming a No-Kill shelter, many people have asked me, "How did the shelter reach No-Kill status?"

I wanted to take a moment to share our journey.

When I accepted the position as Shelter Director in July 2024, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I knew was I wanted to make this shelter the best it could be. I quickly realized there was a lot of work to be done if we were going to improve outcomes for the animals in our care.
We started looking at everything. Animal welfare protocols, cleaning and sanitizing procedures, employee responsibilities, rescue partnerships, intake processes, and even the relationship between the shelter and our nonprofit partner, Harlan County Friends of the Shelter. We also had to work hard to rebuild trust and improve our reputation within the community.
One thing became very clear early on: My staff and I could not do this alone.
I started reaching out to shelters and rescues all across the country looking for advice and guidance. After many phone calls and emails to different organizations across the nation, I connected with an amazing rescue team from Illinois called Tiny N Tall Rescue. They shared resources, offered support, and even traveled all the way to Harlan County to help pull animals from our shelter.
After seeing firsthand what we were facing, they introduced me to Carrie Lalonde with Best Friends Animal Society. That introduction changed everything.
Carrie and I spent countless hours on phone/video calls discussing shelter operations, lifesaving programs, and what it would take to improve outcomes here in Harlan County. She eventually came to visit our shelter, and together we began building a roadmap toward becoming a No-Kill shelter.
At the time, we were told reaching a 90% live release rate could take a year or longer. It wasn't going to be easy. It would require changing old habits, implementing new programs, building rescue relationships, training staff, and getting support from the community.
My staff embraced that challenge.
Through hard work, determination, training, and a shared belief that we could do better for the animals, we achieved that 90% live release rate in less than 10 months.
This accomplishment doesn't belong to one person. It belongs to our shelter staff, our volunteers, Harlan County Friends of the Shelter, our rescue partners, Best Friends Animal Society, our county leadership, and every member of this community who adopted, fostered, donated, shared a post, or supported our mission.
We still have work to do. No-Kill is not a destination—it's a commitment. A commitment to continue improving, continue learning, and continue finding lifesaving solutions for the animals that depend on us.
Thank you to everyone who believed in us and helped make this possible. What we've accomplished together in less than two years is something I'm incredibly proud of, and I truly believe the best is yet to come.

-Ryan
Shelter Director

06/04/2026

The shelter is in need of Litter, puppy food, kitten food and empty paper towel rolls! Just the card board piece from them. Please and thank you!

We are doing dog enrichment today and putting a treat inside to entertain them!

We want to thank Sue Estep for bringing my staff and I some delicious Blizzards for our No-Kill Achievement!! It is very...
06/03/2026

We want to thank Sue Estep for bringing my staff and I some delicious Blizzards for our No-Kill Achievement!! It is very much appreciated!
-Ryan & Staff

06/02/2026

🎉 Shelter Closure Notice – Celebrating a Major Achievement! 🎉

Due to the exciting news earlier today that the Harlan County Animal Shelter has officially achieved No-Kill Status, the shelter will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, June 3rd for a facility deep clean tomorrow morning and a special employee appreciation celebration tomorrow afternoon!

This achievement represents a year of hard work, dedication, and commitment from our staff, volunteers, rescue partners, Friends of the Shelter group, Best Friends Animal Society, and our amazing community. We want to take a few hours to recognize the people who made this milestone possible while also giving the shelter a thorough cleaning.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. We will resume normal operations Thursday!

Thank you, Harlan County, for believing in our mission and helping us save more lives than ever before. This accomplishment belongs to all of us!

-Ryan
Shelter Director

06/02/2026

🎉 BIG NEWS FOR HARLAN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER! 🎉

Today, we received the call we've been working toward for over a year...

🐾 WE HAVE OFFICIALLY ACHIEVED NO-KILL STATUS! 🐾

As part of this incredible milestone, our shelter will also be receiving a $10,000 award to help us continue saving lives and improving outcomes for the animals in our care.

This achievement did not happen overnight. It is the result of countless hours of hard work, dedication, teamwork, and a shared commitment to making a difference for the animals of Harlan County.

I want to personally thank our small amazing shelter staff; Karl, Brooke, and Candace, our dedicated volunteers, the incredible Harlan County Friends of the Shelter group, Our various rescue groups, Tiny N Tall Animal Rescue for introducing us to Best Friends, and especially Carrie and the team at Best Friends Animal Society for their guidance, support, and belief in what we could accomplish.

Most importantly, thank you to the people of Harlan County. Your support, patience, donations, adoptions, fostering, volunteering, and willingness to work with us have helped make this possible.

A year ago, this goal seemed like a mountain to climb. Today, we stand at the top together. While there is still plenty of work ahead, this milestone proves what can happen when a community comes together for a common cause.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for helping us save lives and make history for the animals of Harlan County.

-Ryan
Shelter Director

Address

394 Highway 840
Baxter, KY
40806

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 3pm
Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm
Saturday 10am - 1pm

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