Our Mission
Our mission at ARF is to protect and advocate for animals in need; to build a humane community that promotes compassion and seeks to strengthen the human animal bond. We believe that no animal should endure the pain and suffering of a life of abandonment and neglect. We believe that through education, spaying and neutering, community outreach, and owner retention programs we can limit the overpopulation of animals and decrease the number of shelter animals in need. As human stewards of this Earth, we at ARF work to support and preserve precious life and strive to create a humane living environment for all animals.
Community Pets Program
There are approximately 3,500 animal shelters, and 10,000 animal rescues in the United States. Of that, 3,023 report their data to ShelterAnimalsCount.org. These shelters/rescues took in 3,934,148 animals last year. Owner surrenders were reported as 491,983 dogs and 466,665 cats. The number of shelter euthanasias were reported as 515,603. This means approximately 1,400 animals a day that lose their lives across the United States. Our hope is that through community programs we can help reduce the overpopulation of strays and owner surrenders.
The Community Pets Program is a compassionate outreach initiative of ARF. Our goal is simple: keep pets together with their families by providing access to necessary resources . ARF’s Community Pets Program works within Cass County to identify pet owners in need and assist them, as much as possible, in keeping their pets. We have a variety of resources available, if you are in need of help, please fill out an Assistance Form at the top of this page.