Cheryl Adams always loved dogs. Her love quickly grew into a passion and that passion into a mission.

"My mother says I was bringing stray puppies home when I was 2 years old," Adams said. "So I guess my love of animals started almost as soon as I was born. I've just always loved animals and especially dogs."

Adams, who started the non-profit dog rescue foundation Homeward Bound 10 years ago by sheltering 40 puppies on her Monticello hobby farm, has since rescued more than 7,500 animals.

"These animals have been abandoned and in most cases would have no alternative other than being rescued or being euthanized," Adams said. "There is a great demand for these dogs though and I am just trying to find the right connection for them, to find them a loving family."

Adams usually has 30 dogs at her "no-kill" shelter in Monticello, said Cheri Friedman, a resident of Fridley and one of Homeward Bound's 12 volunteers. Other dogs Homeward Bound has rescued are fostered out to be taken care of by the volunteers until they are adopted.

Homeward Bound runs a dog adoption day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. the third Saturday of every month at the Eagan PetCo store, 1296 Town Center Drive. Other adoption days rotate from the Maple Grove store the first Saturday of the month, the Fridley store the second Saturday, and the Eden Prairie store the fourth Saturday of the month.

The majority of the dogs Homeward Bound rescues are taken from animal shelters and puppy mills, although other dogs that have been abandoned also find their way into the organization.

"It's amazing that people think of them as so disposable," Friedman said. "One particular sad story is this one dog that the owners simply left him in their yard when they moved. When he came to us he had a broken femur and now he's better and he's been adopted into a loving family."

Adams had been working at the Edina Pet Hospital for seven years and had helped found the Wright County Humane Society when she decided to start her own rescue service. Her first foray into the field came when she took a trip to a Detroit Lakes puppy mill and returned home with nearly 40 puppies from the mill.

From there the effort kept growing every year. Friedman said with all the dogs that find their way into shelters Adams has the tough job of selecting only those she knows she can successfully place.

"I don't know how she can do it," Friedman said. "She goes into these places and looks at the dogs that would be put to sleep within seven to 10 days. She has to have tunnel vision because she can only take with her what she knows she can adopt into a family."

The average stay of a dog with either Adams or one of her volunteers is six months, Friedman said. (correction: the average stay for Homeward Bound dogs is roughly two to four weeks) During that time Homeward Bound has the dogs vaccinated and spayed or neutered.

"We feel very strongly that these animals were abandoned not by their own choice and deserve a second chance at life," Adams said. "The foster home helps us to evaluate health and temperament of the dog, as well as provide proper socialization, training and love for the dog."

All dogs that are not adopted go back to live in their foster homes until they are adopted, Adams said. None of the animals rescued by Homeward Bound are euthanized.

Families who adopt the dogs, or the occasional kittens and cats Homeward Bound rescues, also receive a coupon book from PetCo when they adopt the animal and a special lifetime guarantee from Adams.

"She will always take them back at any time if their owners feel they can't care from them," Friedman said. "She gives a lifetime guarantee no matter what age they are because she doesn't want the dogs to end up back where they were when they were rescued."

Homeward Bound is funded through animal adoption fees and donations.

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