Island Animals: Non-Profit Spotlight – NiSHA

Who They Are

Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals is Nantucket’s only non-profit animal shelter. The mission of NiSHA is to ‘provide shelter and care for animals in need, and to promote animal welfare through humane education, outreach and advocacy’. NiSHA provides shelter to stay and homeless animals, provides assistance with veterinary care, and more. NiSHA employees and volunteers work hard to care for our island animals. The team at NiSHA has decades of combined experience working in the animal welfare and non-profit arenas, not to mention they are extremely passionate about their work.

What They Do

NiSHA offers various programs that help animals on the island, as well as working with various island groups to educate them about what they do and how the community can get involved. NiSHA also works with Nantucket’s youth to teach them the importance of humane thinking and animal safety. To do so, NiSHA offers several summer programs for children.

Additionally, NiSHA has a partnership with Little Mountain Rescue in Missouri. Volunteers bring adoptable dogs to Nantucket and work to get them placed into loving homes. Local photographer, Katie Kaizer, posted this piece on her blog which gives some more insight into the transport of adoptable pups. NiSHA also offers several programs that help islanders with veterinary care for their animals, like the SNIPP and SPA programs.

Photo by Katie Kaizer

How You Can Help

Throughout the year, NiSHA holds various fundraising events. The biggest event is the annual ‘un-leashed’ fundraiser which is where a huge chunk of their yearly funding comes from. NiSHA welcomes volunteers for help with day-to-day activities as well as putting on the various fundraising events. Want to help? Click here. Coming up this Sunday, October 13th, is the ’23K-9 Walk for NiSHA’, put on entirely by volunteers! On Sunday, participants are walking from Madaket to Sconset in order to raise money for NiSHA. Consider participating if you are on island, or show your support by donating to NiSHA. We are so grateful to have NiSHA on island, and cannot thank them enough for all they do for our island animals!