HAARBOR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
Mission Statement
HAARBOR Inc, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, seeks to network animals with medical special-needs into loving foster and adoptive homes. We also provide sanctuary to a small number of animals every year.
Vision Statement
HAARBOR Inc believes that all animals, in spite of age or medical condition, deserve loving homes for whatever time they have; receiving palliative care and a compassionate end of life when the time comes. No animal should die in a shelter because it has a condition that renders it ‘unadoptable’. We provide shelters/rescues/individuals with a free website on which to list animals with medical special-needs in the hopes of connecting them with foster and permanent homes. We network these animals across social media and offer veterinary grants to certain animals adopted via our network. We seek to provide support and information to people considering adopting an animal with a health condition, from mild special-needs to hospice. Our sanctuary is the final home for a small number of animals to receive hospice care.
Operations
At the HAARBOR Sanctuary, we accept dogs from all situations - directly from cruelty/ neglect or through rescues/shelters. As long as they are stable when they arrive, we give them some time to settle in before going in for their first veterinary visit. At that visit, we do a thorough physical exam and bloodwork. We use that information to make a problem list of everything that is going on with the dog, from major to minor issues. Often, in order to investigate and complete that list, we make visits to specialists, such as cardiologists, ophthalmologist, neurologists, and internists, just to name a few. Once we have done all of the fact-finding, which usually includes imaging such as ultrasounds, radiographs, and echocardiograms, we develop a therapeutic plan for that animal involving nutrition, medications, and therapies...whatever is needed! Our goal is to fix anything that is fixable and manage the rest so that the animal is as happy and comfortable as possible. This often becomes palliative care when the animals are deemed to be hospice. Dr. Liz spends a minimum of 30 minutes three times/day preparing and administering medications and treatments, not including preparing all of the special diets and coaxing the less hungry residents to eat! Read more about our current sanctuary residents here: https://www.haarbor.org/sanctuary-residents