About Heavenly Pet Sanctuary
Our Mission is to rescue, shelter and provide long-term care to lost, homeless, abandoned companion animals—dogs and cats, in order to give them an ideal quality of life, free from pain and suffering, with the possibility of adoption into a permanent home.
Welcome to Heavenly Pet Sanctuary’s 34-acre oasis of peace and tranquility set amidst the Midwest’s Heartland in southeast Iowa. Founded in 2000, the shelter is home to over 100 dogs and cats living in various locations on the property. The main cat shelter is a remodeled country home with three floors; the secondary building nicknamed the kitty cottage is smaller and divided into four areas. All rooms have access to the outdoors via spacious, large cat runs with grass and trees.
All cats are housed without cages except for those that are newly admitted or ill and have free roam of their areas. HPS is a long-term care facility and that means that our commitment and care to each dog and cat extends throughout their entire life, if for some reason they do not find their own special home.
The dog kennels are a smaller part of the shelter at present, but plans are underway to raise money to construct an all-new dog building and storage area. Presently a number of dog kennels exist outside with large fenced in areas and insulated doghouses; indoor housing for the dogs is available on a limited basis. The shelter property has lots of potential for additional dog and cat housing. Several mobile homes were donated that need remodeling and could be used to house more cats.
HPS prides itself on its clean, friendly environment and its pet care, which takes into consideration each individual animal’s needs. Fresh food is made up daily for all of the cats and dogs and combined with commercial food for all levels of need and age groups.
Natural health care has always been a special focus for the shelter and a preventative approach which includes the use of herbs, homeopathy, supplements and diet is utilized to strengthen the animal’s immune system and to treat illness and disease whenever possible. Traditional medication is also used in conjunction with veterinary consultation and all of our dogs and cats are vaccinated, neutered and spayed.
HPS offers adoption services to the public and posts its pets online at petfinder.com. Potential adopters are carefully screened to determine their suitability and follow-up with house visits carried out whenever possible. Our main concern is to provide adoptions that benefit both the adopters and the pets so that no dog or cat ever has to face the trauma of being homeless again. Adoption events are held monthly in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area hosted by the Petco stores.
HPS has volunteer programs for all ages, humane education and provides food and pet supplies for low-income pet owners whenever possible.