Churchill Animal Protection Society is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week, with August 27 officially recognized as Churchill Animal Protection Society Day in Fallon.

Fallon’s mayor first issued the proclamation in 2011 for the group’s 25th anniversary, and the shelter is marking the milestone again this year, according to a CAPS volunteer writing in the Nevada Appeal.

CAPS traces its founding to a 1986 meeting on animal welfare that drew just 12 people, a group that came to call itself the “Dirty Dozen.”

Founding member Norma Klenakis still volunteers with the organization today.

The shelter started out of the Old Post Office in Fallon, where workers would sometimes arrive to find dogs tied to the door or boxes of kittens left overnight.

CAPS outgrew that space and later moved to Crook Road with help from Naval Air Station Fallon Seabees, before Churchill County leased the organization land on Pasture Road for what became its current shelter.

Getting that facility built required a critical donation of $38,000 from June Grinstead at a time when money was extremely tight for the young nonprofit.

We’ve covered several of CAPS’s recent fundraising efforts, including a board and train raffle and a night at the ballpark with the Reno Aces, part of a busy 2026 for the Fallon shelter.

Since August 1, CAPS has taken in 13 dogs from animal control to help ease overpopulation pressure in Churchill County, according to the group.

CAPS is open to the public seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5894 Pasture Road in Fallon, and the shelter suggests calling ahead for adoption and food pantry appointments.

The organization’s next major event is its Annual Spaghetti Dinner on Thursday, October 22, at the Fallon Convention Center from 5 to 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $20 for adults and $10 for children.

Dog owners in Fallon and Northern Nevada who want to support CAPS can reach the shelter at 775-423-7500 or through its Facebook page.