Homeward Bound is dedicated to rescuing homeless and unwanted animals. We are a non-profit, 501(c) 3-tax exempt, no-kill dog rescue and placement organization based in Minnesota. Although our focus is primarily on rescuing dogs, we also rescue cats &kittens. We are an independent organization and depend solely on adoption fees, fundraisers, and donations to operate. We receive NO government support. Homeward Bound has been in operation since 1991 & has placed over 12,800 dogs in loving homes. We try our best to match the dogs with the needs, wants, personalities, and lifestyles of potential adopters to ensure a healthy, happy, & permanent home. All Homeward Bound dogs must live indoors. Dogs are social pack animals by nature and we want them to be able to have all of the companionship, love, & attention they deserve, as well as a chance to bond with the family.

We rescue all types of dogs, ranging from small to large breeds. Roughly 40% of the dogs we rescue are purebred while the other 60% are mixed breeds. The age of the dogs varies from puppies to adults. We will tell you about each dog's history, personality, & behavior, including whether or not they are good which children and other pets, their exercise needs, & other important information.

Each week, new dogs are rescued and we hold pet adoptions every Saturday at a Petco location from 11:30a.m. - 4p.m. in the Twin Cities area. Please see our Adoption Dates and Locations for more information.

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NEXT PET ADOPTION - Our next pet adoption will be on Saturday, July 31st from 11:30-4 at the Burnsville Petco. We hope to see you there!

'PAWS ON GRAND' - AUG 1ST: On Sunday, August 1st we'll be having a mini adoption at the Frattallone's Ace Hardware located in St. Paul on 1676 Grand from 12-4. Everyone adopting that day gets a $50 gift card from Mike Frattallone! On the same day, we'll be having a warm water dog wash held at a different Frattallone's location - the Summit Hill store is located at 650 Grand Ave in St. Paul. If you have questions, please call Cheri at 612-759-8982.

YAPPY HOUR - AUGUST 2ND On Monday, August 2nd from 4-7pm there will be a pup-focused 'Yappy Hour' at Pairings Food and Wine Market located at 6001 Shady Oak Road, Minnetonka, MN 55343. You are invited to bring dogs (leashed) and eat/drink on the patio. If you donate to Homeward Bound (either a physical item or monetary), they will offer discounted beer/wine for pairings. Bone Adventure will also give you a coupon if you donate to Homeward Bound. If you have questions, please call Cheri at 612 - 759 - 8982. Read about other fundraisers...

PROEX: On Sunday, August 8th from 10-3 we'll be having a mini pet adoption at the Eden Prairie Proex Portrait Studio. It is located at 574 Eden Center Drive, Ste 100 Eden Prairie. If you bring a bag of of food, a $50 sitting fee is complimentary, so all you have to pay for are the prints! If you have questions, please call Cheri at 612 - 759 - 8982. Read about other fundraisers...

HOT WEATHER SAFETY TIPS / CAR SAFETY: Before you bring your dog along for a car ride, please read the following links. On a warm day it can literally be deadly to leave your dog in the car in just a matter of minutes, even if the car is parked in the shade and the windows are open! These are links that every dog owner, or anyone thinking about adopting a dog should look at regarding hot weather, especially since this weekend is going to be so hot! www.hsus.org/pets/pet_ care/summer_care_tips_ for_you_and_your_pets/, www.aspca.org/site/ PageServer?pagename=pets_ hotweathertips, and www.ygrr.org/doginfo/ safety-heatstroke.html.

MAVERICK! Meet Maverick, a sad faced retriever mix who had never had his own home. Sent to us to find a home for, it was discovered that Maverick has a horrific case of heartworm. We deal with heartworm positive dogs often, but this one needed and continues to need care for the near future. Vet bills have exceeded $2000 for this. Knowing him, his sweet patient gentle way, we couldn't NOT get the care he needs. So, we are hoping for some fundraisers to help generate funds for him. If you feel this is something you are interested in helping with, email Katie at kadams4545@hotmail.com or go to http://homewardboundrescue.chipin.com/mavericks-heartworm-treatment. Many thanks!

IF OUR WEB SITE IS DOWN... The web host we have been using has been having issues with their servers, which means we either can't make any updates to the web site, or worse, the web site is completely down and no one can access it (sometimes for several days). Please keep our email addresses on file for the next time our web site will inevitably be down and we can tell you about the dogs. We are in the process of changing web hosts. You can always see our dogs/cats available for adoption at www.petfinder.com/ shelters/MN304.html.

WHY SO MANY BLACK DOGS? We often hear people complain about the number of black dogs we have in our program and feel that now is the perfect time to educate the public about how hard it is for black dogs to find homes. Black or darker colored dogs, especially the larger sized ones, are often the first to get euthanized at pounds, shelters, & humane societies when space becomes an issue. People tend to overlook the black/darker dogs for the lighter colored dogs - they see darker dogs as "just another black dog" rather than as a unique individual. It doesn't matter if the dog is purebred or not - if a dog is brought to a shelter/pound/humane society and they have dark colored fur, their chance of getting adopted is very slim. This is a shame because black dogs are just as wonderful as lighter colored dogs. Please consider adopting a darker colored dog!