Our History

When the Otsego County SPCA was founded by Mrs. William T. Hyde and other prominent area citizens in 1917, it had no shelter building. The founders arranged for strays to stay with area veterinarians. In 1970 the organization's Board of Directors voted to build the first dedicated shelter. Located in Pierstown, the building was completed in 1972. At that time the shelter was maintained entirely by volunteers who answered the telephones, fed and cared for the animals, and cleaned their cages.

In the early 1980s, the SSPCA opened the Better Exchange Thrift Shop. It accepts gently used clothing and household items which are sold to generate revenue for the maintenance of the shelter and its animals.

In 1981, the Board renamed the organization the Susquehanna SPCA, and the organization rapidly outgrew the Pierstown shelter. Thanks to the generosity of Louis Busch Hager, the SSPCA acquired the property on State Route 28, south of Cooperstown, where it is located today. An old motorcycle repair shop on the grounds was remodeled to become the new shelter. In 1995 and 2008, the SSPCA expanded the building to accommodate an increasing number of strays and abandoned animals. Named for its benefactor, it is know as the Louis Busch Hager Animal Shelter.

In the mid 1990s, the SSPCA became a "no kill" shelter. Animals are not euthanized due to age or amount of time spent at the shelter. Animals are only euthanized in cases of non-treatable illness or extreme behavior problems that threaten the safety of other animals and people.

Today, the SSPCA accepts homeless or abandoned animals from across Otsego County. They are treated for illness or malnutrition, vaccinated and spayed or neutered before adopted to a loving new home.