Five Acres Animal Shelter

Our mission is to end pet homelessness, promote responsible pet ownership, and advocate for animal welfare. Through this mission, we aim to end pet homelessness, promote responsible pet ownership and advocate for animal welfare. We began services in 1973 through a foster program operated under the direction of committed St. Charles County residents concerned about the numbers of homeless animals. The agency acquired the property in 1998, which is now debt-free and includes a canine shelter (built in 2012), a feline cottage (built in 2016), and an intake area, which expanded in 2018. Five Acres has seen continuous growth over the years as show from the following numbers of intakes and adoptions:

The number of animals entering the agency's adoption services has impacted area euthanasia rates positively and Five Acres plans on continuing to affect these rates by increasing our intake capacity through a remodeling project of our original building.

Five Acres Animal Shelter has undertaken several strategies over the past few years to address pet homelessness and help families undergoing hardship to be able to keep their pets. The agency centers around four programs that work to benefit animals, help families, and educate the public. These include:

a. Animal Adoption Services. We offer adoption services that united pets with individuals and families wanting to bring companion animals into their lives. All of our adoptable animals are spayed or neutered. Each animal is evaluated by a DVM prior to being made available for adoption. Canines are tested for heartworms and placed on a preventative treatment and felines are tested for FeLV (feline leukemia) and FIV (feline HIV). Each animal is microchipped, vaccinated, and dewormed prior to adoption. We have a Mobile Adoption program, operated by community volunteers, that involves showcasing shelter animals at different locations throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.

b. Community Assistance. The AniMeals Pet Food Pantry offers support to individuals and families living on limited incomes due to loss of employment, age, or illness by providing supplemental pet food, which may prevent pet abandonment. In 2019, this program distributed nearly 25,000 pounds of food for 794 canines and nearly 3,900 pounds of food to felines. This safety net program helps to keep animals united with their families and in loving homes despite financial challenges.

c. Shadow's Fund. Shadow's Fund is a lifeline for companion animals in life-threatening health situations that need emergency veterinarian care. Corrective surgery or medication for heartworms or parvovirus means the difference between life and death to our animals. This fund provides opportunities for our animals awaiting adoption to receive the best care available, which will help create opportunities for them to become adopted.

d. Education Programming. Five Acres offers educational programs to groups on a range of animal topics. Visits to schools, community centers, and on-site tours help to educate the community about the work we do at the shelter.

Five Acres Animal Shelters has been in existence for 49 years and has seen growth in services from a foster care program to a debt-free, five-acre location that has seen two major building projects completed since 2012. The agency has a committed Board of Directors who work diligently with agency staff and who are deeply entrenched with fund-raising efforts for the agency. Over 500 volunteers help to maintain successful operations of the agency by providing day-to-day care of the canines and felines awaiting adoption. The staff at Five Acres oversee all canine and feline care, intake services, special event programming, community programs, and property maintenance.

To better affect and increase animal adoption, the agency is planning to re-establish the Community Education Coordinator to the administrative area. Expanding animal enhancement services will be accomplished through a renovation project that involves creating two Canine Play Yards (The Friendship Play Yard and the Water Park Play Yard) that will be enhanced with appropriate canine toys and recreational resources that will help canines in the shelter environment.

We're excited about the progress we made in 2021! Our two biggest accomplishments included the opening of our in-house Spay and Neuter Clinic and adding the Dogs Playing For Life program to enrich our dogs lives while in our care. In 2022 we will upgrade our play yards and work towards opening our clinic up to the public.