Friends

Homeward Animal Shelter Celebrates a Half Century

Words by Alicia Underlee Nelson

TThe very first animal rescue organization in Cass and Clay counties celebrates a milestone birthday in 2016. Homeward Animal Shelter has been uniting pets and adoptive families for 50 years.

“It has a history of 50 years of serving our community by rescuing companion animals and rehoming them successfully,” said Executive Director Nukhet Hendricks. “It has placed over 30,000 cats and dogs during these 50 years.”

Homeward Animal Shelter (which was renamed in 2014, after being known most recently as the FM Humane Society and Humane Society of Fargo Moorhead) houses around 50 cats and dogs in the winter and 100 in the summer, when the population of adoptable cats swells. It’s a no-kill shelter that rescues animals from local impounds and places an average of 800 pets with adoptive families annually

After a professional staff oversees the intake of the animals, pets over the age of six months are spayed or neutered to reduce the population of homeless animals in the community. All animals in the shelter are given a microchip so they can reunited be with their new families should they become separated.

Almost 200 volunteers assist the shelter staff with exercising and socializing the animals while they await placement in new homes. They walk the dogs, play with the kittens and shower the pets with love and attention. Animals who need one-on-one attention or additional socialization will be placed with one of 80 foster families who will help them grow and develop until a permanent home can be found.

“There’s always going to be misconceptions that people can’t get a purebred animal from a shelter or that all the animals at a shelter are damaged in some way,” said Heather Clyde, shelter manager. “And more and more people are seeing that that’s not the case. More often than not, if an animal’s in a shelter, it’s a human issue, not an animal issue.”

Clyde sites divorce, a new baby in the home, allergies or a move to a building that doesn’t allow animals as common reasons that animals are put up for adoption. And occasionally, the shelter is called upon to help during a different type of transition.

“Homeward Animal Shelter also serves the victim of domestic violence by providing temporary housing to family pets when the family leaves the abusive home,” Hendricks explained. This temporary housing allows victims to focus on the safety of human family members and secure a safe home before a pet rejoins the family.

Finding a secure and loving home for all animals is the ultimate goal of Homeward Animal Shelter. “Our hope is always to put ourselves out of business,” said Clyde. “We would love it if we were not longer needed. We want to get to a point where all the animals have loving homes and where there’re not more being bred than there are homes for them.”

But the staff is as realistic as they are idealistic. “Unless a miracle happens - there are no homeless animals and we are not needed - the organization intends to continue to grow in order to serve a larger number of animals, larger geographical area and continue to prevent, educate, rescue and rehome companion animals,” said Hendricks.

And there are many opportunities for the community to help support this mission. Homeward Animal Shelter’s annual Spay-ghetti and No-Balls Lunch will be held at the Holiday Inn on April 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The proceeds from the spaghetti lunch, raffle and free-will donation will benefit the shelter’s spay/neuter fund.

Homeward Animal Shelter will also host a coffee and cake open house at the shelter at 1201 28th Avenue North on April 28 from 4 to 7 p.m. It’s a chance for the public to visit the shelter for a tour, learn more about the organization, meet the adoptable animals and explore volunteer opportunities.

“Adopting is a great option because you’re not only adopting an animal, you’re giving them a chance at a happily ever after,” said Clyde. And as long as there are animals in need of a home, Homeward Animal Shelter will be there to help. [AWM]