Rescue Village, also known as The Geauga County Humane Society (GCHS), began with a vision of a more humane world and a devotion to saving animals from homelessness and harm. The work of Rescue Village began in 1974 when founder, Arlene MacDonald and a small group of animal advocates embarked on a labor of love. Initially, animals were sheltered in private homes.
Rescue Village is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, solely reliant on donations and grants for funding.
Thanks to the generosity of the community, Rescue Village accepts donations 365 days a year. Patrons can do this by dropping off donations on the cart outside of the main entrance.
Rescue Village held it's first golf outing, called Putts for Mutts to raise lifesaving funds for RV animals.
In 1980, Rescue Village moved into the tiny 800 square-foot leased space on Merritt Road in Chardon, Ohio. What the original shelter lacked in size was made up by the driving passion and enormous energy that went into bettering the lives of animals and educating the community to have respect for all living things.
Rescue Village hires the first part-time employee. Prior to 1982 all RV members were on a volunteer basis.
Rescue Village is a leader in providing spay/neuter services to homeless and owned pets. Seeing a need, early advocates began a fund to support providing necessary services to the community. RV is honored to have a team of dedicated veterinary staff to care for all the animals at the shelter and those in foster programs.
On average clinic staff completes over 1,000 spay-neuter surgeries a year across for RV shelter animals. Across all spay-neuter programs, clinic staff serves upwards of 2,000 animals annually.
Rescue Village's Betty Nenadal was the first Humane Officer for Geauga County. Nenadal worked at the Geauga Humane Society for more than 20 years as a humane officer, shelter director, board member and in various other positions.
In 1985, an intruder entered, releasing all the animals. One animal was injured and another killed. The community responded to the tragedy.
In response, news channels 5 and 8 helped raise funds for an alarm system, to ensure this would not happen again.
The new law mandated that pounds must sell unclaimed pets to research at $3.00/pet. After much dedication, the law was repealed.
The bill was passed allowing courts to decide if an abused animal should be returned to the owners.
Rescue Village begins providing humane education at schools and talking to classes about responsible pet ownership.
In 1991, Rescue Village's structure begins taking shape. The Development Department is created to improve funding to the animals at Rescue Village and improve relations with donors and companies.
Along with development, both the humane officer and shelter director positions become full-time.
The first annual Walk for Animals is held, the name is now commonly known as "Woofstock". The first walk brought in $35,000. In 2023, fundraising efforts reached nearly $200,000!
Rescue Village makes it a policy to spay or neuter animals 6 months or older prior to adoption.
Choosing to sponsor a cage, kennel or stall at Rescue Village is a wonderful gift that supports our humane efforts. Your gift—either monthly or yearly—goes toward the care of the animals.
Think of sponsoring a cage as helping to sustain a positive, high-quality environment for our animals—you are helping us give them a happy home while they are with us!
In 1998, the first humane case is won in favor of Geauga County Humane Society. Over 100 adoptions resulted from the case.
In 1999, a 14-acre parcel of land is purchased in Novelty. The campaign to build Rescue Village begins.
Ground is broken for the new facility in Novelty. The operating budget was $450,000.
The new, state-of-the-art shelter opened in Novelty, Ohio and the name Rescue Village was born. The first part-time veterinarian is hired!
2001 marks Jenny Campbell's first Rescue Village cartoon!
Scenes from Miracle Dogs, staring Kate Jackson and Josh Hutcherson were shot onsite at Rescue Village.
Rescue Village participates in the development of national spay and neuter programs and Petfix of Northeast Ohio is born!
Rescue Village's 5-stall barn and fenced-in pasture was built behind the Rescue Village shelter
Rescue Village changes the dog festival name from "The Four-Footed Dog Festival" to "Woofstock"!
Rescue Village's Foundation is created, ensuring Rescue Village exists to serve communities well into the future.
In 2015, Rescue Village was straining against the confines of its 10,500 square foot facility. The building was expanded into a facility of more than 19,000 square feet that allowed the space needed to better serve the community and grow our services, providing more comprehensive veterinary care to the animals. The expansion allowed Rescue Village to hold up to 140 animals a day in need, along with much-needed recovery care and isolation areas.
The hardcover book features more than 200 of Jenny's Rescue Village cartoons. All funds have been donated to go to helping the animals at RV!
Rescue Village's Woofstock dog festival was awarded Best of the East by Cleveland Magazine for best charitable event