FAQs
Where do Home For Life® animals come from?
Many animals are unadoptable due to illness or temperament. For Sunny, the issue is also age. Read Sunny's story.
Our residents hail from all over the country. They are referred to Home For Life® by other rescue groups, shelters, and private parties. At our Star Prairie facility we currently house 60 dogs and 150 cats, 30 of whom are positive for feline leukemia. The facilities can accommodate up to 250 animals at one time.
Why doesn't Home For Life® adopt out its animals?
When we formed Home For Life®, we were trying to fill a niche in animal welfare not currently being met. For example, in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, which is our primary service area, there are more than 75–80 groups focused on adoption. Meanwhile, in the entire country, there are only a handful of organizations that cater to unadoptable animals.
Every day, we answer approximately 100 phone calls and emails from all over the country inquiring about our services. Instead of competing with the other excellent adoption organizations in our area, we decided to focus on an area that few have addressed.
Why are tours by appointment only at Home For Life®?
The sanctuary is a permanent home to our many cats and dogs. Without some control over the flow of visitors, we fear that unexpected guests could disrupt the tranquil mood we attempt to maintain. Additionally, since our animals are not caged, we need to guard against the possibility of a guest accidentally allowing incompatible dogs to mix, or cats to get loose.
Equally as important, we want to schedule the tours to allow our staff to give the maximum amount of attention to sponsors and donors, so that these guests can spend more time on the aspects of the sanctuary that interest them most.
Finally, security is an issue, and it is our responsibility to protect
our residents and staff. Tours are available to our sponsors and donors,
and can be scheduled by calling our toll free number:
1-800-252-5918.
How is Home For Life® supported?
Home For Life® depends on the support of sponsors, donors and foundations. Shortfalls are made up, out of pocket, by our own board members. Fund-raising is always a major concern as we do not receive any government subsidization.
When will Home For Life® be expanding?
We have had lots of interest from all over the country from people wishing to establish a Home For Life® facility in their region. It is our ultimate objective to have a facility in every part of the country.
However, our first priority is to complete the capital campaign for our Star Prairie prototype, and to refine the protocols for management and care of the animals. Then we will export the proven methods and build a new facility, where the methods will be actualized, in each new region.
In the meantime, we have been exporting the concept of long term, quality care through the many nationwide contacts with whom we currently collaborate on behalf of the animals.