The first step is completing an adoption questionnaire. The questionnaire can be downloaded from our website, or you may fill it out at the shelter. Once the questionnaire is completed, you will work with one of our Animal Care staff members who can assist you in making that right choice for a loving pet. Once you are ready to adopt, the process takes about 30-40 minutes. All dogs, cats and rabbits are spayed or neutered prior to going home. We do our best to ensure that animals are spayed/neutered as quickly as possible however on occasion it may be necessary to leave your new best friend an extra day or so to allow for their surgery.

You can learn more about our Adoption Process here. 

An adoption with MHS includes a microchip and spay or neuter for all dogs, cats and rabbits. Dog and cat adoptions include first vaccines, de-wormer,  flea medication, free vet check at a participating vet of your choice, free starter bag of food,  and any additional medical care that was given. Dog adoptions also include licensing, heartworm test and one month of heartworm preventative. Cat and rabbit adoptions include a cardboard carrier to take your pet home in.

Yes. It is our policy that no dog, cat or rabbit will be adopted from MHS without being spayed or neutered first. This is to help prevent overpopulation of animals, reduce diseases related to the reproductive organs and to discourage animals from wandering away from home. MHS highly encourages and recommends that all guinea pigs be spayed or neutered as well.

The Volunteer Program is absolutely vital to the success of Maui Humane Society and everything our volunteers do makes a difference in the lives of the animals in our care. MHS has a variety of volunteer opportunities, ranging from dog walking to fostering to assisting with special events and fundraisers. For more information about volunteer opportunities and to apply for our Volunteer Program, please call the Volunteer Coordinator at 877-3680 ext. 224  or e-mail at [email protected] for more information. 

We are located off Maui Veteran’s Highway (formerly Mokulele Hwy) between Kahului and Kihei at 1350 Mehameha Loop, Puunene.

Our MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box 1047, Puunene, HI 96784. Packages shipped to our physical address will be returned by the local post office. 

Our hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and we are closed on Sundays.

Humane Enforcement is available 365 days a year. Please call 808-877-3680 ext. 222 for animal emergencies.

There is a $100 fee to surrender an animal with an appointment. Please note that on average, it costs an animal shelter $858 to care for one animal until he or she finds a forever home.

MHS does not offer euthanasia services for privately owned animals. Owners are encouraged to call a private veterinary clinic if this service is needed.

Two forms of cremation are offered by MHS: communal and private. In a communal cremation your pet will be cremated with other animals and you will not receive any ashes in return. In a private cremation your pet will be cremated separately and you will receive their ashes in return. Pets can be brought to the shelter for cremation any time the shelter is open. Learn more about our End of Life Services here. 

Maui Humane Society has an animal management contract with Maui County to provide shelter and care for strays found in the community as well as law enforcement.

The Maui Humane Society is a private non-profit organization independent of any other groups. The Humane Society of the United States or any other organization does not have any authority or connection with the Maui Humane Society.

We never want lack of funds to be a reason for not spaying or neutering your pet. For a limited time, funding is available to cover the majority of the cost of spay/neuter surgery for all pets residing in Maui County. For current rates, visit the Community Spay-Neuter section of our website. 

To make an appointment for a pet spay or neuter at Maui Humane Society, please call (808) 877-3680 ext. 3.

We are an “open door” shelter, meaning we take in every animal regardless of age, health or temperament. If we cannot place, care or rehabilitate an animal, we are equally committed to providing humane and compassionate euthanasia. 

Maui Humane Society’s Position on Limited Admission or ‘No-Kill’ Shelters

Currently, there is a proliferation of agencies which purport to provide shelter for animals with the assurance that euthanasia will not be performed on animals accepted. Maui Humane Society believes that each such agency deserves to be judged on its own merits.

