About Marshfield Area Pet Shelter

Marshfield Area Pet Shelter, Inc is a private non-profit animal welfare organization with a seven member Board of Directors. The Board of Directors serves as the governing body for the organization. All members are volunteers. The board reviews and approves operational policies, oversees fundraisers and the distributions of shelter funds, and supports staff to fulfill the mission of the organization.

MAPS has only four full-time employees who manage to cover 7 day a week shifts from 7am to 8pm. Other shelters comparable to the size of our shelter generally have approximately 10-13 employees. But thanks to the dedication of 40+ volunteers, we are able to provide daily care to more than 700 animals every year.

We rely solely on private donations, fundraising events, municipal service contracts to house stray animals, and adoption fees to generate revenue to sustain our day-to-day operations. ​Approximately, $300,000 is needed annually to keep our doors open.

MAPS was founded in 2011 when concerned citizens realized the need for an animal shelter in Marshfield, Wisconsin. They worked tirelessly to generate awareness for the cause. They walked in parades, sat in booths at the fair, hosted brat fries, and attended any community event they could to gain support. Volunteers began housing homeless animals in their homes to save them, then started hosting fundraisers to pay other humane societies to take in Marshfield’s unclaimed pets so they wouldn’t be euthanized. But this was far from a permanent solution. MAPS first fundraiser in 2012 was attended by over 800 people and generated more than $10,000. This solidified the belief that our community of 20,000 people were eagerly awaiting its first humane organization to serve homeless pets. Eventually, MAPS established its first physical location at the local mall as their credibility and reputation began to build in the community. City officials committed a $250,000 donation toward the construction of a new facility. Others rallied around the cause and in August 2020, animals were moved into a brand new state of the art facility at 3500 Downwind Drive.

The majority of animals entering our facility are strays. We have contracts with local municipalities to house stray dogs and cats while we attempt to locate their owners. The following municipalities pay us to provide this service: City of Marshfield, Village of Spencer, Townships of McMillan, Richfield, Lincoln and Rock. If an owner does not come forward to reclaim their pet, the animal is then spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and place up for adoption. Other animal intakes include pets taken into custody by law enforcement, stray dogs and cats from non-contracted areas, owner pet surrenders and pets transferred in from other organizations. Animal intakes other than our contracted areas are dependent on the amount of space we have available at our facility. We proudly follow the Shelter Medicine’s guidance for Capacity for Care. A waitlist is available for when space opens up.

All animal shelters are overwhelmed and overcrowded. The number of pet surrender requests continues to increase and hundreds of strays are found every year. Pet overpopulation has increased significantly. The only solution to this dilemma is to facilitate more low cost spay and neuter options, implement TNR efforts and educate people on the importance of spaying and neutering!

As Marshfield’s first animal welfare organization, we are transforming the way our community views animals and animal welfare. Our future goals include innovative education programs for the public and investments in outreach, advocacy and affordable spay/neuter options for the Marshfield area.