By Ben Rodgers
Editor
HOWARD – An animal welfare group looking to fill a niche has expanded in Howard to help more pets.
Haven Animal Rescue and Community Outreach, formerly known as Safe Haven Humane Society and Outreach Center, has nearly completed renovations for a shelter at 991 N. Military Ave.
“We want to do something different,” said Leigh Ann Wagner Kroening, a founder of the group. “We’re such a lucky community because we have so many animal rescues and shelters, and they all do a great job, but we saw a niche that wasn’t being met.”
Haven Animal Rescue and Community Outreach has the primary goal of keeping pets in homes that would normally be surrendered.
If a pet must be surrendered, Haven Animal Rescue, will do what it can to care for them.
“We wanted to be a safe place where people can come if they need help caring for their pets or they will be leaving their pets,” Wagner Kroening said.
She said people may surrender a pet because of a medical issue. Most times it can be a urinary tract infection that makes pets pee where they shouldn’t.
Haven Animal Rescue has partnerships with Paws & Co. and Packerland Veterinary Center to get animals checked out so they get they medical attention they need.
The 501(c)3 group will also work with pet owners to help them find apartments that are pet friendly if they need to move.
“Our No. 1 goal is to try and get them to keep their pets, especially if it’s a loving home,” Wagner Kroening said.
But sometimes people can’t keep their pets for a period of time. This is the other niche Haven Animal Rescue addresses.
Baby is a cat whose human is in a nursing home recovering from a major surgery. So Baby is being cared for by Haven.
Pippi is an 8-year-old lab mix with invasive lymphoma who also suffers from seizures. Her humans relocated to Chicago while their son is waiting out his lease in Green Bay, so he can move to a dog-friendly apartment.
Pippi will be looked after until he can move in October.
Other examples where a pet may need assistance is when a person is deployed in the military, or a victim of domestic abuse is relocated to a shelter.
Haven Animal Rescue started as a foster program, but the foster homes are full. This is when the group decided to build a shelter.
“We’re all volunteers, we don’t have any paid staff,” Wagner Kroening said. “We are all moms, senior citizens, college students and families. We all have full-time jobs so this is just a passion for us.”
The group found the space because Wet Nose Bistro owns the building and asked if it would be interested. Without them, Wagner Kroening said Haven Animal Rescue couldn’t have opened a shelter.
She said the space allows the group to help more animals.
It can hold up to five dogs, but Wagner Kroening hopes it will never have more than three. The shelter also has space for multiple cats, if they get along, and small animals like guinea pigs.
Whenever a volunteer is there, the pets can roam around the shelter.
The group still needs to put up a fence in the backyard, and change the sign in the front, but the important part is that the animals have their spaces, Wagner Kroenig said.
More information can be found on Facebook by searching for Haven Animal Rescue.
People can also visit havenanimalrescueco.org to download applications for adoption or fostering, to make a donation, or see what events the group has coming up.
From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., this Friday and Saturday, there will be the annual rummage sale fundraiser at 3050 Glendale Ave. in Howard.
On June 21, people are also invited for a night out with the Green Bay Bullfrogs. People can use the promo code “Haven” when ordering tickets online. They will receive a ticket, hot dog, drink and hat for $18 with a portion going to benefit the shelter.