While Maui Humane Society does not oppose such a philosophy or program in and of itself, MHS does recognize that such groups are able to operate only by limiting the number of animals they accept; this is in comparison to the open door policy practiced by Maui Humane Society. To the degree that these limited admission or no-kill shelters provide a complementary program to that of MHS by assisting a limited number of animals through temporary care and adoption services, it is the intent of MHS to cooperate with such agencies as long as the individual agency operates according to accepted humane standards, towards the larger goal of preventing animal suffering.

No. We do not currently provide any veterinary services to the public aside from low cost spay & neuter and Airport Direct Release for owners bringing in animals from the mainland. However, if a medical issue arises during the first two weeks of adoption our veterinary staff will gladly assist you. Please call 808-877-3680 ext. 3 to set up an appointment.

Many are lost or abandoned pets or offspring of them.  This is why it is so important to spay and neuter your pets at an early age and make sure they have a permanent means of identification such as a microchip.

We have seen cats pregnant as early as 5 to 5 1/2 months of age. 

Maui Humane Society operates the only open admission shelter on Maui, accepting any animal in need regardless of medical condition or age. MHS has developed innovative programs designed to focus on saving animal lives and prioritize the fundamental measure of live release rates.

Maui Humane Society does not euthanize healthy, adoptable animals. Thanks to robust Foster and Transfer Programs, we do not euthanize due to lack of shelter space. To avoid the practice of euthanizing feral cats, we’ve developed a comprehensive Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program that places cats back into the community once they’ve been spayed/neutered, microchipped and medically assessed. Neonatal kittens are saved through our Bottle Baby Foster Program, developed to manage the heavy seasonal influx of kittens that our shelter alone could not manage. There is no option for the public to pay for a nuisance/feral cat to be euthanized. Maui Humane Society has launched a Behavior & Training program, dedicated to working with the unique needs of all our shelter animals to provide enrichment and tools to ensure successful adoptions. Animals who are in need of advanced veterinary care are able to be treated by way of our Hope Fund, made possible by donors, and available for any shelter animal requiring more complicated medical treatments and surgery. Senior animals with terminal illness or in decline are treated medically and placed in fospice/hospice homes to enjoy their final chapter surrounded by the love that they may have lacked for a lifetime. Our Veterinary Team supports and guides end of life decisions for these animals in conjunction with their foster/hospice families with the collective goal of ensuring a good quality of life.

Maui Humane Society maintains that euthanasia of animals may be necessary in circumstances primary to alleviate or prevent suffering. The determination of this pathway for any shelter animal is an extensive process involving an interdisciplinary team. Decisions are made only after all options have been presented and/or exhausted. We stand by our commitment to provide humane treatment of animals, which in the case of suffering can make euthanasia the most appropriate choice. There are times when the aggressive behavior of an animal makes it an unsuitable adoption candidate to safely place in our community. In the extreme circumstance of unpredictable and dangerous aggression towards humans or an unstoppable prey drive to harm other animals, euthanasia may be the last option. Feral (as opposed to domesticated and abandoned) cats that have been removed from wildlife sanctuaries or cut off from their food source to suffer via starvation may also be humanely euthanized if no other pathway is available.

An overdose of an anesthetic agent is used so animals first become unconscious similar to how they are anesthetized for a surgery. As more drugs are absorbed, their breathing becomes shallower until they are no longer getting any oxygen and  eventually their heart stops. This is why the phrase “put to sleep” is often used for euthanasia because they appear to go to sleep.

Puppies and kittens are not put up for adoption until they are determined to be weaned, eating well on their own, appear to be healthy and thriving and are at least 8 weeks of age. If a puppy or kitten is found to be too young or ill, then they would be considered for the foster program.  Whether they are placed in a foster home will depend on their medical condition, their chances of survival in a foster home and the availability of a foster home for their situation. It is helpful if owners of these litters could keep them with their mothers until they are at least 6 to 8 weeks of age as our foster program fills up quickly.

Our Federal Tax ID number is 99-6000953.