The Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, Inc. was founded in 1975 by residents of Schoharie County who were disturbed by the plight of the many hungry, abused, and stray animals in the county. These concerned community members raised the funds to build our first shelter building located at 304 Howes Cave Road in the town of Howes Cave. Here they were able to start rescuing and caring for these abandoned animals until they could adopt them out into loving homes. Although the shelter was in use for many years it soon became too small for the number of homeless animals that were being rescued in Schoharie County.

In 2010, the community raised the money necessary to build an up-to-date shelter with more space and amenities for the increased needs of homeless animals in our county. The new shelter was built on the same property where the original shelter stood. This new building is still in use today and can house up to 33 dogs and 50 cats.

In the Spring of 2023, the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley received a very generous donation from Nicholas Juried and was also awarded a NYS Companion Animal Capital Fund Grant. With these funds, the shelter plans to build a state of the art vet clinic to care for the animals that are housed at the shelter. In addition, the ASSV Board of Directors plans to provide low cost spay and neuter clinics for Schoharie County residents in order to decrease the number of unwanted kitten births in our county.