Located in the beautiful Black Hills and just one-hour from Badlands National Park, The Humane Society of the Black Hills (HSBH) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has worked with the community to provide shelter and care for lost and abused animals for more than 50 years. Incorporated on November 29, 1968, the HSBH currently operates the only major animal shelter west of the Missouri River in South Dakota.

Each year, our humane society rescues about 4,000 animals. Because of the shortage of shelters, animals are picked up and brought to our shelter from as many as 20 different counties. We are an open admission shelter – no animal is turned away from our doors regardless of species, medical status, or behavior.

The HSBH also provides animal welfare services and humane law enforcement to Rapid City and Pennington County governments as an independent contractor. Our Animal Services and Enforcement officers uphold Rapid City codes, Pennington County ordinances, and the State of South Dakota laws pertaining to domestic animals, educating our community to help animals alongside us.

We are not affiliated with any other humane societies and rely on public funding and donations from our community to keep the doors open. Donations to national groups do not reach the pets that stay with us; if you’d like to support community animals and families who need it most, please support your local Humane Society of the Black Hills!