Tickets to the San Diego Humane Society's 40th Annual Fur Ball are limited. The Ruby Anniversary Celebration, set for 5 to 10 p.m. on October 3 at the organization's San Diego Campus at 5500 Gaines St., invites guests to reserve spots.
According to 10News, the gala marks four decades of what the San Diego Humane Society describes as compassion and community support, and this year's edition is designed to raise critical funds for the organization's lifesaving services, which are projected to support more than 40,000 animals in 2026. The event page includes a notice about leashed dogs, according to San Diego Humane Society's own event page. Guests are invited to reserve spots at sdhumane.org/furball, though tickets are limited.
Fur Ball has a track record of turning a single night into serious money for the shelter. Last year's 39th Annual Fur Ball raised more than $1.5 million for the San Diego Humane Society, drawing over 600 human attendees and roughly 200 pets to the same San Diego campus, per the report from the station's account. This year's dog-friendly evening follows a similar formula: a cocktail reception for guests and their dogs, a gourmet vegetarian dinner with fine wine prepared by Jeffrey Strauss of Pamplemousse Grille, live and silent auctions benefiting the shelter's lifesaving efforts, and an after-party with live music and dancing by Haute Chile.
A Gala That Doubles as a Financial Lifeline
Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society, framed the event around the bond between people and animals and the generosity that sustains the organization's work, according to 10News. That message lands differently this year given how strained the shelter system has become. San Diego Humane Society shelters face overcapacity challenges, the outlet reported, and county-wide data puts numbers to that strain.
Dog capacity at the Escondido campus was 171 percent. San Diego was at 161 percent and Oceanside at 160 percent. Hoodline also reported a 171 percent dog-capacity figure for the Humane Society while covering a new Santee shelter build, and the crowding has also driven fee-waived adoption pushes during what has been eleven consecutive months of record dog populations.
Budget Cuts Add Pressure Behind the Scenes
The financial squeeze isn't limited to kennel space. In June 2025, the San Diego City Council approved a $1 million budget reduction to the Humane Society's municipal animal services contract for Fiscal Year 2026, after initially weighing a much larger $3.5 million cut, per OB Rag. The contract covers animal control and sheltering services across multiple jurisdictions. The organization has regional campuses in San Diego, El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, and Ramona.
The same budget debate has stirred public discussion over executive pay. The most recent reporting period's tax disclosures list approximately $72.8 million in revenue and more than $100 million in net assets, while total compensation for Weitzman was listed at $509,396, OB Rag reported. Those figures have circulated alongside the contract cut as residents and council members weigh how the nonprofit balances its books against its municipal obligations.
A 146-Year-Old Mission Under New Strain
The San Diego Humane Society traces its roots to March 10, 1880, when civic leaders George W. Marston and George W. Hazzard founded what became the oldest animal welfare organization in San Diego County, recording its first animal cruelty fine that June, according to the organization's own historical account.
The organization's reach extends well beyond adoptable dogs and cats. The Humane Society also provides wildlife rehabilitation through its Project Wildlife program, according to SDVoyager. In 2015, San Diego became the largest U.S. city to eliminate euthanasia of healthy or treatable shelter animals, a zero-euthanasia record now tested by the current overcrowding.
None of that safety net runs on municipal funding alone, which is why events like Fur Ball carry outsized weight even as a single night of dinner and dancing. With tickets limited and guests invited to reserve spots, the money raised on October 3 will support the organization's lifesaving efforts.
