"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. " --Bern Williams
February is Gotta Luv a Lab Month here at Almost Home! Labs are more than great hunting dogs, they are great family dogs, too. If you need a little unconditional love, add a lab to your life!
Each year approximately 8-12 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide where 4-5 million lose their lives through no fault of their own. If you are thinking of adding a pet to your family, please consider adopting an animal from a shelter or rescue group. Almost Home is a no-kill shelter, but because of that we can run out of space for new dogs and cats. Help us to find homes for these deserving animals by spreading the word that shelter animals make great family pets. Click on Our Adoptable Pet List to see our current list of available animals.
- Purina One and Iams dog food
- Disposable sterile gloves for handling puppies
- Gasoline gift cards for travel to vets and adoption days
- HP 75 ink cartridges (color and B&W)
- New laptop computer for email and record keeping
- Postage stamps (forever stamps) for business mail
- Grooming shears for doggie haircuts
- Used photographic lighting and backdrops for pet photos
- Kong toys for fun!
Our buddy and former resident Cooper and his mom Nancy Radow conduct a fund-raiser every year to help Almost Home Shelter and the Animal Humane Society. And the results are in! This year Cooper raised $3700 to help his friends at Almost Home Shelter!! Great job Cooper and Nancy! Your dedication to helping the animals and your dogged persistence are so appreciated!
You can now donate to Almost Home Shelter in two easy ways. Click the Donate button at the top of this page and you can donate quickly via credit card using PayPal. Can't adopt a pet right now but still want to do something to help one of our adoptable pets? Just find one that tugs on your heartstrings and click on the Sponsor Me button. Your donation will go directly to help the care of this pet and all the other ones searching for their new homes. And your donation is tax deductible!
Almost Home Shelter now has a Facebook page! You can keep up with all the latest happenings at the shelter by clicking on Like at the top of this web page or searching for Almost Home Shelter Mora in Facebook. When you Like us, you will receive it all on your Facebook News Feed. Or stop by our page and join in on our discussion groups or check out the photos. Support Almost Home Shelter by sharing our page with your Friends, too!
Your local group can now help homeless cats find a home by hosting Community Cares Cat Adoptions! These are a great community service opportunity for scout troops, youth groups, church groups, classrooms, employee picnics, customer appreciation events, and more! It's as easy as 1-2-3. 1. Plan the event including date location, volunteers, refreshments, etc. 2. Advertise the event to potential adopters. 3. Host the event. We will bring 4 - 6 cats to the event as well as educational information about pet overpopulation and adopting pets. Cats will be offered at a reduced adoption fee the day of the event only. All cats are spayed/neutered and current on shots. Please call 320-679-5376 or email almosthome@sherbtel.net for more information.
To reach more potential adopters, Almost Home is holding Pet Adoption Days at Coon Rapids Petco and various other locations. Watch the marquee at the top of our home page to see when our Adoption Days are being held. If you are interested in seeing a particular dog or cat at an adoption day, email us before the event and we will do our best to bring that one along. There will be no one at the shelter in Mora who can help with adoptions on those days so please plan accordingly.
Happy 2012 to everyone! Now that it's colder we really appreciate how warm it's been earlier this winter. The dogs enjoyed all the extra outdoor playtime. Adoptions have been up and down with some wonderful adoptions. We are happy to report that it took us the whole year but we succeeded in getting every one of our 2011 Six Pack dogs adopted! Brock, Goldie, Remi, Reno, Missi and finally Timmy are in new forever homes. Hoorah! In 2012 we're going to focus on finding great homes for our black labs. We still have a nice assortment of black labs in the shelter, so lab lovers, come and take your pick!
Finally, we just have to acknowledge the passing of some wonderful dogs this year. It's been a tough 2011 as we are seeing friends and family losing so many of their furry family members this year. It seems like every week we hear about another. And now that the shelter has been around for 11 years, we are also hearing of the passing of some of our past residents who have spent many years in happy homes and have now gone over the Rainbow Bridge. So remember that life is fleeting and treasure your furry charges while you have them. We will miss every last one of them.
Thanks as always for your support of the animals!
