Owning a pet can be taxing monetarily and physically. They require food, bedding, toys, cleaning supplies and most importantly, a loving caretaker. It’s not for everyone, but for the Ames Animal Shelter, it’s everything.

The Ames Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter, which means they do not kill any animal that is healthy or treatable, even if the shelter is full. The only circumstances in which an animal would be euthanized is if they were terminally ill or posed a threat to public safety.

From July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, the Ames Animal Shelter took in 836 animals. 830 of those animals were adopted, returned to their owner or transferred, meaning the Ames Animal Shelter had a net live outcome rate of 99.3 percent. The national average was 81.8 percent in 2019.

Caring for all of these animals is no small feat, said Abbey Weimann, animal control clerk at the Ames Animal Shelter. To achieve their goals, the Ames Animal Shelter operates using a mix of government funding and donations. The tax dollars are used to pay the employees and pay for the property, while everything else is a product of public donations. This means donors can rest assured that every dollar donated goes straight to the animals.

The shelter also accepts the donations of pet care items, such as pet food, old towels, cat litter, toys and anything else pet-related. They have an Amazon Wish List that is updated daily with the supplies they currently need. Supplies purchased from the wish list are shipped directly to the shelter. All donors are sent thank you cards with a receipt for use as a tax write-off.

While the shelter does not host any events of its own, many local businesses will host donation drives in order to help out. The Billington Center Hy-Vee hosts an event every April, and C&K Plumbing hosts an event in May and June. Workiva, an enterprise software company based in Ames, also hosts events around Christmas to donate as many supplies as they can. Additionally, local veterinary clinics will also reduce the price of their services to support the shelter.

Recently, the shelter has created a TV advertisement that was aired during the Puppy Bowl and will be aired during the Westminster Dog Show in order to spread awareness of the shelter’s mission. The advertisement was sponsored by Treats on a Leash, the Deery Brothers of Ames Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and Draintech.

The advertisement can be found on the shelter’s Facebook account. They actively use their account to post fundraising information, videos introducing new animals looking for a home, pictures of lost pets, customer reviews and more.

For those interested in donating, donations can be directly through the shelter’s website. The website also contains their Amazon Wish List, as well as pictures of all of their currently sheltered animals. From the website, those interested can see pictures of the currently sheltered animals and learn about Ames animal laws as well as the adoption process.