Baxter adopted in March of 2023 and Kai adopted in November 2022 two Pet Haven Pups!

 

We believe Pets are Family. The work we do at Pet Haven and the mission we hold supports this belief. Our lives are better with pets in them.

At Pet Haven, we value the health and well-being of the pets in our care. We are their caregivers, their voice, and their advocates. We are also their family for the time they are with us.

We have a big job. Many of our Pet Haven pets have had challenging pasts and oftentimes are healing from not just physical pain but emotional as well. We must advocate for them to ensure as best we can their next family will be their last family.

We hope.

So how do we do this without putting up barriers to adoption? 

We build relationships. We have open conversations about the needs of the pets and people adopting. We support our community. We embrace diversity.

We do not charge nor have we ever charged an adoption application fee. It is free to apply and applications are good for any pet not just the one applied for. This opens up more opportunities. Our adoption fees are set pricing based on age and health, not breed-specific. Our adoption fees do not even come close to covering our expenses. That is where our community of supporters helps so much!

We do not judge our applicant’s age or socio-economic background or where they live. It does not matter where our applicants live but how they live. We look for a safe home and a loving, caring, family. An environment that will be well-suited for the pet and a pet that will be well-suited for the family. This is what we look for. We recognize people live differently than we may and as part of our Pet Haven culture, we embrace those differences.

Our job is match-making and advocating for our pets AND our adoptive families to ensure a lasting relationship. It’s all about relationship building.

Snider Pet Haven Alumni adopted in 2022 to a single parent.

We make sure the decision to adopt is well thought out and if the adopter rents, which the majority of the population does, we confirm pets are allowed. We do this not to put up a barrier to adoption but to ensure a possible curveball is avoided if the adopter did not know they needed approval. We will help the adopter get the proper paperwork in place for the new incoming family member if needed.

We do home visits not to put up a barrier to adoption but to ensure the home is safe and suited for the pet’s needs. This also gives us an opportunity to have open conversations that help prepare adopters and avoid many curveballs. We have well-drafted questions on where pets will stay during their adjustment and decompression time. We talk about slow introductions and why this is so important for a new rescue pet to have a successful integration into the new home and family. We help determine where will they sleep, the plan for feeding, and enrichment, and what will happen when the adopter is away from home.

These open conversations do not create barriers but open pathways to building lasting relationships and being prepared for a new family member. These conversations build relationships between the pet and the new family and with Pet Haven.

We assist in giving people the tools and support they need to bring new family members into their homes and be successful. It’s a big decision and we are supportive during this decision-making process. We believe offering this pre-adoption support directly impacts the very low percentage of pets being returned. Under 3%.
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As hard as we work to ensure our pets’ adoptive homes will be their last, life can throw us unexpected curve balls. We know this and this is why it is part of our mission to provide pre-adoption support helping to identify possible curveballs and challenges that could come up. We offer resources and tools to mitigate challenges.

We also offer post-adoption support to help families stay together. Sometimes this support is something as simple as feeding pets separately, changing where the litterbox is, or some leash walking tools. Sometimes it requires additional professional support utilizing our internal and external partner resources. Sometimes the unavoidable happens and pets need to come back into the safe haven of our organization. We take responsibility for our pets and accept them back into our care if that is needed.

Tesla adopted from Pet Haven in March 2018

Once a Pet Haven Pet, always a Pet Haven Pet. It’s been this way for over 70 years.

Creating Family, it’s what we do. Family comes in many shapes, sizes, colors, and places. We embrace them all. 

Open arms. There is a place for everyone at Pet Haven.

Jinx adopted in 2015 Sam in 2017 Pet Haven Alumni

Consider creating a Family by adopting with us today.

Help us say yes to more pets in need and create even more families!

Consider becoming a foster and help us save more lives….we want YOU!

Farha and her foster Maeve say….”Join us! Foster with Pet Haven and change lives!”