Our Massachusetts License number is 0070 Our History
The Civic Department of the Women's Club of Fall River had taken note of the plight of draft animals and began to wonder about the organization to care for them. After much discussion, the decision was made that the City needed a humane organization. A committee was formed and after much hard work and the recruitment of eleven members, the firs
t meeting was held in the parish house of the First Congregational Church in October, 1913. Plans were made and fund-raising began in earnest. The donations poured in and an old bam was purchased at 474 Durfee Street. An aging horse was donated, along with a blanket and wagon, and the stipulation that he be given care for the rest of his life. And with that beginning, the doors first opened on February 11, 1914 (incorporation came on June 25, 1914). In 1917, funds were donated to purchase the adjoining property, at which point runs and cages were added for small animals. The following Annual Report of April 15, 1926 captures the flavor of our early days: "Christmas dinners for horses were distributed as usual. ... bags of apples, grain and carrots to 80 horses who were found in the City and outlying districts that enjoyed a good dinner on Christmas Day thanks to the friends who contributed money and the ingredients for the dinners. Any balance Ieft after the expense of this annual event went into the fund for buying old and worn out not fit for use horses. The League is offering several prizes to the Girl Scouts for the best essays written on either of the two subjects 'Why We Love Dogs· or ·Some Pets of Famous Men·. The League has handled a very large number of dogs this year. Many are given up by owners to be humanely disposed of but the majority are vagrant and homeless dogs, strays picked up hungry and homeless, very often injured and dying in the City streets, often with collars but no name or license number to identify them. The automobile took its daily toll as well. The dogs at the shelter were made most comfortable this cold severe winter by the addition of nine storm windows on the dog kennels. When the League is called on for help, the question "Who will pay? is never asked. Animals First is our motto, and the compensation a secondary matter. And so, under modern and improved conditions the League enters upon the 14th year of service."
