ST PAUL, Minn. — When you play hard, it's nice to have a soft place to crash. The rescued animals with Pet Haven now have that place in St. Paul's Rondo community.
Established in 1952, Pet Haven is Minnesota's first and oldest animal rescue organization. And after 70 years, there is a brick-and-mortar building for staff and foster parents to work with the animals.
This is executive director Kerry D'Amato's mission. And, she says, "What this has done for us, it has provided us an opportunity to build community, service the community better, and support pets, too."
D'Amato said the nonprofit took the leap to find a physical building after seeing a great need coming out of pandemic isolation. "People have been impacted by some of the financial constraints that have been a ripple effect of COVID," she said. "Also, it has been difficult to get pets in to be spayed and neutered."
Pet Haven has seen a 30% increase in need over the last three years and is on track to serve over 1,000 pets this year.
The nonprofit's new home allows the rescue to offer clinics with MN SNAP's help for spaying, neutering, and microchipping. "Sometimes, even just a $25 cost to get your pet out of the shelter can be a barrier to somebody. We want to make sure that everyone's pet is microchipped and they can get back to [home]," said D'Amato.
The facility also has ample space for large donations of animal supplies and food that can go to foster families, local food banks in Rondo and Frogtown, and reservations.
There's also the benefit of having a place for behavioral support programs, meet-and-greets for potential adoptees to meet the pets, and a place for pet owners needing extra support. "We are doing owner surrender support," explained D'Amato. "We bring pets in; we work with their owners. If it's a situation where they absolutely have to make the decision to surrender, we offer that support here."
You can help Pet Haven's mission in several ways. The staff relies on donors. They need people to donate time, supplies, and funding. All of the money that Pet Haven receives goes directly to pet care.
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