Operation Kindness was founded in 1976 in Garland, Texas,
as a no-kill shelter for homeless and abandoned dogs and cats.
Its founders established Operation Kindness as an alternative to shelters that euthanize or destroy unwanted and stray animals after a period of time if homes cannot be found for them. The mission of Operation Kindness is to provide a caring, no-kill shelter for homeless or unwanted cats and dogs until they are adopted into responsible, loving homes.

During its first 12 years in Garland, Operation Kindness maintained a small shelter in a donated building that previously housed a veterinary clinic. In February 1988, the organization lost the use of the donated space and had to relocate. That October, Operation Kindness reopened a 2,300–square-foot shelter in an office/warehouse strip center in Carrollton, a growing and densely populated area without a private shelter.

In January 2002, Operation Kindness launched a $220,000 capital campaign to renovate and expand the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Animal Shelter by adding an outside storage building and converting a room inside the shelter into an in-house Spay/Neuter Surgery and Treatment Center. The total amount was raised, and the project was completed in December 2004. The first surgeries were performed on January 12, 2005.

Operation Kindness has cared for and adopted over 50,000 homeless and unwanted cats and dogs. At any one time, up to 200 or more animals are cared for in the shelter, with another 80-100 animals in volunteer foster homes. Operation Kindness continues to be a leader in the Dallas/Fort Worth animal-welfare community.