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Join our Heroes Now and Forever Campaign and save the lives of thousands of pets for years to come.

As a Hero, you will join a group of 1,000 people who will each contribute $1,000 to help us raise the final $1 million  needed to go to construction and give our animals a better place to live.

Your donation can be made all at once or can be divided into two installments of $500 or four installments of $250.

As a Hero, you (or the name of a beloved pet or family member) will be honored for your contribution on a beautiful donor recognition piece in the main lobby of our adoption center. You will also be invited to join all of our donors at a private, silent opening party where you will get the chance to meet many of the animals whose lives you’ve made better.

For more information on our shelter building project, please contact Stephanie Nistler, HSTT Executive Director, at 530.587.5948.

Become a Hero Now & Forever with the help of your friends and family. It's super easy, here's how:

 Simply go to our FirstGiving website, create your very own Heroes Now & Forever fundraising page, distribute it to all your contacts and collect donations for our shelter safely and securely through FirstGiving.

You determine your fundraising goal, FirstGiving collects the donations on your behalf and sends them directly to HSTT's shelter building fund. It's that easy!

Why a New Shelter?

The Background

The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe (HSTT) has been saving and improving the lives of pets in the Truckee/Tahoe community since 1994. With a cadre of 4 staff members, a committed Board of Directors and nearly 400 volunteers, HSTT saves the lives of hundreds of homeless pets each year.

Several years ago, HSTT and Truckee Animal Services teamed up to offer more efficient services to our community. Together, we rescue and save the lives of 100% of Truckee’s homeless pets. In addition, we provide a discount community spay and neuter program to Truckee, North Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas, which assists people, of lower socioeconomic status, in sterilizing their pets. This program serviced nearly 300 people in 2007 alone.

HSTT is also committed to rescuing animals from desperate situations whenever possible, including rescuing dogs and cats from euthanasia in larger city shelters and finding them loving homes in our community. We have also been actively involved in rescuing, treating and adopting animals during local and national emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina and the Angora Fires.

The Need

Truckee does not have a public shelter for homeless pets. Without a facility, HSTT struggles to find homes for the hundreds of animals we receive each year.

The Town of Truckee built a temporary (7 year maximum) holding kennel over ten years ago. Through their partnership, HSTT has been allowed to house some of their animals in this kennel until they find permanent homes.

Unfortunately, this 1,000 square foot kennel is dilapidated and crumbling. It has 12 dog runs and comfortable space for about 15 cats. At times, HSTT has upwards of 25-30 dogs and 60-80 cats. Even with foster homes, the kennel is often overcrowded.

Limited space contributes to a number of problems in the kennel. It can be noisy and terrifying for the animals. Dogs must be doubled up in cages, which can lead to fighting. Cats are very sensitive and stressful conditions can make their health deteriorate rapidly.

Other inadequacies of the current kennel include:

• Fencing that doesn’t contain the dogs
• Not enough quarantine space to seclude sick or injured animals
• No natural sunlight inside for the dogs
• Location that is closed to the public
• Noisy and stressful for both the dogs and cats.
• No bathroom for staff, volunteers or guests

HSTT and Animal Services have worked diligently to make the temporary kennel as comfortable for the animals as possible. We have painted murals on walls, built a spacious room for cats and try to place dogs in foster care whenever possible. That said, as the community grows, so does the homeless pet population and the current kennel doesn’t meet the increasing demands. There is an urgent need to build a new shelter for our community’s most helpless and defenseless creatures.
Why They Need You

Without a shelter, HSTT’s job has been very difficult over the years, but we have NEVER turned our back on a homeless pet in our community. In addition, whenever we have been called upon to help during emergencies, we have ALWAYS been there.

Animals bring so much joy to our lives. They are selfless, kind, forgiving companions who would do anything for us. It is our turn to do something great for them. With your support, every homeless animal in our community will have a warm, safe, comfortable place to live while HSTT finds them a permanent loving home for the rest of their lives.

They would do it for us. Will you do it for them?