Join Mabry-Hazen House (MHH) and the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley (HSTV) for Pawprints: Past & Present on Sunday, September 14, 2025, from 1 PM to 4 PM! This new collaborative program explores the significant role animal companions play in the lives of humans across time. Spend the afternoon learning about the history of pets at Mabry-Hazen House, meeting new potential furry friends available for adoption, and supporting two important local nonprofits.
A variety of activities will occur at this all-ages, family-friendly event. The historic house museum will offer a special tour, “In the Pawprints of Terry: A Cat’s Life at Mabry-Hazen House,” a treasure hunt for Miss Evelyn’s cats, displays of objects and images about the history of pets, and more!
Meet cats and dogs available for adoption at the Humane Society, learn from HSTV and other animal welfare organizations how to support local animals and pets, grab a treat from local pet supplies vendors, and have a photo taken with your pet. HSTV will also be accepting pet supplies donations.
At 2 PM, a professor in the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine, will give a presentation on the history and science of human-animal relationships and animal welfare.
Pawprints: Past & Present is free and open to the public. Pets are welcome, but must be leashed at all times, cleaned up after, and friendly with other people and animals. Pets are not permitted inside the house museum.
Summary of Event Activities:
A speaker from the UT College of Veterinary Medicine
Attend a special tour, In the Pawprints of Terry: A Cat’s Life
Meet and greet with dogs and cats available for adoption
View objects, images, and sources about the pets of Mabry-Hazen House
Drop off pet supply donations
Shop with local vendors
Have a professional pet photo taken
Learn about local animal welfare organizations
More information:
The history of human-animal bonds spans tens of thousands of years, originating in the domestication of animals and the development of human societies. But pets are a relatively recent invention, with most historians dating the concept of family pets to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Both Mabry-Hazen House and the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley find their origins in the 1800s when these new ideas on animal companionship emerged. MHH was completed in 1858, and the HSTV was chartered in 1885.
But the organizations’ shared history goes beyond their origins. Miss Evelyn Hazen, the last family member to live in the house, was an animal lover and a supporter of the Humane Society. She adopted scores of pets over time—cats, dogs, guinea hens, and even a cow! When she died in 1987, Evelyn willed that all the family's land and possessions be sold, proceeds donated to the Humane Society, and the house torn down to the ground, OR the home and grounds were to be converted into a museum. The latter choice was made, and Mabry-Hazen House has been open to the public as a museum since 1992, but to honor Evelyn’s full wishes, MHH and HSTV initiated this collaborative effort.
Along with Evelyn, Terry the cat, her adored chinchilla Persian, has found a tenth life at the museum as the museum’s unofficial mascot, adorning merchandise and prompting many questions.
Terry was not the only furry friend who called Mabry's Hill home. The museum preserves dozens of historic objects and images connected to the furry companions who called it home from across the house’s timeline.
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