Who We Are

Our Mission:

To be a community-centered shelter that supports the human-animal bond through compassionate care, adoption, education, and advocacy.

Our Vision:

• A community that is nurturing and compassionate towards all animals.
• A community where no animal suffers from abuse or neglect.
• A community where companion animals are treated as lifelong, valued family members.

Our pledge to donors:

• We make every donor feel appreciated and show them that their gift is making a difference.
• We say thank you in person. We say thank you through letters. We say thank you by letting our supporters know that their gift made an impact.
• We share stories of animals rescued and lives changed and we do so with emotion and passion.
• We build relationships. We ask our donors for their opinions – what works here and what does not. We listen and we try to make things better.
• Our donors will know in their heads and their hearts that something good has happened because they chose to support Homeward Bound.

About Us

Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society, is a  private and independent 501(c)(3) open admission shelter dedicated to protecting the well being of homeless, abandoned, and abused/neglected animals.

We serve over 1,200 animals per year, including those who enter the shelter and those who receive services through PetCORE, PetFIX, and other community programs. Our community services are designed to combat pet overpopulation, provide support to low-income pet owners, and enhance the human-animal bond through education and outreach.

2023 marks the launch of a Strategic Plan that will lead us through 2025.  Click here for an overview of the priorities that will be our focus for the next several years.

Our annual budget to operate the animal shelter and spay/neuter clinic, and to be able to provide these programs, is approximately $900,000. We receive no funding from federal, state or local government and no unrestricted funding from national humane organizations.  With a staff of 13, we rely heavily on volunteers to enhance the lives of the animals while they are here and to help us have wide-spread impact in the community; on average we have 100 active volunteers annually.

We are extremely proud of the services that we offer and are very grateful to all of the staff, volunteers and donors who help to support Homeward Bound and allow us to make a difference in the lives of so many animals!