Who Are We?
We are a small group of people who are committed to helping pets in the city pound as well as other pets in need. We have a small board of 5 people and a volunteer base of not much more than that.
WHAT IS MITCHELL ANIMAL RESCUE (MAR)?
We are a foster based rescue located in Mitchell, SD. MAR was started in October, 2008, by Megan Luther and Laurie Martin. We DO NOT have a facililty. All of our pets are housed in foster homes. Our #1 priority is to save the adoptable animals from the city pound in Mitchell. We are not affiliated with them and have to adopt the animals the same way anyone else does. We generally do not know anything about the animals we take into foster care. But in this home setting we learn important information about the animals. This helps us in finding them homes that we think will be a perfect fit. Because we are always short on fosters and never know what or when we will have to take something- we don't take in surrendered pets unless it is an emergency or we have room. We will however do what we call a "courtesy post" for you. Just email us all the info on your pet along with a picture and we will post here on our website and our facebook page. Also we recommend placing a free ad in the Daily for 3 days and posting on craigslist. You can also try taking the pet to a facility that accepts surrendered pets such as Second Chance in Sioux Falls and the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society. These places both have night drops for urgent situations. They only accept surrenders based on room so you should call first to make sure they have space available.
We have started fundraising and received donations toward a shelter. We are lacking someone to take on the capital campaign and fundraising. We are also lacking dedicated volunteers. If you would like to help us with our goals, please contact us. There are many daily activities required for operating MAR and because most of our board members have jobs, famillies and foster pets- we always need more help!
We are a 501c3 non-profit and all donations are tax-deductible!
In 2010, Mitchell Animal Rescue helped save the lives of over 250 pets! Some pets were claimed by their owners. Before we started Mitchell Animal Rescue, all the pets we have fostered would more than likely have been euthanized!
WHERE DO YOUR DONATIONS GO?
- When we adopt a pet to prevent euthanization, costs of the shots are $55
- Spay/neuter - costs from $85-$130 for each animal
- Fuel to transport a pet to another rescue - we all know how much fuel costs!
- Each 3 day picture ad that we place in the Daily Republic costs $10
Mitchell's Animal Pound is located at 2020 W Havens. It was built with a generous donation from the Osterhaus family, the city of Mitchell, and private donations. The Shelter can currently house approximately 15 dogs and 10 cats at a time.
It is owned and financed by the City of Mitchell, is located on privately owned land, and is managed by a local veterinary clinic. The city relies heavily on donated food to feed the animals that come in.
Any animals picked up by Mitchell Animal Control are taken to Mitchell's Animal Pound. Handling of the animals is run under city policy, which can be viewed on their website, http://www.cityofmitchell.org.
The current policy allows three days for an owner to reclaim a pet. Two to three days later, the animals can be humanely euthanized. Sometimes that is not enough time for the right person to find these animals. Therefore, when an animal has been in the shelter too long, and their "time is up" we try to find another rescue to take them or put them in foster care until they can find their new homes. We would like to see all of the animals adopted before they need to go into foster care. We hope this website will increase awareness of the local shelter and improve the adoption rate of the lost and unwanted pets waiting for new homes.
