Home for Life

Location
Star Prairie, Wisconsin
Their Work

Home for Life is an extraordinary animal sanctuary located in Star Prairie, WI. Home for Life (HFL) understands that a typical family home is not appropriate for every animal. Those who are old, or who have disabilities, health or temperament problems may do better in another setting. HFL has created a sanctuary that meets the needs of these very special animals. The HFL animals enjoy a quality life, where they can be themselves, run and play, and be loved and cherished for as long as they live.

Home for Life hopes to take their prototype sanctuary facility in Star Prairie, Wisconsin, and use it as a model to help establish Home for Life sanctuaries all around the country.

Currently, the sanctuary is a permanent home to about 95 dogs and 125 cats, 25 of whom have feline leukemia. The sanctuary is also home to one 20 year old pony, one sulcata tortoise, about 10 rabbits, and 10 parrots. The panoramic prairie setting in Star Prairie provides commodious accommodations, featuring indoor/outdoor enclosures for both dogs and cats.

One of the Home for Life residents is a dog named Tiger. Tiger, a young mixed-breed male, was starved as a puppy and consequently developed severe deformity in his hindquarters causing severe pain and compromising his movement. Thanks to HFL's Emergency Medical Care Fund, surgery to ease his pain was made possible.

The doctors recommended that each leg be realigned all the way from hip to toe because of the extreme deformity. Great dog that he is, Tiger went through his surgeries and recuperation in the intensive care unit like a champ – the doctors commented that he was an excellent patient.

Tiger has now begun water therapy at K9 Hydrotherapy in St. Louis Park, where therapists work wonders with him in the warm pool and on the underwater treadmill. He’s well on his way to a good recovery.

Another the Home for Life resident is a cat named Pierre (orange cat pictured to the right). Pierre came to Home For Life on foot, all by himself, in the dead of Winter during sub-zero weather. His nose was frost bitten, and he was extremely thin. He was so desperate that he was trying to get into HFL's dog building, in spite of the barking from all of our canine residents!

We quickly directed Pierre to a more appropriate space in our catteries and began to nurse him back to health. But as a feral, he was resistant to human attention in the beginning. As time went on and he observed the other cats enjoying human company, he came around and is today quite friendly. He has recently begun asking visitors for individual attention and will slide up against a leg when his appetite beckons.

Under normal circumstances in shelters all across the world, both Pierre and Tiger would have been euthanized. Home for Life really gives their residents a special chance to live a long happy life. Please visit Home for Life’s web site to learn more: www.homeforlife.org 

Additional Info and Website