ARF (Humane Society of Jackson County) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our focus is to rescue, rehome, foster, spay and neuter dogs in Jackson County. Our status as a tax-exempt public charity can be verified on Guidestar and the IRS. Our 501(c)3 number is 56-1575881.

ARF was founded by a group of friends in 1978 seeking to help local animals in need. 

ARF uses its funds to rescue and care for dogs, provide low-cost spay neuter clinics for community members’ pets,  transport dogs to no-kill shelters where adopters are more common, and to assist with paying for emergency care of sick or injured dogs that come into our local shelter.

We pride ourselves on providing safe, loving foster homes for rescue pups of all ages, sizes and breeds. ARF provides all of the supplies (food, crate, toys etc.) and pays for all medical needs while our foster families provide the space and love for our pooches until they find their families!

ARF runs a low-cost spay neuter program with Catman2 to sends dogs and cats to the ASPCA Spay Neuter alliance once or twice each month. Our program now also includes animals from the Jackson County Animal Shelter.

ARF is run by the  Board of Directors, numerous volunteers, and our rescue partners, especially Sylva Animal Hospital and the Sylva Pet Stop. If you would like to join our mission to help local pets in need, we are always happy to have new volunteers and foster parents!