Our History

In 1967, the Merced SPCA received non-profit status due to the hard work of two women, Pauline Molles and Shirley Sharp, who were both Canadian Immigrants living in Merced. After seeing the poor condition of the Old County Animal Control, located on Belcher Avenue, they took steps towards bringing about improvements in the quality of care for abandoned and unwanted pets.

In 1982, Katherine L. Kanen of Livingston left a will that donated her money to the Merced SPCA in memory of her dog ”Lobo”. That money was specifically earmarked for acquiring, building, and equipping a shelter suitable for the animals.

In 1998, the family of the late Jim Barger notified the Merced SPCA that the property of the once Barger Veterinary Clinic was available for purchase. Upon hearing this, the Merced SPCA notified its members about the opportunity and a vote was issued between purchasing the property or not. The vote resulted in a landslide towards purchasing the property. After acquired the property, the Merced SPCA focused its energy on repairing and upgrading it.

The facility was originally built in the late 50's and there were many maintenance projects that needed to be addressed. The first task was installing a 6 foot chain link security fence. The outside kennels were also sitting on dirt and gravel. A new sloped cement base was created for proper drainage of the kennels. Three of the outside kennels were in such poor condition they had to be entirely replaced. All have now been roofed with corrugated sheet metal and a misting system has been installed for the summer weather. Many improvements have been made to the shelter since its founding.

On April 29th 2000, the Merced SPCA opened its doors to the public with the official name as the Katherine L. Kanen Animal Adoption Center. In the first year alone, the SPCA helped over 300 dogs and cats find a new home.

Today, the shelter’s volunteers strive daily towards matching potential adopters to the pets who are in need of a home. From its inception to the present, the Merced SPCA has established an ever growing list of members, has assisted the community in spaying in neutering their pets, has provided medical attention to pets belonging to needy families, and has established many temporary foster homes for unwanted pets. The Merced SPCA also has several fundraisers that help bring in donations; some of which are the annual dog walk, the Christmas home tour, and the SPCA Garage and Yard Sale Events