Animal Updates

Ashley the paraplegic Home for Life resident recently earned international fame when her story was picked up by a United Kingdom newspaper called the Daily Mail. 

Home for Life's incredible animals were featured in an article on Buzzfeed! Sami Main, a writer for Buzzfeed, saw some wonderful photos taken by Mark Luinenburg that showed the animals enjoying life to the fullest, and decided to write an article on them titled "Fourteen pets who don't let anything get them down." The animals at Home for Life are an inspiration, and we were happy to see that their courage and determination was noticed. 

Who wouldn't notice how cute they are! Please check out the Buzzfeed article here!

Home for Life does not have a better friend than photographer Mark Luinenburg, who, since 2000, has donated his time and talent to document our cats and dogs at the sanctuary. He brings our mission to life with his beautiful photos.

The best ambassadors for Home for Life's mission are our animals: we have always believed our at risk animals can help their human counterparts, at risk people of all ages. Instead of creating an isolated sanctuary, cut off from society, we thought the best way to safeguard our special animals was to make them part of the community. Although our animals have not been able to find placement in an adoptive home, they still have much to offer and much to give, a truth best demonstrated by them through our outreach programs which provide solace and joy through healing pet therapy.

In this digital age, a website is truly a charity's public face in the world, the best opportunity to create a great first impression. Home for Life's website has served us well since 2004, but had begun to look dated and was in need of a facelift. We wanted to emphasize the great photos of our animals, their stories and allow easier navigation of the site. But with the challenging economy and the many demands on our resources to provide the best care for our animals, a new website always seemed out of reach.

Did you know that in the U.S., up to 90% of animals will lose their homes during their lifetimes? Most animals surrendered to shelters are just 2 ½ years old. Shelters and rescues work hard to find new homes for these animals, but only 24% of them get adopted each year. The adoption numbers for older dogs are much more grim, let alone for senior pets who are bonded pairs and hope to stay together. Statistics like these make clear how rare it is for a dog or cat to land in a stable, loving, lifelong home.

We have long admired the photography of Karin Newstrom of the Twin Cities. You may recognize her work from the photos she has taken on behalf of  dogs and cats  from two Minneapolis  rescues who focus on adoption;  Second Hand Hounds and  Ruff Start Rescue.  She has a fun, yet sophisticated approach to capturing the heart and soul of each animal she photographs. She and her wonderful husband, Jeff, spent a sunny, winter day with us at Home for Life last month, March, photographing our animals for our sponsor program.