Pet In Need Fund (PIN)
At Helping Strays, no pet is turned away based on their medical needs, thanks to donors that support our Pet In Need (PIN) fund. The PIN fund was established to allow our shelter to intake animals whose medical needs go beyond routine care. The fund allows us to say YES to every homeless animal that needs us. Urgent medical needs are unpredictable and expensive, which makes our PIN fund so important to saving lives. PIN covers things like corrective surgery, amputations, veterinary specialty services, heartworm treatment, and more.
Puddles, featured in this picture, was one of the MANY animals that received PIN funding this year. Puddles was neglected, suffering from starvation and required emergency surgery upon intake. To make a donation toward our PIN program and support animals like Puddles, please click DONATE NOW.
Free Training to Adopters
We are proud to be one of the only shelters offering FREE training to our animals and their new families after adoption.
We know the point of adoption is just the beginning of your loving journey together and we want to help provide a smooth transition for every animal.
We are partnered with Have Mercy Dog Training to offer three months (or however long is needed) of FREE training classes on Sundays to all of our dogs and their new families after adoption.
This program is funded entirely through generous donations from individuals and businesses in our community.
You can support this program by following the link below.
TNR - Trap-Neuter-Return
What is TNR? Community cats are the most significant source of cat overpopulation in our country. TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is a program offered by Helping Strays to humanely control the overpopulation of feral and stray cats in Monroe County by spaying/neutering.
In this program, residents trap feral cats on their property (traps are available on loan through Helping Strays) and bring them to the shelter for sterilization on a pre-arranged date. After surgery, being microchipped, and ear tipped, the cats will be returned to the resident who will release the cat(s) to the same area from which they were trapped.
The cost of each TNR service is $25. This includes spay/neuter, micro-chipping, and ear-tipping. However, $25 does not cover the shelter’s cost to operate this program. The TNR program is able to exist through generous donations from members of our community.
Without TNR programs, feral cat communities continue to reproduce and grow exponentially, overwhelming their human neighbors as well as local animal shelters that are already caring for large numbers of cats. Research shows that areas with this program in place experience a significant reduction in community cats.
To schedule a TNR service, please call 618-939-7389.
Rescue Readers
Helping Strays offers a fun opportunity for young children to have an impact on our homeless pets.
Rescue Readers allows children 12 and younger to come to the shelter and read to the animals.
Research shows that reading can have a comforting effect on animals, and it’s also so much fun for the children! Rescue Readers is only offered at certain times so please check our events page for the next available session.