Shelly Sampson, Director, Almost Home Animal Shelter
I have been meaning to send you a picture of Teddy. Teddy fits in very well with my family and he is such a character. I have discovered that
the saddle on his back only comes in the Winter and goes away during the summer. but here is a picture of him thinking that a pumpkin
makes a good toy. Told you he is goofy. Hope you and your family had a wonderful thanksgiving and will have a wonderful Christmas.
Thank you, Leslie D
Molly and Rocky had a fun weekend and spent the 4th on the lake. Molly was so good! She stayed right by Jeff and I when we were at the beach party. She really is blossoming into a really great dog. We have started running down the dirt road by our house and she never pulls, even when she sees bunny ra...bbits! She is always friendly and giving kisses to anyone's face within reach. She is also a moma's girl and will steal my shirts to sleep with. Thank you Shelly for giving her a second start at life! We truly love her. :) Hope you both had a great 4th! Rachel, Molly & Rocky
Just wanted to send you a shot of Gracie (Pepsi) and let you know what a wonderful life she has now. We love her to death and she keeps us young. Jerry and I always say "Who would get rid of a wonderful dog like her". She is a lover. She loves to fetch the ball and fetch the ball, and fetch the ball. Oh yes....she love to swim at the lake, and isn't afraid of fireworks. We are soooooooooo very glad that she is our girl. Thank you for rescuing her! Terry & Jerry
We adopted "Pipsqueak" 2 years ago from your shelter. The woman running the shelter at the time was very attached to Pip. She had bottle fed her, as she was the runt of the litter. Pip was so small. We called and told the woman that we had a dog that was going to go blind and we needed a 'seeing eye dog' for him. We scooped Pip u...p right away from the shelter as she seemed to be the perfect fit for our family. I told the woman that I would update her and of course, life got busy. I wanted to tell her how Pip is doing. Miles, our other dog, has PRA. He has now gone totally blind and has had to have one eye removed. Pip is his best friend. She leads him around and the are like siamese twins. She is a godsend for him and she is a wonderful dog. She fit right into our family from the day we brought her home. She is very sweet, very affectionate and very well behaved. We take the dogs camping, Pip gets to go hunting with Miles, and my daughters (as you see above) occasional use Pip for dress up. Pip is wearing a tutu....hey, she's a girl :) Anyways, I just wanted to tell this woman from the shelter that Pip is very happy, healthy, and deeply loved. We are so glad she kept her for a 'special' family, as we couldn't imagine not having her. I hope this email gets to the woman that took care of Pip, so that she can see what a good choice she made when she let us take Pipsqueak home with us. We love her dearly! - Troy and Nicole
The mission of Almost Home Animal Shelter is to provide basic needs, shelter, and medical care to homeless pets until each is matched with a new, loving, adoptive home. Founded in 2000, Almost Home is an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)(3) no-kill rescue. We receive no government funding and achieve our mission through adoption fees and through the generous donations of our supporters.
Most pets end up in shelters through no fault of their own, and for the constant devotion and companionship pets give us we believe they deserve a chance to live and grow old in safe and happy homes. Almost Home Animal Shelter is dedicated to providing the care and support needed to help homeless pets with this transition. In addition, we recognize that the long-term solution to the problem of abandoned companion animals is to reduce pet overpopulation. Therefore, we ensure that pets passing through Almost Home are spayed or neutered.
Listen for news on Almost Home during the Pet Report which airs Monday through Friday at 3:30 pm on KBEK radio. Sponsored by KBEK and East Central Veterinarians.
Almost Home is located 2 miles east of the intersection of Hwy. 65 and Hwy. 23 in Mora, MN. Hours, BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, are between 10 - 5 on Monday - Friday and between 12 - 5 on Saturday - Sunday. We are a small shelter with limited staff, so you MUST call or email for an appointment to be sure that someone is here and available to work with you when you arrive. Payment of adoption fees is by CASH ONLY. Credit cards are NOT accepted.
We do NOT ship pets out of state. All adopters must come to the shelter to meet the animal and be interviewed prior to finalizing an adoption. A downpayment may be made by mail or through PayPal to hold the animal for a reasonable time until you can get here. This is for your benefit as well as for the welfare of the pet because it is important that there is a good match between you and the pet and that they begin to form an attachment to make the transition easier. Remote adoption does not provide this.
Minnesota kennel license number: MN37402
"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That is the essence of inhumanity. " --George Bernard Shaw
