2026 For the Love of Animals Calendar

In 1948, in response to our nation’s constant killing of stray
and abandoned companion animals, Mrs. Anna C. Briggs founded
The National Humane Education Society (NHES) as a private,
nonprofit animal welfare organization with a central mission “to
foster a sentiment of kindness to animals in children and adults.”
This mission was founded on Mrs. Briggs’ guiding philosophy
that “companion animals are sentient creatures, each of whom
has intrinsic value in and of themselves and, therefore, our
stewardship does not condone the killing of one healthy animal in
order to ‘make room’ for another.”

Today, to achieve its mission, NHES works to educate the
general public, especially children, and provide viable alternatives
to the killing of healthy animals through its program services—
each of which is an integral part of the humane solution to
decreasing animal suffering. Each of these program services
operates from NHES’ 20-acre campus located 65 miles west of
Washington, D.C. near historic Charles Town, West Virginia. These
program services include:

1. Humane Education and Advocacy serves to educate
children and adults about responsible animal stewardship
by (1) presenting humane education programs, (2) providing
informational services to supporters and the general public,
(3) networking with other humane organizations, (4) creating
and distributing humane education materials, (5) creating,
maintaining and disseminating relevant information through
the NHES website, social media, email and e-newsletters, and
(6) advocating for animals by encouraging private companies,
law enforcement, regulatory agencies, lawmakers, and other
groups to adopt policies and practices that support the
humane treatment of animals.
Alice Morgan Wright, former NHES board member, wrote of
NHES, “In 1948 we incorporated, a small group of us to carry on
what we think is one of the urgent needs of our time, humane
education.”
Today, the urgent need for humane education is still with us and,
with your support, NHES is doing its part to meet this need.

2. The Briggs Animal Adoption Center (BAAC) is one of
the finest animal care facilities in the country. It became
operational in October 2000, and provides comprehensive care
and adoption services for cats and dogs that consist of animal
rescue, veterinary medical care including mandatory spay/
neuter before adoption, and socialization/rehabilitation. The
BAAC has a humane holding capacity for 205 animals (80 dogs
and 125 cats). Since its inception, the BAAC, in conjunction
with its sister facility, Peace Plantation Animal Sanctuary, have
placed tens of thousands of rescued dogs and cats in loving,
lifelong homes.

3. Spay Today became a program of NHES in 2001 and
has been providing reduced-cost spay/neuter assistance
for thousands of animals each year through a network of
participating veterinary hospitals whose primary service area
includes portions of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia. To date, Spay Today has provided over 90,000
reduced-cost and free spay/neuter procedures; thereby
humanely preventing the births of hundreds of thousands of
homeless animals in the future.

4. Alliance Partnerships are formed with other select standard setting
humane organizations whose work embodies NHES’
12 Humane Principles created by Alice Morgan Wright. At
this time, NHES’ partnerships include alliances with other
organizations to fund additional spay/neuter initiatives and/or
feral cat management efforts in Florida, North Carolina as well
as on northern tribal lands.
We hope you enjoy this calendar, and we also hope that you
will join us in spreading its humane message to homes across
America. The National Humane Education Society believes
that with your help, we—together—can open the hearts and
minds of many more people and, ultimately, put an end to
abuse and neglect.

Our rescue and rehabilitation of each of the animals featured in
this calendar was made possible by you—and other kind-hearted
people just like you!