As of December 2023:
We started doing adoptions in July 2023 at the Chuck & Don’s Store in Shakopee, MN. We have one cat at the store, available for adoption. We sometimes have other cats in foster homes as well. See our PetFinder Page for animals available for adoption, and the store address.
We’ve held 23 mobile Spay/Neuter & Vaccination clinics for animals that have great homes in our community. We continue to provide year-round veterinary care through our partnership with the Wilmot Veterinary Clinic. We have spayed/neutered 3137 animals in our community!
Since 2010, we’ve removed over 5400 abused, neglected, unwanted and stray animals from the reservation.
Our First 10 Years! History by the Numbers (Nov 2020)
The Lake Traverse Animal Rezcue began in South Dakota in November 2010, when it was announced that there would be a ban on dogs in tribal housing. Our volunteers petitioned the Tribal Council and prevented the ban from taking place. We knew that there was a long-term need for animal rescue in the community to keep the animal population healthy and keep the number of animals under control.
Since November 2010 we have accomplished:
– 16 spay/neuter & vaccination clinics, free for animals living on the reservation
– 3 vaccination only clinics
– Over 2000 total animals spayed/neutered
– 3624 Animals removed from the reservation and transferred to our rescue partners
o 2017 dogs
o 1573 cats
o 13 rabbits
o 10 horses
o 5 guinea pigs
o 4 mice
o 1 ferret
o 1 donkey
The Lake Traverse Animal Rezcue’s mission is to improve the quality of life for animals on the Lake Traverse Reservation, which is located on the South Dakota/North Dakota/Minnesota borders. This includes rescuing abused, neglected and unwanted animals, providing emergency vet care, helping animals from the Sisseton City Pound, and transporting these animals to other rescue groups for re-homing. We also provide spay/neuter/vaccination services for animals that remain on the reservation.
The majority of our animals go to rescue groups in the Twin Cities, but we also have rescue partners in SD and ND. They do not go to shelters, but instead go to foster home based rescue groups. We also provide free and reduced cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinics, for animals that have great homes on the reservation and bordering communities, we provide educational resources to animal owners, and advocate for tribal laws that will better protect animals.
Although the majority of our animals are dogs and cats, we’ve also rescued quite a few horses, some rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, a donkey, a pig and a ferret.
The Lake Traverse Animal Rezcue is an all-volunteer based 501c3 non-profit rescue group. Our board is made up of both tribal members and non-tribal members, we have volunteers in both SD and MN. Since we don’t do adoptions ourselves, all of our income is generated through donations and fundraising. Our Federal tax ID number is EIN 27-4582954.
One of our volunteers holds a dog after surgery.