Great River Rescue to Close Temporarily

Last week, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota made an executive order to suspend all elective surgeries, yesterday, he clarified that the order includes spay/neuter surgeries for pets. With this order, Governor Walz effectively terminated our ability to save companion animals because we are a 100% spay/neuter facility. Of course, his order was made in the best interest of the health and welfare of all Minnesotans, but it has given us a difficult choice to make. Effective Friday, March 27, Great River Rescue will be closed to the public. We can’t say with any degree of certainty when we will be able to resume our normal operations. However, we will be monitoring the public health situation closely, and will re-open as soon as it is reasonable. In the meantime, we need to get all of our shelter pets into foster and adoptive homes. We are calling on anyone who is able to take in a dog or cat to please consider housing an animal during this difficult time. If you are already an approved foster care provider, email us at fostercare@greatriverrescue.com or call us at 751-7910. If you are not yet an approved caregiver, please complete a foster home application – Click Here. It is imperative that we do not allow these animals to stay confined at our shelter because we don’t know how long this situation will last. The longer our animals remain at the shelter with little socialization, the more likely it is they will develop medical and behavioral issues.

Regarding intake services, we will only be able to take-in animals in emergency situations. We will do our best to respond to phone calls and emails and provide whatever resources we are able.

Our April Petfixers Clinic is canceled. We will contact registered clients individually to reschedule. We hope to be able to be able to conduct our first clinic on May 1 & 2.

Our Level I volunteer trainings will be held as scheduled, but will be offered via a livestreaming service. Those signed up to attend will be contacted directly with details.

This was a difficult decision and is not made lightly. The current public health crisis has affected us all and created many new and unusual circumstances. In the end, the health of families is of utmost importance. We stand with the Governor and all of Minnesota as we work through this challenging time.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Brandon Mustful
Executive Director