Be a "Pet in Care" Sponsor

One of the worst cases we ever had was in the summer of 2010. We received a phone call from local law enforcement that a dog we later named "Becca"(pictured here) had been confiscated from a rural property. Her former owners had moved from the area, and had left Becca behind, confined to a pen without food, water or shelter.

Upon hearing of her plight, we immediately took her into our care. She was close to starvation, but even then she was gentle, trusting and loving to all who cared for her. With nourishing food, extensive vet care care, and lots of love from all of our volunteers, this little black lab eventually recovered, gained a healthy weight, and was able to be adopted into her new safe and adoring home.

We have many stories like Becca's .... like two little dogs left in a packing case behind a business. Fortunately they were rescued before the severe floods that occured in the area later that week. More recently, during the intense heat spell we had in July of 2011, two little kittens were left locked inside a house with no food or water, and another cat was left beside a pile of trash in the driveway of her former owners when they moved away. In years past, we have even found tiny kittens sealed in plastic bags, left to die in dumpsters. Thankfully, all of these animals now have new, better lives.

We work closely with local law enforcement agencies who often bring us unclaimed animals, many of whom have obviously been dumped along the side of the road, waiting in vain for their former people to come back for them.

There also times of course, when people bring us their former pets because they are no longer able to care for them. Many are very sad to part with their pets, but we understand their need for help. And we appreciate having them brought to us, rather than being abandoned. We have accepted many more surrendered animals in 2011 than in the past due to the downturn in our national economy.

We do NOT have a shelter. All of our animals are placed in the homes of volunteers who foster them. We have no paid staff and we receive no government funding. All of our work is done by animal loving volunteers who devote countless hours to the work.

Almost all of our animals come to us from Wabasha and Goodhue counties, in southeastern Minnesota...all along the Mississippi River from Red Wing to Winona. We also get animals from Plainview and Elgin and places like Zumbro Falls, which suffered a horrible flood in 2010.

In all cases we make sure that the animals are health checked, given any necessary treatment and very importantly, ALWAYS also spay/neutered before we offer them for adoption. We also now micro-chip both our dogs and cats.

We try to keep our adoption fees are low because we want our animals to be adopted as soon as possible, though we do keep them in our care as long as it takes to find the right home for them. In the past, that has sometimes taken up to a year or more.

We continually hold fund raisers and gratefully accept donations throughout the year because the cost of helping our animals always exceeds our available resources.

We offer pets at no cost to qualifying people through our "Pets for Military Vets" Program and our "Seniors for Seniors" Program. Many people continue to take advantage of and have benefited from this service.

Our website is: hahumanesociety.org. It will tell you even more about us. We need your help to continue our work. Please consider us as a worthy recipient of your contribution. You are assured that your donation goes immediately to the help of the animals in our care.